The Linux System Logging Daemon

I am regularly confronted by Windows NT users who are overwhelmed by how much
information they can collect and process using the Windows NT Event Viewer. It is so nice, they
maintain, that occurrences (events) are sorted by system, system security, and applications, and
that entries can be filtered and searched.

James Mohr

Monday, November 15th, 1999

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I am regularly confronted by Windows NT users who are overwhelmed by how much information they can collect and process using the Windows NT Event Viewer. It is so nice, they maintain, that occurrences (events) are sorted by system, system security, and applications, and that entries can be filtered and searched.

The problem is, that’s where it stops. With the exception of a few security-related events, what you are able to log (or not log) is not configurable under Windows NT. You get whatever Microsoft has decided is necessary, no more and no less.

With Linux, you can specify both what should be logged and where to log it. Windows NT, on the other hand, always logs specific events to a specific file. Additionally, Windows NT differentiates between only three different types of logs. This means you may need to wade through hundreds, if not thousands, of entries looking for the right one.

Configuration from the GUI

I find that editing files directly is a much easier and quicker way of configuring and monitoring syslogd than starting up a graphical utility and hunting through menus. However, for those of you who disagree with me, there is a solution in the form of Mark’s Administration Tool or MAT, which is available from http://sunsite.unc.edu. (Click on the LinSearch link and look for “MAT” or “syslog”).

MAT is a…

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