syslog seriously needed (resolved)

Dennis German

I'm sure you get a lot of requests for "please included my favorite xxxxx'.

This one is something that should be included in every system especially IoT and embedded systems. Busybox includes the most basic set.

This should promote an "best practice" of logging as much activity as possible (with the correct priority level and facility). Process starts, progress, ends with status.

Setting up a basic syslog is easy and subsequent tuning can frequently be done without touching the application. You can include syslog command calls in scripts as well as programs. The most important thing is using various priority levels. Messages can be grouped or separated (or ignored for now) based on priority. Use notice for normal start/stop messages, info for summary information and debug for progress and detail messages which can always be ignored in production (and turned on is needed). Warning should be for messages describing potential future problems and error for minor things that have gone wrong. Leave critical, alert and emergency for when your system (which may be only one process if it's the process that is the only reason for a dedicated system) cannot start, continue or aborts.
Don't get to hung up on the details, just get the logging in place as you develop the application.

There are several options for the eventual destination for systems with restricted disk storage and/or awkward administrative inbound communications. Many are free services including PaperTrailApp.com. You can set up your home system as a syslog repository (if you have a dynamically assigned IP address you can use a name and register it at DynDns.org ) See Syslog.com
Wikipedia has a rather good article at Wikipedia.org/Syslog

WereCatf

@Dennis-German said in syslog seriously needed:

This one is something that should be included in every system especially IoT and embedded systems. Busybox includes the most basic set.

This should promote an "best practice" of logging as much activity as possible (with the correct priority level and facility). Process starts, progress, ends with status.

There should already be a syslog. Just look at the command logread You also configure the log-levels via /etc/config/system. It doesn't actually write the logs on the flash, though, because that would be stupid. It's a NOR-flash, it doesn't have any wear-balancing or anything and it doesn't last for long, if you keep writing to it all the time.

Dennis German

@WereCatf: Thank you for your response. I will look more into logread. I did notice this program but was unable to determine what it was. After searching for logread as per your information I have found documentation at https://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/log.essentials

I'm not sure how I would have known that logread was an alternate to syslog.