Overview of Single-Chassis System Logging Configuration

The Junos OS system logging utility on the QFX Series is similar to the UNIX syslogd utility. This topic describes how to configure system logging for a single-chassis system that runs the Junos OS.

Each system log message belongs to a facility, which groups together related messages. Each message is also preassigned a severity level, which indicates how seriously the triggering event affects router functions. You always specify the facility and severity of the messages to include in the log. For more information, see Specifying the Facility and Severity of Messages to Include in the Log.

You direct messages to one or more destinations by including the appropriate statement at the [edit system syslog] hierarchy level:

• To a named file in a local file system, by including the file statement. See Directing System Log Messages to a Log File.
• To the terminal session of one or more specific users (or all users) when they are logged in to the switch, by including the user statement. See Directing System Log Messages to a User Terminal.
• To the switch console, by including the console statement. See Directing System Log Messages to the Console.
• To a remote machine that is running the syslogd utility, by including the host statement. See Directing System Log Messages to a Remote Machine.

• You can log messages to a file in structured-data format instead of the standard Junos OS format. Structured-data format provides more information without adding significant length, and makes it easier for automated applications to extract information from the message. For more information, see Logging Messages in Structured-Data Format.
• A message’s facility and severity level are together referred to as its priority. By default, the standard Junos OS format for messages does not include priority information (structured-data format includes a priority code by default). To include priority information in standard-format messages directed to a file or a remote destination, include the explicit-priority statement. For more information, see Including Priority Information in System Log Messages.
• By default, the standard Junos OS format for messages specifies the month, date, hour, minute, and second when the message was logged. You can modify the timestamp on standard-format system log messages to include the year, the millisecond, or both. (Structured-data format specifies the year and millisecond by default.) For more information, see Including the Year or Millisecond in Timestamps.
• When directing messages to a remote machine, you can specify the IP address that is reported in messages as their source. You can also configure features that make it easier to separate messages generated by Junos OS or messages generated on particular switches. For more information, see Directing System Log Messages to a Remote Machine.
• The predefined facilities group together related messages, but you can also use regular expressions to specify more exactly which messages from a facility are logged to a file, a user terminal, or a remote destination. For more information, see Using Regular Expressions to Refine the Set of Logged Messages.

Note: During a commit check, warnings about the traceoptions configuration (for example, mismatch in trace file sizes or number of trace files) are not displayed on the console. However, these warnings are logged in the system log messages when the new configuration is committed.