System Log Message Terms

event

Condition that occurs on a device at a particular time. An event can include routine, failure, error, emergency or critical conditions.

event ID

System log message code that uniquely identifies a system log message. The code begins with a prefix indicating the software process or library that generates the event.

facility

Group of messages that either are generated by the same software process (such as accounting statistics) or concern a similar condition or activity (such as authentication attempts). For a list of system logging facilities, see Table 164.

priority

Combination of the facility and severity level of a system log message. By default, priority information is not included in system log messages, but you can configure JUNOS software to include it. For more information, see the JUNOS System Log Messages Reference. See also facility; severity level.

process

Software program, also known as a daemon, that controls device functionality. The following are the primary JUNOS software processes:

• Routing protocol process (rpd)—Defines how routing protocols such as RIP, OSPF, and BGP operate on the device. It starts the configured routing protocols, handles all routing messages, maintains routing tables and implements the routing policy.
• Interface process (also called device control process) (dcd)—Allows you to configure and control the physical and logical interfaces present in a device. It also enables JUNOS software to track the status and condition of the device's interfaces.
• Chassis process (chassisd)—Controls the physical properties of a device chassis, including conditions that trigger alarms.
• SNMP—Simple Network Management Protocol, which helps administrators monitor the state of a device.
• Management process (mgd)—Controls processes that start and monitor all the other software processes. The management process starts the command-line interface (CLI), which is the primary tool used to control and monitor JUNOS software. It also starts all the software processes and the CLI when the device starts up. If a software process terminates, the management process attempts to restart it.
• Forwarding process (flowd)—Forwards packets through the device. The flow-based forwarding process applies filters and policers associated with the ingress interface to packets entering the device. It establishes the state of the packet's session and manages the packet as it transits the security flow and its applicable features. It applies output filtering and traffic shaping to the flow before transmitting the packet out the egress interface.
• Network security process (nsd)—Interprets, executes, and manages the configuration of extended interface attributes, policies, zones, address books, firewall screens, Network Address Translation (NAT), and other network security treatments.
• Internet Key Exchange process (iked)—Implements tunnel management for IPSec VPNs, provides authentication of endpoint entities, and generates keys for packet authentication and encryption.
• Firewall authentication process (fwauthd)—Implements and manages user authentication configuration, and authenticates users who access the firewall.
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol process (dhcpd)—Implements the DHCP client, allowing the device to obtain IP addresses from the network DHCP server, set other configuration parameters, manage TCP/IP settings propagation, and display client-related information.

For more information about processes, see the JUNOS Software Installation and Upgrade Guide.

process ID

Identifier uniquely identifying a process. The process ID is displayed in a system log message along with the name of the process that generates the event.

regular expressions

Set of key combinations that allow you to have control over what you are searching. You can use regular expressions to filter system log messages by specifying a text string that must (or must not) appear in a message for the message to be logged. For more information, see Regular Expressions.

severity level

Measure of how seriously a triggering event affects device functions. For a list of severity levels that you can specify, see Table 165.