Configuring System Message Logging

This chapter describes how to configure system message logging on your Cisco wireless mobile interface card (WMIC).

Note For complete syntax and usage information for the commands used in this chapter, refer to the Cisco IOS Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference for Release 12.2.

Understanding System Message Logging

By default, devices send the output from system messages and debug privileged EXEC commands to a logging process. The logging process controls the distribution of logging messages to various destinations, such as the logging buffer, terminal lines, or a UNIX syslog server, depending on your configuration. The process also sends messages to the console.

When the logging process is disabled, messages are sent only to the console. The messages are sent as they are generated, so message and debug output are interspersed with prompts or output from other commands. Messages are displayed on the console after the process that generated them has finished.

You can set the severity level of the messages to control the type of messages displayed on the console and each of the destinations. You can timestamp log messages or set the syslog source address to enhance real-time debugging and management.

You can access logged system messages by using the command-line interface (CLI) or by saving them to a properly configured syslog server. The device saves syslog messages in an internal buffer. You can remotely monitor system messages by accessing the WMIC through Telnet or by viewing the logs on a syslog server.

Configuring System Message Logging

This section describes how to configure system message logging. It contains this configuration information:

System Log Message Format

System log messages can contain up to 80 characters and a percent sign (%), which follows the optional sequence number or timestamp information, if configured. Messages are displayed in this format:

The part of the message preceding the percent sign depends on the setting of the service sequence-numbers, service timestamps log datetime, service timestamps log datetime [localtime] [msec] [show-timezone], or service timestamps log uptime global configuration command.

Table 17-1 System Log Message Elements
Element	Description
seq no:	Stamps log messages with a sequence number only if the service sequence-numbers global configuration command is configured. For more information, see the "Enabling and Disabling Sequence Numbers in Log Messages" section.
timestamp formats: mm/dd hh:mm:ss or hh:mm:ss (short uptime) or d h (long uptime)	Date and time of the message or event. This information appears only if the service timestamps log [datetime \| log] global configuration command is configured. For more information, see the "Enabling and Disabling Timestamps on Log Messages" section.
facility	The facility to which the message refers (for example, SNMP, SYS, and so forth). A facility can be a hardware device, a protocol, or a module of the system software. It denotes the source or the cause of the system message.
severity	Single-digit code from 0 to 7 that is the severity of the message. For a description of the severity levels, see Table 17-3.
MNEMONIC	Text string that uniquely describes the message.
description	Text string containing detailed information about the event being reported.

Default System Message Logging Configuration

Table 17-2 Default System Message Logging Configuration
Feature	Default Setting
System message logging to the console	Enabled
Console severity	Debugging (and numerically lower levels; see Table 17-3)
Logging buffer size	4096 bytes
Logging history size	1 message
Timestamps	Disabled
Synchronous logging	Disabled
Logging server	Disabled
Syslog server IP address	None configured
Server facility	Local7 (see Table 17-4)
Server severity	Informational (and numerically lower levels; see Table 17-3)

Disabling and Enabling Message Logging

Message logging is enabled by default. It must be enabled to send messages to any destination other than the console. When enabled, log messages are sent to a logging process, which logs messages to designated locations asynchronously to the processes that generated the messages.

To disable message logging, follow these steps, beginning in privileged EXEC mode:


	Command	Purpose
Step 1	configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2	no logging on	Disables message logging.
Step 3	end	Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 4	show running-config or show logging	Verifies your entries.
Step 5	copy running-config startup-config	(Optional) Saves your entries in the configuration file.

Disabling the logging process can slow down the WMIC because a process must wait until the messages are written to the console before continuing. When the logging process is disabled, messages are displayed on the console as soon as they are produced, often appearing in the middle of command output.

The logging synchronous global configuration command also affects the display of messages to the console. When this command is enabled, messages appear only after you press Return. For more information, see the "Enabling and Disabling Timestamps on Log Messages" section.

To re-enable message logging after it has been disabled, use the logging on global configuration command.

Setting the Message Display Destination Device

If message logging is enabled, you can send messages to specific locations in addition to the console. To specify the locations that receive messages, use one or more of the following commands, beginning in privileged EXEC mode:


	Command	Purpose
Step 1	configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2	logging buffered [size] [level]	Logs messages to an internal buffer. The default buffer size is 4096. The range is 4096 to 2147483647 bytes. Levels include emergencies 0, alerts 1, critical 2, errors 3, warnings 4, notifications 5, informational 6, and debugging 7. Note Do not make the buffer size too large because the WMIC could run out of memory for other tasks. Use the show memory privileged EXEC command to view the free processor memory on the WMIC; however, this value is the maximum available, and you should not set the buffer size to this amount.
Step 3	logging host	Logs messages to a UNIX syslog server host. For host, specify the name or IP address of the host to be used as the syslog server. To build a list of syslog servers that receive logging messages, enter this command more than once. For complete syslog server configuration steps, see the "Configuring UNIX Syslog Servers" section.
Step 4	end	Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 5	terminal monitor	Logs messages to a non-console terminal during the current session. Terminal parameter-setting commands are set locally and do not remain in effect after the session has ended. You must perform this step for each session to see the debugging messages.
Step 6	show running-config	Verifies your entries.
Step 7	copy running-config startup-config	(Optional) Saves your entries in the configuration file.

The logging buffered global configuration command copies logging messages to an internal buffer. The buffer is circular, so newer messages overwrite older messages after the buffer is full. To display the messages that are logged in the buffer, use the show logging privileged EXEC command. The first message displayed is the oldest message in the buffer. To clear the contents of the buffer, use the clear logging privileged EXEC command.

To disable logging to the console, use the no logging console global configuration command. To disable logging to a file, use the no logging file [severity-level-number | type] global configuration command.

Enabling and Disabling Timestamps on Log Messages

To enable timestamping of log messages, follow these steps, beginning in privileged EXEC mode:


	Command	Purpose
Step 1	configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2	service timestamps log uptime or service timestamps log datetime [msec] [localtime] [show-timezone]	Enables log timestamps. The first command enables timestamps on log messages, showing the time since the system was rebooted. The second command enables timestamps on log messages. Depending on the options selected, the timestamp can include the date, time in milliseconds relative to the local time zone, and the time zone name.
Step 3	end	Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 4	show running-config	Verifies your entries.
Step 5	copy running-config startup-config	(Optional) Saves your entries in the configuration file.

To disable timestamps for both debug and log messages, use the no service timestamps global configuration command.

This example shows part of a logging display with the service timestamps log datetime global configuration command enabled:

This example shows part of a logging display with the service timestamps log uptime global configuration command enabled:

Enabling and Disabling Sequence Numbers in Log Messages

Because there is a chance that more than one log message can have the same timestamp, you can display messages with sequence numbers so that you can unambiguously refer to a single message. By default, sequence numbers in log messages are not displayed.

To enable sequence numbers in log messages, follow these steps, beginning in privileged EXEC mode:


	Command	Purpose
Step 1	configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2	service sequence-numbers	Enables sequence numbers.
Step 3	end	Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 4	show running-config	Verify your entries.
Step 5	copy running-config startup-config	(Optional) Saves your entries in the configuration file.

To disable sequence numbers, use the no service sequence-numbers global configuration command.

Defining the Message Severity Level

You can limit messages displayed to the selected device by specifying the severity level of the message, which are described in Table 17-3.

To define the message severity level, follow these steps, beginning in privileged EXEC mode:


	Command	Purpose
Step 1	configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2	logging console level	Limits messages logged to the console. By default, the console receives debugging messages and numerically lower levels (see Table 17-3).
Step 3	logging monitor level	Limits messages logged to the terminal lines. By default, the terminal receives debugging messages and numerically lower levels (see Table 17-3).
Step 4	logging trap level	Limits messages logged to the syslog servers. By default, syslog servers receive informational messages and numerically lower levels (see Table 17-3). For complete syslog server configuration steps, see the "Configuring UNIX Syslog Servers" section.
Step 5	end	Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 6	show running-config or show logging	Verifies your entries.
Step 7	copy running-config startup-config	(Optional) Saves your entries in the configuration file.

Note Specifying a level causes messages at that level and numerically lower levels to be displayed at the destination.

To disable logging to the console, use the no logging console global configuration command. To disable logging to a terminal other than the console, use the no logging monitor global configuration command. To disable logging to syslog servers, use the no logging trap global configuration command.

Table 17-3 describes the level keywords. It also lists the corresponding UNIX syslog definitions from the most severe level to the least severe level.

Table 17-3 Message Logging Level Keywords
Level Keyword	Level	Description	Syslog Definition
emergencies	0	System unstable	LOG_EMERG
alerts	1	Immediate action needed	LOG_ALERT
critical	2	Critical conditions	LOG_CRIT
errors	3	Error conditions	LOG_ERR
warnings	4	Warning conditions	LOG_WARNING
notifications	5	Normal but significant condition	LOG_NOTICE
informational	6	Informational messages only	LOG_INFO
debugging	7	Debugging messages	LOG_DEBUG

•

Error messages about software or hardware malfunctions, displayed at levels warnings through emergencies. These types of messages mean that the functionality of the WMIC is affected.

•

Output from the debug commands, displayed at the debugging level. Debug commands are typically used only by the Technical Assistance Center (TAC).

•

Interface up or down transitions and system restart messages, displayed at the notifications level. This message is only for information; WMIC functionality is not affected.

•

Reload requests and low-process stack messages, displayed at the informational level. This message is only for information; WMIC functionality is not affected.

Limiting Syslog Messages Sent to the History Table and to SNMP

If you have enabled syslog message traps to be sent to an SNMP network management station by using the snmp-server enable trap global configuration command, you can change the level of messages sent and stored in the WMIChistory table. You can also change the number of messages that are stored in the history table.

Messages are stored in the history table because SNMP traps are not guaranteed to reach their destination. By default, one message of the level warning and numerically lower levels (see Table 17-3) are stored in the history table even if syslog traps are not enabled.

To change the level and history table size defaults, follow these steps, beginning in privileged EXEC mode:


	Command	Purpose
Step 1	configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2	logging history level¹	Changes the default level of syslog messages stored in the history file and sent to the SNMP server. See Table 17-3 for a list of level keywords. By default, warnings, errors, critical, alerts, and emergencies messages are sent.
Step 3	logging history size number	Specifies the number of syslog messages that can be stored in the history table. The default is to store one message. The range is 1 to 500 messages.
Step 4	end	Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 5	show running-config	Verifies your entries.
Step 6	copy running-config startup-config	(Optional) Saves your entries in the configuration file.

¹ Table 17-3 lists the level keywords and severity level. For SNMP usage, the severity level values increase by 1. For example, emergencies equal 1, not 0, and critical equals 3, not 2.

When the history table is full (it contains the maximum number of message entries specified with the logging history size global configuration command), the oldest message entry is deleted from the table to allow the new message entry to be stored.

To return the logging of syslog messages to the default level, use the no logging history global configuration command. To return the number of messages in the history table to the default value, use the no logging history size global configuration command.

Setting a Logging Rate Limit

You can enable a limit on the number of messages that the device logs per second. You can enable the limit for all messages or for messages sent to the console, and you can specify that messages of a specific severity are exempt from the limit.

To enable a logging rate limit, follow these steps, beginning in privileged EXEC mode:


	Command	Purpose
Step 1	configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2	logging rate-limit seconds [all \| console] [except severity]	Enables a logging rate limit in seconds. •(Optional) Apply the limit to all logging or only to messages logged to the console. •(Optional) Exempt a specific severity from the limit.
Step 3	end	Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 4	copy running-config startup-config	(Optional) Saves your entries in the configuration file.

To disable the rate limit, use the no logging rate-limit global configuration command.

Configuring UNIX Syslog Servers

The next sections describe how to configure the 4.3 BSD UNIX server syslog daemon and define the UNIX system logging facility.

Logging Messages to a UNIX Syslog Daemon

Before you can send system log messages to a UNIX syslog server, you must configure the syslog daemon on a UNIX server. Log in as root, and perform these steps:

Note Some recent versions of UNIX syslog daemons no longer accept by default syslog packets from the network. If this is the case with your system, use the UNIX man syslogd command to determine what options must be added to or removed from the syslog command line to enable logging of remote syslog messages.

The local7 keyword specifies the logging facility to be used; see Table 17-4 for information on the facilities. The debug keyword specifies the syslog level; see Table 17-3 for information on the severity levels. The syslog daemon sends messages at this level or at a more severe level to the file specified in the next field. The file must already exist, and the syslog daemon must have permission to write to it.

Step 2

Create the log file by entering these commands at the UNIX shell prompt:

Step 3

Make sure the syslog daemon reads the new changes by entering this command:

For more information, see the man syslog.conf and man syslogd commands on your UNIX system.

Configuring the UNIX System Logging Facility

When sending system log messages to an external device, you can cause the WMIC to identify its messages as originating from any of the UNIX syslog facilities.

To configure UNIX system facility message logging, follow these steps, beginning in privileged EXEC mode:


	Command	Purpose
Step 1	configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2	logging host	Logs messages to a UNIX syslog server host by entering its IP address. To build a list of syslog servers that receive logging messages, enter this command more than once.
Step 3	logging trap level	Limits messages logged to the syslog servers. Be default, syslog servers receive informational messages and lower. See Table 17-3 for level keywords.
Step 4	logging facility facility-type	Configures the syslog facility. See Table 17-4 for facility-type keywords. The default is local7.
Step 5	end	Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 6	show running-config	Verifies your entries.
Step 7	copy running-config startup-config	(Optional) Saves your entries in the configuration file.

To remove a syslog server, use the no logging host global configuration command, and specify the syslog server IP address. To disable logging to syslog servers, enter the no logging trap global configuration command.

Table 17-4 lists the 4.3 BSD UNIX system facilities supported by the Cisco IOS software. For more information about these facilities, consult the operator's manual for your UNIX operating system.

Table 17-4 Logging Facility-Type Keywords
Facility Type Keyword	Description
auth	Authorization system
cron	Cron facility
daemon	System daemon
kern	Kernel
local0-7	Locally defined messages
lpr	Line printer system
mail	Mail system
news	USENET news
sys9	System use
sys10	System use
sys11	System use
sys12	System use
sys13	System use
sys14	System use
syslog	System log
user	User process
uucp	UNIX-to-UNIX copy system

Displaying the Logging Configuration

To display the current logging configuration and the contents of the log buffer, use the show logging privileged EXEC command. For information about the fields in this display, refer to the Cisco IOS Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference for Release 12.2.

To display the logging history file, use the show logging history privileged EXEC command.

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