binlogd - Binary event-log daemon
/usr/sbin/binlogd [-d] [-f config_file] [-r] [-R] [-C]
Enables debugging. Specifies the alternate binary configuration
file. Allows the binlogd daemon to create an inet
port for remote access. This is the default behavior. Use
the -R option to prevent the binlogd daemon from creating
an inet port. If you specify the -r and -R options
together, the last one specified takes precedence. Prevents
the binlogd daemon from creating an inet port. Using
the -R option prevents all remote access. Remote systems
cannot send messages to be logged locally, and the local
daemon cannot send messages to be logged remotely. If you
specify the -r and -R options together, the last one specified
takes precedence. Prevents the binlogd daemon from
running the binex utility on startup. If this option is
not specified, the daemon uses binex -w to validate the
error log and to remove any invalid data that may have
been appended to the file if the previous sesssion ended
with a system panic or a power failure. See binex(8) for
more information.
The binlogd daemon logs binary event records to the files
specified in the /etc/binlog.conf configuration file.
Each binary event record includes an event class and
severity code, which are described in the
/usr/sys/include/dec/binlog/*.h header file. The binlogd
daemon reads from the /dev/kbinlog special device and from
the Internet domain socket specified in the /etc/services
file. The binlogd daemon is configured when it starts up
and when it receives a hangup signal.
The /etc/binlog.conf file contains entries that specify
the event class, the severity level, and the destination
to which the binlogd daemon sends the messages. Each line
of the /etc/binlog.conf file contains an entry.
The event class and the severity level are separated by a
period (.). The event class and severity level are separated
from the destination by one or more tabs or spaces.
Blank lines and lines beginning with a # (number sign) are
ignored.
If you specify an asterisk (*) for an event class or
severity level, all event classes or all severity levels
are selected. The event class is specified as a decimal
number. The available class codes are specified in the
/usr/sys/include/dec/binlogd.h header file.
You can specify the following severity levels: Specifies
events that cannot be recovered and that are usually fatal
to system operation. Specifies events that either can be
recovered or cannot be recovered but are not fatal to system
operation. Specifies informational messages.
The destination for the messages can be either the full
pathname of a local file or the name of a remote system.
The remote host must be known to the system. You specify
a remote system as follows: @host
For security reason, logging of messages forwarded from
remote hosts is by default turned off. To configure a
local host for accepting binlog messages from remote
hosts, you must become the superuser (root) and manually
create the /etc/binlog.auth file using a text editor on
the local host.
The /etc/binlog.auth file specifies which remote hosts are
allowed to forward binlog messages to the local host.
Unless the domain host name of a remote host is given in
the local /etc/binlog.auth file, the local host will not
log any binlog messages from that remote host. See binlog.auth(8) for details.
Operational timestamp (310) events are not forwarded to a
remote daemon.
You can specify dumpfile instead of an event class and
severity level to identify the pathname of the file that
will contain the kernel binary event-log buffer, which the
savecore command recovers from a system dump.
The default /etc/binlog.conf file causes the binlogd daemon
to create a binary event-log file for all event
classes and severity levels and specifies the binary crash
dump file. The following is an example of the default
/etc/binlog.conf file:
*.* /usr/adm/binary.errlog dumpfile /usr/adm/crash/binlogdumpfile
The binlogd daemon also creates the /var/run/binlogd.pid
file. This file contains a line specifiying the binlogd
daemon's process identification number (PID). Use the
contents of this file to send signals to the binlogd daemon,
as described below.
If you modify the daemon's configuration file, you must
instruct the daemon to re-read it. To reconfigure the
daemon, send it a SIGHUP signal as follows: kill -HUP `cat
/var/run/binlogd.pid`
Managing the Binary Error Log File [Toc] [Back]
The binary error log file contains historical information
that might be important in diagnosing system problems, and
you should generally avoid archiving or removing the file
unless it has grown excessively large. The size of the
file is reported to the Event Manager (EVM) every night
and you can monitor its growth rate using the following
EVM command: # evmget -f '[name *.binlog_chan]' -A -t
"@timestamp @@" 29-Mar-2001 02:00:01 binlog channel:
Binary error log size is 0.3 Mbytes 30-Mar-2001 02:00:00
binlog channel: Binary error log size is 0.3 Mbytes
31-Mar-2001 02:00:00 binlog channel: Binary error log
size is 0.3 Mbytes 01-Apr-2001 02:00:00 binlog channel:
Binary error log size is 0.3 Mbytes 02-Apr-2001 02:00:00
binlog channel: Binary error log size is 0.3 Mbytes
03-Apr-2001 02:00:00 binlog channel: Binary error log
size is 0.3 Mbytes 04-Apr-2001 02:00:00 binlog channel:
Binary error log size is 0.3 Mbytes 05-Apr-2001 02:00:00
binlog channel: Binary error log size is 0.3 Mbytes
If it becomes necessary to clean up the binary error logs,
use the procedures described below.
The binary.errlog file is a symbolic link to:
../cluster/members/{memb}/adm/binary.errlog
This symbolic link is a CDSL (Context Dependent Symbolic
Link) and must not be deleted. (See the System Administration
manual and hier(5) reference page for more information
on CDSLs.)
The archive procedure overwrites any existing logfile
copies in /usr/var/cluster/members/{memb}/adm/binlog.saved.
The /usr/adm/binlog.saved directory is a symbolic
link to /usr/var/cluster/members/{memb}/adm/binlog.saved
and must not be deleted. If you want to keep
previous log files, you must either rename them first, or
move them to another location. Compress saved log files
to save disk space.
After saving any existing archived logs, use the following
command to archive the current log: # kill -USR1 `cat
/var/run/binlogd.pid`
The preceding command copies the current log file to the
following location:
/usr/var/cluster/members/{memb}/adm/binlog.saved/binary.errlog.saved
A new version of the binary.errlog log file is then created.
If you prefer an automated cleanup approach, become the
root user (superuser) and run the crontab -e command to
uncomment the following crontab entry by removing the #
character from the start of the line:
#0 2 1 * * kill -USR1 `cat /var/run/binlogd.pid`
See the crontab(1) reference page for more information.
When implemented, this crontab entry will do the following:
Run at 2:00 AM on the first day of every month Automatically
rename the current log file to be:
/usr/var/cluster/members/{memb}/adm/binlog.saved/binary.errlog.saved
Start a new copy of
the log file, /usr/adm/binary.errlog.
Note that the saved log file overwrites the previous version,
so you should add a line to crontab to copy the
existing saved file if you want to preserve it. Using
this crontab entry means that the current and saved version
combined will preserve up to two months of log
records. Regular backups and a restore are required in
order to reconstruct older binary error logs. The crontab
entry can also be modified to adjust the frequency of the
automatic cleanup.
Examining the Event-Log File [Toc] [Back]
In previous releases, the uerf event report formatter was
used to translate the binary event-log file to ASCII text.
For this release, a number of options are available as
described in the following sections. It is recommended
that you migrate from uerf to one of these solutions: Compaq
Analyze is a reporting tool primarily designed to be
used with EV6 and later model processors. Use the psrinfo
-v command to determine your processor model. Refer to
ca(8) and the Compaq Analyze documentation for information
on installation and use. Refer to dia(8) and the DECevent
documentation for information on the DECevent Translation
and Reporting Utility. binlog is also a channel that is
read by the Event Management utility (EVM). Messages are
converted to EVM events and notified to the EVM daemon.
Refer to the EVM(5) reference page and System Administration
for more information on event management. The
sys_check(8) utility uses translation and reporting tools
to read system error files such as the binary.errlog and
binary.errlog.saved.
Using the Mailbox Programming Interface [Toc] [Back]
Processes on the local system can connect to the binlogd
daemon by using a local known socket (/dev/binlogdmb).
This socket is referred to as a mailbox. When a process
establishes a mailbox connection it receives the binary
event records processed by the binlogd daemon. The libbinlog.a
library provides a set of routines that you can
use to access the mailbox. Refer to the descriptions in
the /usr/sys/include/dec/binlog/*.h header file for information
on using the mailbox programming interface.
Command path. Binary configuration file. Specifies the
remote hosts that are allowed to forward messages to the
local host. Process identification number. Name of the
mailbox socket. Kernel log device. The default location
for saved copies of the log.
Commands: binex(8), ca(8), cron(8), dia(8), logger(1),
psrinfo(1), savecore(8), sys_check(8), uerf(8)
Others: EVM(5), hier(5)
System Administration
binlogd(8)
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