This How-To details the steps required to manage and rotate your server’s log files. A simple truth about Linux/Unix logs are that they are everywhere. Your kernel, program daemons, firewalls, etc, generate their respective log files. In fact, there are so many log files of various levels that sometimes, it can be a nightmare to maintain them. Hence, this guide is a simple step towards maintaining those log files to keep your system in check and in good health.
Log files are one of the most important files where almost all precious and sometimes unnecessary information are stored in regard to your server’s running state. For example, if your system’s security has been breached or compromised, it’s these log files which will come to your rescue to help you identity where or what went wrong.
In case if you don’t know, your Linux/Unix server is currently logging kernel and security logs in the file called /var/log/messages. Just do a simple ” tail -f /var/log/messages ” to get feel and see the actual current logs generated by various daemons running on your system.
Now if your server also has a Apache Web server or a Squid Proxy server running and you want to manage their respective logs in your own fashion, then the following information might help you out.
