Configuring log rotation

The AxoSyslog application does not rotate logs by itself. To use AxoSyslog for log rotation, consider the following approaches:

Use logrotate together with AxoSyslog:

• It is ideal for workstations or when processing fewer logs.

• It is included in most distributions by default.

• Less scripting is required, only logrotate has to be configured correctly.

• Requires frequent restart (AxoSyslog must be reloaded/restarted when the files are rotated). After rotating the log files, reload AxoSyslog using the syslog-ng-ctl reload command, or use another method to send a SIGHUP to AxoSyslog.

• The statistics collected by AxoSyslog, and the correlation information gathered with Pattern Database, are lost with each restart.

Separate incoming logs based on time, host or other information:

• It is ideal for central log servers, where regular restart of AxoSyslog is unfavorable.

• Requires shell scripts or cron jobs to remove old logs.

• It can be done by using macros in the destination name (in the filename, directory name, or the database table name). (For details on using macros, see Templates and macros.)

Example: File destination for log rotation

This sample file destination configuration stores incoming logs in files that are named based on the current year, month and day, and places these files in directories that are named based on the hostname:

   destination d_sorted {
        file(
            "/var/log/remote/${HOST}/${YEAR}_${MONTH}_${DAY}.log"
            create-dirs(yes)
        );
    };

Example: Logstore destination for log rotation

This sample logstore destination configuration stores incoming logs in logstores that are named based on the current year, month and day, and places these logstores in directories that are named based on the hostname:

   destination d_logstore {
        logstore(
            "/var/log/remote/${HOST}/${YEAR}_${MONTH}_${DAY}.lgs"
            compress(9)
            create-dirs(yes)
        );
    };

Example: Command for cron for log rotation

This sample command for cron removes files older than two weeks from the /var/log/remote directory:

   find /var/log/remote/ -daystart -mtime +14 -type f -exec rm {} \;