rsyslog For Linux

rsyslog is an open source command-line software, a daemon that provides an enhanced and multi-threaded version of the old syslogd utility. Actually, it’s a drop-in replacement for original syslogd, suitable for all GNU/Linux operating systems. Its name is an acronym from rocket-fast system for log processing.

Key features include a modular design, support for on-demand disk buffering, email alerting, on-the-wire message compression, support for all GNU/Linux operating systems, support for mainstream architectures, state-of-the-art security, high-performance, as well as the ability to convert text files to the syslog format.

Among other features we can mention multi-threading support, the ability to filter any part of a syslog message, and support for syslog over the TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), TLS (Transport Layer Security), SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and RELP (Reliable Event Logging Protocol) protocols.

The program supports the MySQL, Oracle and PostgreSQL database servers, provides a fully configurable output format, and it is suitable for enterprise-class relay chains. It is dubbed by its developers as a swiss army knife of logging.

When limited processing is in effect, the rsyslog software is capable of delivering over one million messages per second to local destinations. Remote destinations are also supported and rsyslog those a stunning good job.

To use the application, you will have to first install it on your GNU/Linux system, either by using the universal sources archive distributed for free on Softpedia or the pre-built binary packages from the default software repositories of your distribution.

After installation, you can start the rsyslog daemon by running the “rsyslogd” command (without quotes) in a terminal emulator, follow by one of the available options. To see the supported options, run the “rsyslogd --help” command, without quotes.