Syslog Server

Syslog is a service that logs information from the kernel, modules, daemons and various userland applications into a central location.

VncSyslogd comes in two flavours and aims to provide an easy to use syslog server for Windows based clients allowing you to see, in real time, system events, messages, debugging information and errors and also gives a little known advantage over the built in syslog viewer in StarOS (available by pressing F9 from a ssh login) as it is not a circular log (FIFO sytle).
 

Flavour #1: A console based syslog server that runs in a 'command prompt' style window.
• This is the easiest one to use as you just run it, there is no configuration at all and provides colorized output based on the message severity.
• NOTE: Windows Vista users, you must right-click the app icon and run it as administrator as it opens a listening port below 1024.

 

Flavour #2: A GUI based syslog server
• This is the most robust version and has several configurable options that allow you to specify:
Misc Tab:
• Whether or not to save log messages to a text file, if so, where to save them to.
• Maximum screen log size allowing you to specify the maximum amount of memory to allow messages to consume.
• What to do with on screen logs when the maximum screen log size is reached (default is a circular FIFO). Logs will still be written to the disk file if chosen.
Notifications Tab
Email
• This allows you to have VncSyslogd email you when logs with chosen severity occur and is quite self explanatory
SMS
• This allows you to have VncSyslogd send a Short Message Service message to your cell phone when logs with chosen severity occur, this is self explanatory as well but please be sure to use the test feature as some cell providers have numerous SMS gateways.
• It is important to note that some cell providers may charge you additional fees for SMS messages.
• NOTE: Windows Vista users, you must right-click the app icon and run it as administrator as it opens a listening port below 1024.

Configuring your StarOS based units to forward syslog messages to either flavour of the VncSyslogd server is very easy:

1. Login to the StarOS unit you wish to forward messages from.
2. Click the 'advanced' menu then the 'remote syslog setup' submenu
3. Enter the IP address of the Windows machine running VncSyslogd
4. Click the OK button

That's it. Depending on your particular network setup, you may need to create firewall forwarding and/or allow rules.

This is a work in progress, please feel free to edit/add.