Logwatch is a customizable and pluggable log monitoring system that analyzes and summarizes system logs and provides a report of system activity. It is a command-line tool that can be used to monitor different types of logs, including system logs, Apache logs, mail logs, and more. Logwatch is widely used by system administrators to keep track of their system’s health and security.
Overview
Logwatch is a powerful tool that can be used to monitor different types of logs. It can be configured to send daily or weekly reports via email or to a file. The reports generated by Logwatch can be customized to include or exclude specific log entries, and to highlight specific types of activities.
Logwatch can be installed on most Linux distributions using the package manager. Once installed, it can be run from the command line using the logwatch command followed by the desired options. Here is an example of how to use Logwatch to generate a report for the last 24 hours of system activity:
logwatch --range today
This command will generate a report that summarizes the system’s activity for the last 24 hours. The report will be displayed on the screen by default, but it can also be redirected to a file or sent via email.
Logwatch can also be configured to monitor other types of logs, such as Apache logs. Here is an example of how to use Logwatch to generate a report of Apache access logs for the last 24 hours:
logwatch --service httpd --range today
This command will generate a report that summarizes the Apache access logs for the last 24 hours. The --service option is used to specify the type of logs to monitor.
Options
The following table lists the available options for the logwatch command:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
--detail level |
Set the level of detail for the report. The available levels are low, medium, high, and all. |
--service name |
Monitor logs for a specific service, such as Apache or Mail. |
--range range |
Set the time range for the report. The available ranges are yesterday, today, all, and date1-date2. |
--hostname name |
Set the hostname for the report. |
--mailto email |
Send the report via email to the specified email address. |
--output file |
Save the report to the specified file. |
--archives |
Include archived logs in the report. |
--archives-older days |
Include archived logs that are older than the specified number of days. |
--debug |
Enable debug mode. |
Troubleshooting tips
- If Logwatch is not generating any reports, make sure that it is properly configured. Check the Logwatch configuration file located in
/etc/logwatch/conf/logwatch.conf. - If the reports generated by Logwatch are too long or too short, adjust the level of detail using the
--detailoption. - If Logwatch is not monitoring the desired logs, make sure that the correct service name is specified using the
--serviceoption.
Notes
- Logwatch is a powerful tool that can be used to monitor different types of logs and generate reports that summarize system activity.
- Logwatch can be customized to include or exclude specific log entries, and to highlight specific types of activities.
- Logwatch can be installed on most Linux distributions using the package manager.
- Logwatch can be run from the command line using the
logwatchcommand followed by the desired options.