13.1 Finding and Gathering Information
Linux logs things in a fair amount of detail. There are several places to look when you
have problems with your system, most of which are standard to Linux systems in general and some
of which are peculiar to openSUSE systems. Most log files can also be
viewed with YaST ().
YaST offers the possibility to collect all system information needed by
the support team. Use . Select the problem category. When
all information is gathered, attach it to your support request.
The following is a list of the most commonly checked log files and what they typically
contain.
Table 13-1 Log Files
|
/var/log/boot.msg
|
Messages from the kernel during the boot process. |
|
/var/log/mail.*
|
Messages from the mail system. |
|
/var/log/messages
|
Ongoing messages from the kernel and system log daemon when running. |
|
/var/log/NetworkManager
|
Log file from NetworkManager to collect problems with network
connectivity |
|
/var/log/SaX.log
|
Hardware messages from the SaX display and KVM system. |
|
/home/user/.xsession-errors
|
Messages from the desktop applications currently running. Replace
user with the actual username. |
|
/var/log/warn
|
All messages from the kernel and system log daemon assigned WARNING level or higher.
|
|
/var/log/wtmp
|
Binary file containing user login records for the current machine session. View it
with last. |
|
/var/log/Xorg.*.log
|
Various start-up and runtime logs from the X Window system. It is useful for debugging
failed X start-ups. |
|
/var/log/YaST2/
|
Directory containing YaST's actions and their results. |
|
/var/log/samba/
|
Directory containing Samba server and client log messages. |
Apart from log files, your machine also supplies you with information
about the running system. See System Information
Table 13-2 System Information
|
/proc/cpuinfo
|
This displays processor information, including its type, make, model, and
performance. |
|
/proc/dma
|
This shows which DMA channels are currently being used. |
|
/proc/interrupts
|
This shows which interrupts are in use and how many of each have been in use. |
|
/proc/iomem
|
This displays the status of I/O (input/output) memory. |
|
/proc/ioports
|
This shows which I/O ports are in use at the moment. |
|
/proc/meminfo
|
This displays memory status. |
|
/proc/modules
|
This displays the individual modules. |
|
/proc/mounts
|
This displays devices currently mounted. |
|
/proc/partitions
|
This shows the partitioning of all hard disks. |
|
/proc/version
|
This displays the current version of Linux. |
Linux comes with a number of tools for system analysis and monitoring. See Section 10.0, System Monitoring Utilities,
(↑ Reference ) for a selection of the most important ones used in system diagnostics.
Each scenario included in the following begins with a header describing the problem
followed by a paragraph or two offering suggested solutions, available references for more
detailed solutions, and cross-references to other scenarios that might be related.
