[comp.unix.ultrix] syslog

cathy@larry.sal.wisc.edu (Cathy Accettura) (05/31/89)

We are running Ultrix 3.0 on a MicroVax II.  The problem is that if we
are running the syslog process it seems to eat cpu time.  When syslog
is running the load average never goes below 1.  Ps shows that it is
taking up alot of time.  Here is a copy of my syslog.conf

5/dev/console
8/usr/spool/mqueue/syslog

root
cathy
jones
jwp

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Cathy Accettura
cathy@sal.wisc.edu
cathy@larry.sal.wisc.edu
Space Astronomy Lab - University of Wisconsin

apt@shiner-bock.cc.uh.edu (Alan Pfeiffer-Traum) (06/30/91)

In ULTRIX 4.2 syslog(3) resolves "localhost" by invoking something
called "gethostbyname_local". In ULTRIX 4.0 (don't know about 4.1) it
had used "gethostbyname".

Apparently "gethostbyname_local" doesn't pay attention to /etc/svc.conf
and so won't use the resolver if asked. It only looks in /etc/hosts.

This means you *must* have an entry for "localhost" in /etc/hosts. And
case is significant!

I did have an entry for the 127.0.0.1 address, but the name was in the
form "Localhost.UH.EDU". Obviously the usual resolver routines can match
this name just fine; my default domain is "UH.EDU". But, this
"gethostbyname_local" atavism failed.

It's curious that a number of the usual daemons were successfully
logging to the syslog daemon before I "fixed" my localhost entry in
/etc/hosts.  I assume this means some of the ULTRIX 4.2 binaries were
built against the previous syslog(3).
-- 
Alan