Huge /var/log/message files

emulite · 03-30-2007, 04:49 PM

I have just had a look at the /var/log/messages files on my Centos 64 box- the current one is 2GB and the previous is 5GB (not a misprint - I was staggered). I have tried a tail and there's not a lot of activity but no programmes seem to allow me to browse the bulk of them. What can I do to stop them exceeding a resonable size that I can browse to get to the bottom of what is going wrong.

Sagebrush Gardener · 03-30-2007, 06:25 PM

Quote:

...what is going wrong.

Maybe nothing. You didn't say what services are running on this server and how often you are rotating your /var/log/messages.

If this is a heavily used server you should be rotating it daily. Check your logrotate configuration (in /etc/logrotate.conf and /etc/logrotate.d/ on RedHat - not sure where it is on yours). Rotating it daily should cut it down to a reasonable size.