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Getting your scripts to log to syslog Comments Off on Getting your scripts to log to syslog

A constant problem when people write scripts is that you end up with loads of different log files scattered across the file system. This brings with it the associated pain of parsing the log files, archiving the old ones, etc. etc.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could get your scripts to log to syslog? Enter logger, which is present on pretty much all UNIX systems.

At the top of your script, after defining the Korn shell (you are writing in Korn, aren’t you? You do expect your scripts to work across more than one platform, don’t you?) you can add the simple construct:


logger -p daemon.notice -t ${0##*/}[$$] |&

exec >&p 2>&1

And behold! Magical script entries in syslog – in this example, from a script called test_script running on an Origin 200 called frith:

Nov 25 17:40:41 frith test_script[17449]: [ID 702911 daemon.notice] scripty logging goodness

The IRIX manpage for logger says:

Logger provides a shell command interface to the syslog(3B) system log
routine. It can log a message specified on the command line, from a
specified file, or from the standard input. Each line in the specified
file or standard input is logged separately.

The Solaris manpage is a bit more verbose:

The logger command provides a method for adding one-line
entries to the system log file from the command line. One or
more message arguments can be given on the command line, in
which case each is logged immediately. If this is unspeci-
fied, either the file indicated with -f or the standard
input is added to the log. Otherwise, a file can be specified, in which case each line in the file is logged. If neither is specified, logger reads and logs messages on a
line-by-line basis from the standard input.

However the important thing is that logger takes the same key options and works in the same way – giving you a simple, portable way to get syslog entries from your custom scripts, cross platform.

Scripts and Tools Comments Off on Scripts and Tools

This is a collection of scripts and tools developed by us, which are freely available for download.

All scripts and tools are copyright © G.A.E. Ltd
You may distribute under the terms of the GNU General Public License with the exception that it cannot be placed on a CD-ROM or similar media for commercial distribution without the prior approval of the author.
This code is provided with no warranty of any kind, and is used entirely at your own risk.

More tools, FAQs, and information can be found on SiliconBunny, our Silicon Graphics information site.

ods_breakage.ksh

Description: Used on hosts with Solaris Disksuite volume management. The script parses metastat output and checks the status of metadevices. Any errors are collated and a status report is emailed.
Platform: Solaris
Installation: Edit the SYSADMINS variable, changing it to an email address where you want alerts sent.
Usage: Run from cron every hour, takes no command line options
Download: ods_breakage.ksh

ce_settings.ksh

Description: Sun’s Cassini Ethernet (ce) cards are available in either 100mb or 1gb versions. The same driver is used for both. Problems arise because speed and duplex settings cannot be set from within /etc/system. Instead, a configuration file must be used. The syntax is cryptic and prone to mistakes – at the worst case, a poorly written configuration file can cause a kernel panic on bootup. This script will parse /etc/path_to_inst and generate a ce.conf configuration file, forcing 100mb ce cards to 100mb/full duplex, and letting 1gb cards auto-negotiate.
Platform: Solaris
Installation: Copy the script somewhere. Edit the PATH_TO_INST and OUTPUT variables to point to /etc/path_to_inst and where you want your ce.conf to be placed (usually somewhere like /kernel/drv/ce.conf)
Usage: Once the above variables have been set, run the script. A new ce.conf file will be generated, and the settings will take effect the next time the machine is booted.
Download: ce_settings.ksh

mem_dis.ksh

Description: During performance testing on F15k domains, it was required to remove memory from several system boards to gauge relative performance when increasing CPU count, memory, and both together. Rather than physically removing the boards, this script was developed. It uses the Sunfire’s DR to unconfigured memory from selected system boards.
The operation of the script is very simple, and can be used as the basis to automate many DR commands on Sunfire machines.
Platform: Solaris
Installation: Place the script somewhere in a Sunfire domain. Must have root privileges to run.
Usage: Run the script. It will display a listing of memory on system boards, and ask you what you want to disable. Enter the details, and the script calls cfgadm to disable that memory.
Download: mem_dis.ksh

if_check.sh

Description: Before IP MultiPathing (IPMP) came along in Solaris 8, it was difficult to have 2 ethernet interfaces connecting your host to the same LAN in a failover configuration. This script pings a highly-available source (usually your default router or switch) and calls ifconfig to down an interface and up the spare if the ping fails. Your two interfaces should be connected to seperate switches for maximum availability.
Platform: Solaris, ideally pre-8
Installation: Copy the script somewhere, and run from root’s crontab every 5 or 10 minutes, depending on how much of a delay you can handle when an interface fails.
Usage: The script takes one argument, the IP address to ping.
Download: if_check.sh

clone_root_disk.ksh

Description: While IRIX comes with the XLV volume manager, the license to mirror (plex) your volumes is an expensive extra. This script allows you to clone the root disk, creating a bootable spare which is not normally mounted, allowing easy root disk recovery.
Platform: IRIX
Installation: Copy the script somewhere and run from root’s crontab. You may need to edit the disk device names to match your machine’s configuration.
Usage: Run from root’s crontab. The script takes no arguments.
Download: clone_root_disk.ksh

int_check.ksh

Description: Tired of remembering and typing in the ndd variables to check the speed and duplex settings of an ethernet port? This script automates the drudge work – just give it an interface type (hme, ce, bge) and an instance number, and it will tell you how that port is configured.
Platform: Solaris
Installation: Place the script on your host and run as root.
Usage: Run as root. It will take two command line arguments – the interface type, and the instance number.
Download: int_check.ksh

kstat_check.ksh

Description: kstat can return a lot of useful information about the state of your ethernet interfaces. However, the syntax can be confusing and difficult to remember. This script functions as a wrapper around kstat – tell it the interface type and instance number, and it will return configuration details. It’s important to note that older cards, like hme, will return less information than newer cards, like ce. This is due to driver improvements as opposed to deficiencies in kstat.
Platform: Solaris
Installation: Place the script on your host and run as root.
Usage: Run as root. It will take two command line arguments – the interface type, and the instance number.
Download: kstat_check.ksh

split.ksh

Description: This script is an example of what can be done with EMC’s Symcli tools and Symmetrix Business Continuance Volumes (BCVs). In this example, an Oracle database is running on the main Symmetrix disks. The BCVs are mounted on another host, which contains a datawarehouse. The script unmounts the BCV volumes, mirrors them to the main disks, and then splits them off again, remounting them on the host. You then have a hot copy of your live Oracle database which can be imported into your datawarehouse without any impact on the production system.
Note that there are many variables involved (volume types, hosts, Oracle database, etc.) and so this script should be taken as an example of what it is possible to do.
Platform: Solaris host with Veritas Volume Manager, connected to an EMC Symmetrix, with Symcli installed
Installaton and Usage: Don’t! Read the script, understand what it does, and then use that as the basis for your own scripts, customised for your own needs.
Download: split.ksh

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