using logrotate and ramlog

[Thijxx]

I've added the 'ramlog' to #Required-Start & #Required-Stop fields for a lot of daemons and with no succes at this point. This is the output when starting manually.

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root@raspberrypi:~# /etc/init.d/ramlog start
[FAIL                           Error: /var/log is in use... failed!
The list of open files: (You need to close below daemons if you want to start/stop ramlog manually)

COMMAND    PID USER   FD   TYPE DEVICE SIZE/OFF NODE NAME
rsyslogd  1937 root    1w   REG  179,2   405830 2789 /var/log/syslog
rsyslogd  1937 root    2w   REG  179,2   249542 2438 /var/log/kern.log
rsyslogd  1937 root    5w   REG  179,2    22169 3560 /var/log/debug
rsyslogd  1937 root    6w   REG  179,2   234511 3565 /var/log/messages
rsyslogd  1937 root    7w   REG  179,2     1114 1381 /var/log/bandwidth
rsyslogd  1937 root    8w   REG  179,2   408101 2437 /var/log/daemon.log
rsyslogd  1937 root    9w   REG  179,2    33440 2785 /var/log/auth.log
console-k 2273 root    8w   REG  179,2   146247   24 /var/log/ConsoleKit/history

Test result: ramlog cannot be started or stopped at the moment.
root@raspberrypi:~#

I cannot find the rsyslogd or console-k in the /etc/init.d/ directory so I can't add the Required Start&Stop for those.
What I really miss is the log for ramlog during startup. /var/log/messages doesn't show anything for ramlog.

[freemanbubu]

hum....

Can you perform a backup of your SD card (win32diskimager) and try install ramlog on a fresh raspbian install ?

If it works, you just have to backup your config files, restore your image, and compare....

[Thijxx]

I like your drastic approach but I need some time to test it this way. Maybe I'll wait till my other Pi's are delivered, I have to make three different setups then and they will all run Ramlog.

Thanks so far, to be continued!

[freemanbubu]

I suggest this drastic approach because I don't understand your problem.

Your confg files looks good, and you try a lot of combinations, so...

[Thijxx]

I've done a couple of things to remove ramlog from my Pi:

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apt-get remove ramlog
apt-get purge ramlog
apt-get clean

Reboot

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grep "ramlog" * in the /etc/init.d/

removed ramlog from all daemon config files

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updatedb
locate ramlog

The locate only finds the installation .deb file. I guess it's really gone now.
I'll give it another (last) try on this installation, do you think I've done everything to clean my Pi from ramlog?

[Thijxx]

Check it out, I got a tmpfs
future readers: check out my previous post for how I cleaned my system from all ramlog files and settings.

The virtual ram drive is 220M, that's just crazy, although it's not all allocated because HTOP shows only 40MB MEM used

Two issues:
When I ask ramlog for the status it's reporting 'stopped' and I guess that's not ok.
The memory is set to 30M in /etc/init.d/ramlog file. Is this the right file to set this?

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i@PiDev01 ~ $ df -h
Filesystem               Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
rootfs                   7.3G  3.0G  4.0G  43% /
/dev/root                7.3G  3.0G  4.0G  43% /
devtmpfs                 220M     0  220M   0% /dev
tmpfs                     44M  220K   44M   1% /run
tmpfs                    5.0M     0  5.0M   0% /run/lock
tmpfs                     88M     0   88M   0% /run/shm
/dev/mmcblk0p1            56M   17M   40M  30% /boot
ramlog-tmpfs             220M   32K  220M   1% /var/log
//192.168.0.107/Backups  928G  725G  204G  79% /mnt/NAS
pi@PiDev01 ~ $

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pi@PiDev01 ~ $ sudo /etc/init.d/ramlog status
ramlog is stopped

pi@PiDev01 ~ $ sudo /etc/init.d/ramlog start

/etc/init.d/ramlog: 470: /etc/init.d/ramlog: nfo: not found
[FAIL] ramlog: get_state error: Multiple devices running at the same time. failed!

/etc/init.d/ramlog

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### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides: ramlog
# Required-Start:
# Should-Start: $local_fs
# Required-Stop:
# Default-Start: 2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop: 0 1 6
# Short-Description: moves /var/log into ramdisk
# Description: ramlog daemon moves /var/log to ramdisk on startup and copies it back to harddrive on shutdown or restart
### END INIT INFO
                                                                                                                                                                                              
############################################################
# Ramlog default variables - please change variables in 
# /etc/sysconfig/ramlog on Fedora/CentOS systems and in
# /etc/default/ramlog on Ubuntu/Debian systems

RAMDISKTYPE=0
TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=30m
KERNEL_RAMDISK_SIZE=MAX
LOGGING=1
LOGNAME=ramlog
VERBOSE=1
CONFIGFILE=/etc/init.d/ramlog

[freemanbubu]

The memory is set to 30M in /etc/init.d/ramlog file. Is this the right file to set this?

Wrong:

ramlog config file is here:

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/etc/default/ramlog

You have to config this line (here, 10M for tmpfs), be carefull, "10" won't work, "10m" will work
TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=10m


My config file :

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#Ramlog service configuration

RAMDISKTYPE=0           #0 = tmpfs (can be swapped)
                        #1 = ramfs (no max size in older kernels, cannot be swapped, not SELinux friendly)
                        #2 = old kernel ramdisk
                        # (kernel ramdisk needs kernel parameter "ramdisk_size=" in kilobytes as default kernel ramdisk size
                        #  is usually lower than the size of the /var/log)

TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=10m    #Maximum size of memory to be used by tmpfs or ramfs.
                        # The value can be percentage of total RAM or size in megabytes - for example:
                        # TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=40%
                        # TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=100m
                        # Empty value means default tmpfs/ramfs size: TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=
                        # For more options please check 'man mount', section 'Mount options for tmpfs'
                        # (by the way - ramfs supports size limit in newer kernels as well despite man says there are no mount options)
                        # It has only effect if RAMDISKTYPE=0 or 1

KERNEL_RAMDISK_SIZE=MAX #Kernel ramdisk size in kilobytes or MAX to use entire ramdisk. It has only effect if RAMDISKTYPE=2

LOGGING=1               #0=off, 1=on
LOGNAME=ramlog          #name of the ramlog log file (makes sense if LOGGING=1)

VERBOSE=1               #0=off, 1=on (if 1, teststartstop puts detials to the logs and it is called after start or stop fails)

[Thijxx]

When I set this setting in the right configuration file ramlog stops working. So I add the 10m or 20m or 10% to /etc/default/ramlog, then I reboot, then I notice the ramdisk is gone (df -h) and ramlog didn't start.

This is crazy but the best part is this; when I remove the setting it still won't start and the ramdisk will never be created again, ever. Only after I completely remove and re-install ramlog, the ramdisk is created again. I though it might be permissions on the /etc/default/ramlog but they look ok.

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-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1202 Nov 21 10:06 ramlog  

[freemanbubu]

In ramlog website's documentation, they recommend to reboot twice after a config change.

You install ramlog from a user using "sudo", or from root user ?

[Thijxx]

I did the install using sudo.

If I set the memory size, the whole thing stops working.
Tried it 3 times and booted 3 times between every try

This is my /etc/default/ramlog

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#Ramlog service configuration

RAMDISKTYPE=0           #0 = tmpfs (can be swapped)
                        #1 = ramfs (no max size in older kernels, cannot be swapped, not SELinux friendly)
                        #2 = old kernel ramdisk
                        # (kernel ramdisk needs kernel parameter "ramdisk_size=" in kilobytes as default kernel ramdisk size
                        #  is usually lower than the size of the /var/log)

TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=30m    #Maximum size of memory to be used by tmpfs or ramfs.
                        # The value can be percentage of total RAM or size in megabytes - for example:
                        # TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=40%
                        # TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=100m
                        # Empty value means default tmpfs/ramfs size: TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=
                        # For more options please check 'man mount', section 'Mount options for tmpfs'
                        # (by the way - ramfs supports size limit in newer kernels as well despite man says there are no mount options)
                        # It has only effect if RAMDISKTYPE=0 or 1

KERNEL_RAMDISK_SIZE=MAX #Kernel ramdisk size in kilobytes or MAX to use entire ramdisk. It has only effect if RAMDISKTYPE=2

LOGGING=1               #0=off, 1=on
LOGNAME=ramlog          #name of the ramlog log file (makes sense if LOGGING=1)

VERBOSE=1               #0=off, 1=on (if 1, teststartstop puts detials to the logs and it is called after start or stop fails)

I've got a lot of things running from OpenVPN to 'Shell in a Box' and this must be the must puzzling installation I ever did..

Thanks freemanbubu, for your effort

[Thijxx]

OK.

Completely started all-over again.

Installed using sudo and rebooted 3 times after each change.
It's working now;

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df -h
ramlog-tmpfs              30M 1012K   30M   4% /var/log 

Nonetheless, when I run /etc/init.d/ramlog status it reports ramlog stopped
Maybe that's because it runs no daemon or anything and I just shouldn't use this command.

[freemanbubu]

In my case :

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pi@raspberrypi /etc/init.d $ df -h
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
rootfs          7.4G  1.6G  5.5G  23% /
/dev/root       7.4G  1.6G  5.5G  23% /
devtmpfs        117M     0  117M   0% /dev
tmpfs            24M  212K   24M   1% /run
tmpfs           5.0M     0  5.0M   0% /run/lock
tmpfs            47M     0   47M   0% /run/shm
/dev/mmcblk0p1   56M   34M   23M  60% /boot
/dev/root       7.4G  1.6G  5.5G  23% /var/log.hdd
ramlog-tmpfs     10M  2.7M  7.4M  27% /var/log
pi@raspberrypi /etc/init.d $ service ramlog status
ramlog is running...

Ramlog running fine

[Thijxx]

Ramlog is now logging everything to RAM and just deleting/dumping the data when it reboots, it's a monster!

I do not have this line:
/dev/root 7.4G 1.6G 5.5G 23% /var/log.hdd
That's the place it should write the log to but it never created the mount point, hmm..

Also, when I reboot, it only runs the second time. So every other reboot, Ramlog is not running. Which means I always have to reboot twice it's a mess.

[mcgyver83]

I'm using ramlog 2.0.0 and it startup fine. When I do a reboot or shutdown console-k daemon still use the log and ramlog isn't ablo to shutdown itselt with success.
I already add the required-start and stop ramlog entry in /etc/init.d/rsyslog but I cannot fine the relative console-k script...
Some hints?

I solved the console-k problem adding

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# X-Stop-After: rsyslog console-k

in /etc/init.d/ramlog..

Now I have:
Currently running processes (pstree):
init-+-2*[logsave]
|-rc---startpar---sendsigs---pstree
'-rsyslogd---3*[{rsyslogd}]
[FAIL] killing all remaining processes...failed

[mcgyver83]

I cannot edit my last message.
I said a wrong thing: I still have the console-k problem; console-k is still having the log open....

[Thijxx]

Hey McGyver,

Make sure you reboot TWICE after each change.

I had a lot of the same problems you encounter, but when I installed it on a clean version of Raspbian it's all working fine without any extra configuration.

You should edit the Ramlog configuration here:
/etc/default/ramlog so not in /etc/init.d/ramlog

Cheers, Thijs

[mcgyver83]

in /etc/init.d/ramlog I added the "related" daemon to stat/stop before/after ramlog daemon.
In /etc/default/ramlog I setted the size of the log tmpfs.
What you mean for "each change"?
I have to reboot twice after edit /etc/default/ramlog, twice after /etc/init.d/ramlog..?
Why with a fresh installation you have all working fine and on a normal installation there are so many issue

[Thijxx]

For the config to kick in, reboot twice. Never change the /etc/init.d/ config file. Must be some kind of boot dependency but I can't figure it out.. Feel free to post here when you find it

[mcgyver83]

I removed ramlog and reinstalled again, rebooted 3 time but I still have the

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Currently running processes (pstree):
init-+-2*[logsave]
|-rc---startpar---sendsigs---pstree
'-rsyslogd---3*[{rsyslogd}]
[FAIL] killing all remaining processes...failed

Can someone that has ramlog working fine paste here his /etc/init.d/ramlog, /etc/default/ramlog and /etc/init.d/rsyslog, please?

And what about logrotate? How can I apply it? It doesn't help about SDHC wear but it reduces the space used by the logs.

[Thijxx]

These are the configs at the Pi my Ramlog is working. If I copy them to the other Pi it still won't work but these are the right configs..

/etc/init.d/ramlog

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#!/bin/sh
#
# ramlog        daemon script that moves moves /var/log into ramdisk
#               (c) 2001,2010 Jan Andrejkovic, Licence GNU 3 or any newer GNU licence
#
# chkconfig: 2345 02 99
#
# description:  ramlog daemon moves /var/log to ramdisk on startup and copies it\
#               back to harddrive on shutdown or restart\
#               \
#               Visit ramlog homepage http://www.tremende.com/ramlog

### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides: ramlog
# Required-Start:
# Should-Start: $local_fs
# Required-Stop:
# Default-Start: 2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop: 0 1 6
# Short-Description: moves /var/log into ramdisk
# Description: ramlog daemon moves /var/log to ramdisk on startup and copies it back to harddrive on shutdown or restart
### END INIT INFO

############################################################
# Ramlog default variables - please change variables in 
# /etc/sysconfig/ramlog on Fedora/CentOS systems and in
# /etc/default/ramlog on Ubuntu/Debian systems

RAMDISKTYPE=0
TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=
KERNEL_RAMDISK_SIZE=MAX
LOGGING=1
LOGNAME=ramlog
VERBOSE=1
CONFIGFILE=/etc/init.d/ramlog

/etc/default/ramlog

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#Ramlog service configuration

RAMDISKTYPE=0           #0 = tmpfs (can be swapped)
                        #1 = ramfs (no max size in older kernels, cannot be swapped, not SELinux friendly)
                        #2 = old kernel ramdisk
                        # (kernel ramdisk needs kernel parameter "ramdisk_size=" in kilobytes as default kernel ramdisk size
                        #  is usually lower than the size of the /var/log)

TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=30m    #Maximum size of memory to be used by tmpfs or ramfs.
                        # The value can be percentage of total RAM or size in megabytes - for example:
                        # TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=40%
                        # TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=100m
                        # Empty value means default tmpfs/ramfs size: TMPFS_RAMFS_SIZE=
                        # For more options please check 'man mount', section 'Mount options for tmpfs'
                        # (by the way - ramfs supports size limit in newer kernels as well despite man says there are no mount options)
                        # It has only effect if RAMDISKTYPE=0 or 1

KERNEL_RAMDISK_SIZE=MAX #Kernel ramdisk size in kilobytes or MAX to use entire ramdisk. It has only effect if RAMDISKTYPE=2

LOGGING=1               #0=off, 1=on
LOGNAME=ramlog          #name of the ramlog log file (makes sense if LOGGING=1)

VERBOSE=1               #0=off, 1=on (if 1, teststartstop puts detials to the logs and it is called after start or stop fails)

/etc/init.d/rsyslog

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#! /bin/sh
### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides:          rsyslog
# Required-Start:    $remote_fs $time
# Required-Stop:     umountnfs $time
# X-Stop-After:      sendsigs
# Default-Start:     2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop:      0 1 6
# Short-Description: enhanced syslogd
# Description:       Rsyslog is an enhanced multi-threaded syslogd.
#                    It is quite compatible to stock sysklogd and can be 
#                    used as a drop-in replacement.
### END INIT INFO

#
# Author: Michael Biebl <biebl@debian.org>
#

# PATH should only include /usr/* if it runs after the mountnfs.sh script
PATH=/sbin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin
DESC="enhanced syslogd"
NAME=rsyslog

RSYSLOGD=rsyslogd
RSYSLOGD_BIN=/usr/sbin/rsyslogd
RSYSLOGD_OPTIONS="-c5"
RSYSLOGD_PIDFILE=/var/run/rsyslogd.pid

SCRIPTNAME=/etc/init.d/$NAME

[freemanbubu]

You have no dependency with services ramlog and rsyslog in your files, and it works fine?

Each person who install this program have different difficulties...I don't understand...

[mcgyver83]

I retried again with a fresh sd.same issue...
I'm going to uninstall ramlog...it should be a very nice utils but I cannot have it working on my rasp...

Could be a solution to use a ramdisk and move logs there? And the second step should be logrotate.

[Thijxx]

I got it to work on a fresh Raspbian installation only, it's possible to arrange somewhat of the same functionality yourself. You need to create a RAM-disc, change the LOG-file paths and create a script for the regular copy from RAM to disc.

If you try this 'manual' approach, I'll be happy to help

[mcgyver83]

Thank you for you help and helpfulness!
As soon as I try this way I will update this thread

[albundy]

Aren't you forgetting to do sudo update-rc.d ...... for every file in /etc/init.d when you change its contents?