SUMMARY: Capturing console output after the fact

From: David Gunn (gunn@lardav.com)
Date: Sat Aug 19 1995 - 03:38:06 CDT


Original post:

  Hi,
  
  I would like to be able to see console messages on a remote system that have
  already been displayed. Is the console output stored anywhere on the system?
  
  The system is a SPARC2 with SunOS 4.1.3_U1.

I should have been more specific in my message. I wanted to capture output
from an application that had already printed on the console (ie it was started
from the root menu in Motif). I was hoping that the console output was stored
in a file like it seems happens with Sunview. (We used Sunview a long time
ago.)

The answer: Output from applications doesn't appear to be stored anywhere.
You can look at /var/adm/messages and the output to dmesg (both of which I was
aware) for system messages.

While investigating I ran into logger(1) which could be used in conjunction
with syslog.conf.

Thanks to everyone for their responses, and I'm sorry I wasn't more explicit
in what I needed.

Answers grouped below:

From: "Michael G. Harrington" <mgh@bihobl2.bih.harvard.edu>
From: Chris Zanelli <chrisz@ind.tansu.com.au>
From: Kevin.Sheehan@uniq.com.au (Kevin Sheehan {Consulting Poster Child})
From: Gerhard den Hollander <gerhard@jason.nl>
From: stots@elbit.co.il (Haim Stotsky)
From: Ray Smith <rcsmith@csc.com>
From: sdr@rdga3.att.com (S. D. Raffensberger 500622500 (RD))
From: nobroin@sced.esoc.esa.de (Niall O Broin x 3619)
From: Scott Turvey <scottt@nacm.com>
From: gibian@typhoon.hanscom.af.mil (Marc Gibian)
From: mel@maths.abdn.ac.uk (Mel)
From: dwillard@scires.com
From: adam@ltx.com

  syslog output is in /var/adm/{messages,syslog}; check /etc/syslod.conf to see
  where the messages went/should be going.

From: Kevin.Sheehan@uniq.com.au (Kevin Sheehan {Consulting Poster Child})
From: Scott Turvey <scottt@nacm.com>
From: dwillard@scires.com
From: adam@ltx.com

  With the kernel it can be gotten with dmesg.

From: Kevin.Sheehan@uniq.com.au (Kevin Sheehan {Consulting Poster Child})
From: sweh@mpn.com (Stephen Harris)
From: nobroin@sced.esoc.esa.de (Niall O Broin x 3619)

  /dev/console itself isn't logged (unless logged by syslog)

From: Kevin.Sheehan@uniq.com.au (Kevin Sheehan {Consulting Poster Child})

  There are logging console tools out there that take the console output and
  dump it to a file as a side effect, can't remember the name off the top of
  my head. They use the same call xterm -C (or cmdtool consoles) do to grab
  the output, then just dump it in a file.

-- 
David Gunn

Company: Larson-Davis, Inc E-mail : david.gunn@lardav.com Voice : 801-375-0177 Fax : 801-375-0182



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