Syslog Facility and Priority Reference

Overview

Syslog is a standard protocol for transmitting log messages from network devices and systems. Each syslog message indicates priority through a combination of Facility and Severity, which is calculated as a PRI constant value.

PRI Constant Value Calculation Method

The PRI constant value is calculated using the following formula:

PRI = Facility × 8 + Severity

Calculation Example

  • Facility: 16 (local0)
  • Severity: 6 (info)
  • PRI Constant Value: 16 × 8 + 6 = 134

Facility Codes

CodeFacilityDescription
0kernKernel messages
1userUser-level messages
2mailMail system
3daemonSystem daemons
4authSecurity/authorization messages
5syslogMessages generated internally by syslogd
6lprLine printer subsystem
7newsNetwork news subsystem
8uucpUUCP subsystem
9clockClock daemon
10authprivSecurity/authorization messages
11ftpFTP daemon
12ntpNTP subsystem
13auditLog audit
14alertLog alert
15solaris-cronClock daemon (Solaris)
16local0Local use facility 0
17local1Local use facility 1
18local2Local use facility 2
19local3Local use facility 3
20local4Local use facility 4
21local5Local use facility 5
22local6Local use facility 6
23local7Local use facility 7

Severity Codes

CodeSeverityDescription
0emergEmergency: system is unusable
1alertAlert: action must be taken immediately
2critCritical: critical conditions
3errorError: error conditions
4warnWarning: warning conditions
5noticeNotice: normal but significant condition
6infoInformational: informational messages
7debugDebug: debug-level messages

PRI Constant Value Reference Table

Facility(↓)
Severity(→)
0/Emer1/Alert2/Crit3/Error4/Warn5/Notice6/Info7/Debug
0 / kern01234567
1 / user89101112131415
2 / mail1617181920212223
3 / daemon2425262728293031
4 / auth3233343536373839
5 / syslog4041424344454647
6 / lpr4849505152535455
7 / news5657585960616263
8 / uucp6465666768697071
9 / clock7273747576777879
10 / authpriv8081828384858687
11 / ftp8889909192939495
12 / ntp96979899100101102103
13 / audit104105106107108109110111
14 / alert112113114115116117118119
15 / solaris-cron120121122123124125126127
16 / local0128129130131132133134135
17 / local1136137138139140141142143
18 / local2144145146147148149150151
19 / local3152153154155156157158159
20 / local4160161162163164165166167
21 / local5168169170171172173174175
22 / local6176177178179180181182183
23 / local7184185186187188189190191

Usage

Using in Logpresso Sonar

Enter the desired PRI constant values in the Syslog Facility List field when configuring the syslog collector:

  • Single value: 134 (local0.info)
  • Multiple values: 134,135,136 (local0's info, debug, local1's emerg)
  • All values: Leave empty.

Special Values

  • Empty value: Equivalent to entering all facility values (collects all messages)

References