Troubleshooting Log Files

The only real unique entity for logging on Cumulus Linux compared to any other Linux distribution is switchd.log, which logs the HAL (hardware abstraction layer) from hardware.

Read this guide on NixCraft to understand how /var/log works.

Log File Descriptions

Log Description
/var/log/apt Information from the apt utility. For example, from apt-get install and apt-get remove.
/var/log/audit/* Information stored by the Linux audit daemon, auditd.
/var/log/autoprovision Output generated by running the zero touch provisioning script (ZTP).
/var/log/boot.log Information that the system logs when the switch boots.
/var/log/btmp Information about failed login attempts. Use the last command to view the btmp file. For example, last -f /var/log/btmp | more
/var/log/cl-system-services.log Information about system services, such as switchd.
/var/log/crit.log Log messages with a critical severity level.
csmgrd.log ISSU errors and information.
/var/log/dpkg.log Information that the system logs when you install or remove a package with the dpkg command.
/var/log/frr/* Troubleshoots routing (FRR), such as an MD5 or MTU mismatch with OSPF.
ifupdown2 Information that the system logs from the network interface manager (ifupdown2).
/var/log/installer/* Information about Cumulus Linux installation.
/var/log/lastlog Formats and prints the contents of the last login log file.
/var/log/lttng-traces Information about LTTng sessions.
mstpd Spanning Tree Protocol service errors and information.
/var/log/netqd.log Information about the NetQ agent.
/var/log/nginx Errors and processed requests in NGINX.
/var/log/nv-cli.log Information about the NVUE CLI.
/var/log/ntpstats Logs for network configuration protocol.
/var/log/nvued.log Log file for NVUE.
/var/log/ptmd Prescriptive Topology Manager (PTM) errors and information.
/var/log/switchd.log The HAL log for Cumulus Linux.
This is specific to Cumulus Linux. The system logs switchd crashes here.
/var/log/syslog The main system log, which logs everything except auth-related messages.
The primary log; grep this file to see what problem occurred.
/var/log/wtmp Login records file.