Cisco IOS Cookbook, 2nd Edition

Changing the Default Log Facility

Problem

You want to change the default logging facility.

Solution

Use the logging facility configuration command to change the syslog facility that the router sends error messages to:

Router#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
Router(config)#logging host 172.25.1.1
Router(config)#logging facility local6
Router(config)#end 
Router#

The default syslog facility setting is local7.

Discussion

By default, the router will forward all syslog messages to the server’s local7 log facility. You can modify this behavior and forward all of your router’s syslog messages to another facility by utilizing the logging facility configuration command. Table 18-3 illustrates the possible logging facilities that a router will accept.

Table 18-3. Cisco logging facility types

Facility	Description
Auth	Authorization system
Cron	Cron/at facility
Daemon	System daemons
Kern	Kernel
local0	Local use
local1	Local use
local2	Local use
local3	Local use
local4	Local use
local5	Local use
local6	Local use
local7	Local use (Default facility for Cisco routers)
Lpr	Line printer system
Mail	Mail system
News	USENET news
sys9	System use
sys10	System use
sys11	System use
sys12	System use
sys13	System use
sys14	System use
Syslog	Syslog itself
User	User process
Uucp	Unix-to-Unix copy system

Tip

We generally recommend that you choose one of the “local” facilities, as these are intended specifically for this type of use.

There are a number of reasons why it can be quite useful to choose a facility other than the ...