syslog
System logging is taken care of using syslogd, the system-logging daemon. This daemon listens for programs to send it information, which it writes to logs (or ignores) based on the contents of its configuration file. The configuration file also tells syslog where to write the log file.
Every Linux distribution comes with logging turned on. Although you can turn system logging off with no adverse affects on how the system runs, this is not prudent for several reasons, not the least of which is you'll have no records if something does go wrong with your system. All important messages are sent to the system logger.
Because the system logger is so important, it is also very flexible. One system logger can watch not only its own system, but ...
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