BOS_GETLOG(8)

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💖 BOS_GETLOG — bestie's guide to yeeting log files onto your screen 💖

Okay so real quick, this is bos_getlog from section 8 of the AFS Command Reference (BOS_GETLOG(8), ugh, iconic) — and it's literally the "show me the receipts" command for OpenAFS servers. Let's get into it. 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

bos_getlog — prints a server process's log file 🎀 no big deal, just your fave little log-fetching bestie

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

bos getlog -server <machine name> -file <log file to examine>
    [-cell <cell name>] [-noauth] [-localauth] [-help]

bos getl -s <machine name> -f <log file to examine>
    [-c <cell name>] [-n] [-l] [-h]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So like, bos getlog dumps the log file you asked for straight onto the standard output stream, and it pulls it from the machine you named with the -server argument. 💅

Now here's the lowkey important part: the BOS Server grabs that log file from the /var/log/openafs directory, unless you snuck an alternate pathname into the -file argument. Then it goes wherever you said. periodt. 👑

😭 CAUTIONS 😭 (read this, fr fr)

Log files can get BIG. Like, unhinged big. Especially the ones for the database server processes. 💀 To keep them at a manageable size, you gotta periodically either:

  • use the UNIX rm command to truncate each log file, or
  • use the bos restart command to restart each process.
⚠️ Heads up bestie: it can take up to five minutes after the file is removed or the process is restarted for the space occupied by a log file to actually become available. Not instant. Don't @ me.

💅 OPTIONS 💅

  • -server <machine name> — Tells it which server machine to yoink the log file from. You can identify the machine by IP address or by host name (fully-qualified, or abbreviated as long as it's unambiguous). For the deets, go see bos(8).
  • -file <log file to examine> — Names the log file you want displayed. If you give just a filename, the BOS Server fetches it from the /var/log/openafs directory, and the standard values are:
    • AuthLog — The Authentication Server (kaserver) log file.
    • BackupLog — The Backup Server (buserver) log file.
    • BosLog — The BOS Server (bosserver) log file.
    • FileLog — The File Server (fileserver) log file.
    • PtLog — The Protection Server (ptserver) log file.
    • SalvageLog — The Salvager (salvager) log file.
    • VLLog — The Volume Location (VL) Server (vlserver) log file.
    • VolserLog — The Volume Server (volserver) log file.

If you give a pathname and a filename, the log file gets retrieved from the directory you indicated. And partial pathnames? They're interpreted relative to the /var/log/openafs directory. 🌈

  • -cell <cell name> — Names the cell in which to run the command. Do not combine this argument with the -localauth flag. More details in bos(8). 🙈
  • -noauth — Assigns the unprivileged identity "anonymous" to the issuer. Do not combine this flag with the -localauth flag. More details in bos(8).
  • -localauth — Constructs a server ticket using a key from the local /etc/openafs/server/KeyFile file. The bos command interpreter presents the ticket to the BOS Server during mutual authentication. Do not combine this flag with the -cell or -noauth options. More details in bos(8). 🔥
  • -help — Prints the online help for this command. Every other valid option gets ignored. Bye. 👋

📜 OUTPUT 📜

The output is preceded by the line:

Fetching log file '<filename>'...

And the rest of the output? Depends entirely on the particular log file. It's giving mystery. ✨

🍓 EXAMPLES 🍓

Here's one displaying the FileLog file from the machine "fs3.example.com":

% bos getlog -server fs3.example.com -file FileLog
Fetching log file 'FileLog'...
Sun Nov  8 04:00:34 1998 File server starting
Sun Nov  8 04:00:39 1998 Partition /vicepa:  attached 21 volumes;
                        0 volumes not attached
Sun Nov  8 04:00:40 1998 File Server started Sun Nov  8 04:00:40
                        1998
Mon Nov  9 21:45:06 1998 CB: RCallBack (zero fid probe in host.c)
                        failed for host 28cf37c0.22811

👑 PRIVILEGE REQUIRED 👑

The issuer must be listed in the /etc/openafs/server/UserList file on the machine named by the -server argument. OR they must be logged onto a server machine as the local superuser "root" if the -localauth flag is included. 🤝

Also, when a server is in restricted mode, bos getlog -file may only specify files from the logs directory. That's the rule, no cap. 🚫

🧚 SEE ALSO 🧚

IBM Corporation 2000. <http://www.ibm.com/> All Rights Reserved.

This documentation is covered by the IBM Public License Version 1.0. It was converted from HTML to POD by software written by Chas Williams and Russ Allbery, based on work by Alf Wachsmann and Elizabeth Cassell.

okay that's the whole thing bestie, you ate that 💖✨

This was OpenAFS, version dated 2026-07-27, manual page BOS_GETLOG(8) — and yes she served, as always. 🎀🦋 mwah.

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