Idiot lights don't tell me squat

[jeffreywhunter]

One of the annoying things about an idiot light in your car is that most people have no clue what they mean unless you happen to have a Check Engine Code Scanner to pull the codes - which tell you what you need to do - if you are a mechanic!

 

Now if you are a mechanic that code is extremely useful to diagnose today's complex systems (hmmm, perhaps they should run Linux as the OS for a car?).  So if a non-mechanic buys a scanner and pulls a bunch of codes, they know less than they did before the bought the scanner, because they don't understand what the codes say.

 

As I've been working with my little linux box, I feel like that auto owner who has a scanner (syslog), but can't tell what the heck any of it means.

 

Some syslog errors give an inkling (i.e. an IRQ conflict), but it doesn't (to the untrained eye) tell much other than there's a problem (idiot light), but most are only an idiot light to me, and I don't even know if the idiot light is something to be concerned about...or not...

 

So rather than bother everyone and post every red line in my syslog, is there a toolset or code book or established technique somewhere that can help noobs learn to interpret what the error codes in the syslog mean - and how to resolve them?  Or is this just a handed-from-one-generation-to-the-next thing...

 

Thanks...

"wanting-to-tune-my-own-engine"

[CHBMB]

That's a really good analogy, I sometimes google things from the syslog as Linux can be fairly generic and that has helped me figure out a couple of things even if the stuff I find is about a different distro, but I can't point you to any one place I use as a reference.  On the plus side, at least the "mechanics" on here work for free...

[bonienl]

... Or is this just a handed-from-one-generation-to-the-next thing...

 

My grand-dad transferred to my dad, and he in turn transferred to me ... but wait there weren't any computers in those days ... I only got wisdom 

[trurl]

I sometimes take a stab at syslogs. I probably request them more than I diagnose them just to save everyone else some time.

 

After you have seen a lot of them some of it begins to seem typical and some of it seems atypical or obviously wrong. I may have learned a few things from others comments and the occasional google search.

[RobJ]

After you have seen a lot of them some of it begins to seem typical and some of it seems atypical or obviously wrong.

And that I think is the key.  There's nothing currently available that can be taught or 'passed down'.  There's just looking at syslogs, lots of them, until you know what's normal and what's not.  Probably the biggest tip I can give is to learn what to ignore.

 

I've been told before (could be wrong though) that bank tellers are taught to recognize a counterfeit NOT by showing them counterfeits, but by making them learn money, handle and study many many good bills, so that if a counterfeit shows up, they may not immediately know what's wrong, but they will know something is not right, and then study it further.  There are a lot of little issues and strange messages in syslogs, and almost all are harmless or essentially meaningless to a troubleshooter.  You have to get used to subconsciously skipping right over them, until something strikes you as wrong.

 

Computer experience really does help though, just knowing How Things Work, because most of it Does Make Sense, at least to somebody.  Unfortunately, syslog messages come from hundreds of Linux subsystems and modules, written by hundreds of very different programmers, each of whom have their own way of doing things.  Linus is the cat herder supreme.

[JohnO]

So rather than bother everyone and post every red line in my syslog, is there a toolset or code book or established technique somewhere that can help noobs learn to interpret what the error codes in the syslog mean - and how to resolve them?  Or is this just a handed-from-one-generation-to-the-next thing...

 

This is probably a lot deeper than you want to go, but to understand what is in the syslog, you need to understand the components that send messages to syslog -- that pretty much means you need to understand Unix/Linux at a deep, under the hood level.

 

This book is (one of) the true bibles.  It's been around (and revised) for ages.  Reading the whole book really gives you a good understanding of the various technologies and how they all work together.

 

http://www.admin.com

 

 

John

 

[RobJ]

This is probably a lot deeper than you want to go, but to understand what is in the syslog, you need to understand the components that send messages to syslog -- that pretty much means you need to understand Unix/Linux at a deep, under the hood level.

 

This book is (one of) the true bibles.  It's been around (and revised) for ages.  Reading the whole book really gives you a good understanding of the various technologies and how they all work together.

 

http://www.admin.com

 

John

 

I was very interested to examine this, then discovered you have to buy the book, then saw the price!  It's a little out of my reach just now, but I do appreciate the recommendation, and hopefully will acquire a copy some day.  I know I need it.

[JohnO]

I was very interested to examine this, then discovered you have to buy the book, then saw the price!  It's a little out of my reach just now, but I do appreciate the recommendation, and hopefully will acquire a copy some day.  I know I need it.

 

Older versions are available used for a substantial savings.  I see books in the $5.00 range on eBay.  It'll still give you the 80% value for the architecture - some of the specifics have changed, but once you have the foundations, the rest you can search for on the Internet.  DNS, syslog, DHCP, IP addressing, have been around a long, long time, and at the lower levels, really haven't changed all that much over time.

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2051337.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xunix+system+administration.TRS0&_nkw=unix+system+administration&_sacat=267

 

[RobJ]

I was very interested to examine this, then discovered you have to buy the book, then saw the price!  It's a little out of my reach just now, but I do appreciate the recommendation, and hopefully will acquire a copy some day.  I know I need it.

 

Older versions are available used for a substantial savings.  I see books in the $5.00 range on eBay.  It'll still give you the 80% value for the architecture - some of the specifics have changed, but once you have the foundations, the rest you can search for on the Internet.  DNS, syslog, DHCP, IP addressing, have been around a long, long time, and at the lower levels, really haven't changed all that much over time.

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2051337.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xunix+system+administration.TRS0&_nkw=unix+system+administration&_sacat=267

Done!  Thanks!  Don't know why I didn't think of that.  Bought a 3rd edition, published in 2000, regrettable, but hard to pass at $4.50.

[JohnO]

 

Done!  Thanks!  Don't know why I didn't think of that.  Bought a 3rd edition, published in 2000, regrettable, but hard to pass at $4.50.

Cool.  The 3rd edition is the most recent (previous) edition, so once you read through that, go visit your local Barnes and Noble and thumb through the newer version to see what changed -- Or grab the free table of contents from Amazon.