As a follow-up to my RPM blog last week, here are instructions installing syslog-ng Open Source Edition (syslog-ng OSE) on the Debian / Ubuntu version. If you read my previous blog, skip to the installation part at the end, otherwise: read on.

The syslog-ng application is part of all major Linux distributions, and you can usually install syslog-ng from the official repositories. If you use just the core functionality of syslog-ng, use the package in your distribution repository (apt-get install syslog-ng), and you can stop reading here. However, if you want to use the features of newer syslog-ng versions (for example, send log messages to Elasticsearch or Apache Kafka), you have to either compile the syslog-ng from source, or install it from unofficial repositories. This post explains you how to do that.

For information on all platforms that could be relevant to you, check out all my blog posts about installing syslog-ng on major Linux distributions, collected in one place.

In addition, syslog-ng is also available as a Docker image. To learn more, read our tutorial about logging in Docker using syslog-ng.

Why is syslog-ng in my distribution so old?

Most Linux distributions have a number of limitations. Of course these are not limitations in the traditional sense, rather ways of quality control.

• Distribution releases are done on a schedule: after a release candidate is out, software in the distribution cannot be upgraded. This ensures that a known state of the distribution can be tested and polished, and external applications are installed on a stable base. But it also means that distributions include an older version of syslog-ng, which lags behind a few minor or major versions.
• The use of bundled libraries is often prohibited. Some functionality of syslog-ng is only available in bundled libraries, either because it requires a modified version, or requires a version that is not yet available in distributions.
• Distributions may lack certain depencencies (tools, sources) that are required to enable certain features in syslog-ng. This makes compiling Java-based destinations nearly impossible, as most tools and dependencies are missing, or have a different version than required by syslog-ng.

All of this means that syslog-ng in distributions is locked to a given version with a limited feature set from half a year to up to half a decade, depending on the release cycle. Thus, the included syslog-ng version can be five years old.

If you need a feature or fix not available for some reason in the distribution package, you can either compile syslog-ng for yourself or use one of the unofficial syslog-ng DEB repositories. Using the repositories is usually easier 

Where to find new DEB packages of syslog-ng?

We, the developers of syslog-ng maintain several unofficial repositories for different distributions. The natural question is: why are these called “unofficial”? The short answer is: these packages are not officially supported by Balabit or a Linux distribution. If you need tested binaries, commercial support with guaranteed response times and other goodies, you either need a commercial Linux distribution, which includes syslog-ng (see possible problems above), or the commercial syslog-ng Premium Edition developed by Balabit. We support the unofficial repositories on a best effort level, which is sometimes quicker than commercial support, but most often is not

Looking for RPM packages? Check my previous blog covering RPM packages.

Which package to install?

You can use many sources and destinations in syslog-ng. The majority of these require additional dependencies to be installed. If all of the features would be packaged into a single package, installing syslog-ng would also install dozens of other smaller and larger dependencies, including such behemoths as Java. This is why the syslog-ng-core package includes only the core functionality, whereas features requiring additional dependencies are available as sub-packages. The most popular sub-package is syslog-ng-mod-elastic, which installs the Java-based Elasticsearch destination driver, but there are many others as well. The command “apt-cache search syslog-ng” will list you all the possibilities.

Install syslog-ng on Ubuntu or Debian

At the time of writing, the latest syslog-ng version is 3.19 and Debian and Ubuntu packages are available on the Open Build Service at https://build.opensuse.org/project/show/home:laszlo_budai:syslog-ng . The installation steps below are for Ubuntu 17.04, but you can use them with minimal modifications in any other supported distributions, just change the URLs. You can see the list of supported distributions at the upper right side of the page, when you open the above URL.

1. Download and install the release key:

wget -qO - http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/laszlo_budai:/syslog-ng/xUbuntu_17.04/Release.key | sudo apt-key add -

2. Add the repository containing the latest unofficial build of syslog-ng to the APT sources. Under the /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ directory create a new file, for example syslog-ng-obs.list. Add the following line to this file:

deb http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/laszlo_budai:/syslog-ng/xUbuntu_17.04 ./

Run the following command:

apt-get update

3. Install syslog-ng and any of its subpackages:

apt-get install syslog-ng-core

Last year’s Christmas present to my oldest boy (2017), started to misbehave in such a way that made playing it no longer enjoyable. This GB Boy Colour, a Game Boy Color clone, likely not made with the highest quality components started to have switch problems. It either wouldn’t turn on or turn on and immediately … Continue reading GB Boy Colour Repair →

For quite some time, I have been noodling around an idea about adding a “new” Linux machine to my home with a specific purpose and requirements in mind. The primary purpose of this machine would be to enhance my organization and reduce wasted time. I also had a very specific form factor requirement for my … Continue reading openSUSE Tumbleweed on Dell Inspiron 20 3048 All-In-One Desktop →

In participating in with a virtual LUG, BDLL, I decided to give Enso OS a try, on Virtual Machine, of course. In recognizing that there can be Virtual Machine-isms, I am going to ignore any issues I had with that and just relay the overall usability of this distribution. I am evaluating Enso OS from … Continue reading Enso OS | Review from an openSUSE User →

Kmail, das Mailprogramm des KDE Projekts, kommt ja nicht alleine daher. Mit dabei ist auch ein Adressbuch, eine Terminverwaltung, ein Benachrichtigungsdienst und noch einiges mehr. Das ganze wird von Akonadi, dem dahinterliegenden Backend der gesamten KDE PIM Suite, sozusagen am Laufen gehalten.

Standardmäßig läuft Akonadi mit MySQL als Datenbanksystem, was bei mir aber immer wieder Zicken gemacht hat. Daher habe ich mich mal nach Alternativen umgesehen und bin neben SQLite bei PostgreSQL gelandet. Über SQLite und die Implementierung in Akonadi gab es leider einige negative Berichte, darum habe ich es direkt aussortiert.
Mit PostgreSQL hatte ich keine Erfahrungen, konnte es aber recht schnell einrichten. Die Anbindung von Akonadi und somit Kmail an PostgreSQL war ebenfalls einfach.

Alle Schritte unter openSUSE

Zuerst installieren wir alle nötigen Pakete für PostgreSQL und die Akonadi-Anbindung:

# zypper in postgresql-server libQt5Sql5-postgresql

PostgreSQL Server aktivieren und starten:

# systemctl enable --now postgresql

Postgres-Nutzer und -Datenbank anlegen:

# su - postgres
$ createuser <dein-nutzername>
$ psql postgres
postgres=# alter user <dein-nutzername> createdb;
postgres=# \q;
# exit

Dann richten wir – mit deinem regulären Nutzerkonto – den Datenbankzugriff einrichten:

$ createdb akonadi-<dein-nutzername>

Nun stoppen wir Akonadi und löschen bzw. verschieben die Einstellungen. Das ist besonders wichtig, falls du Akonadi schon einmal gestartet hast!

$ akonadictl stop
$ rm -rf ~/.local/share/akonadi

Die Verbindung zum Datenbankserver passen wir in der Datei ~/.config/akonadi/akonadiserverrc wie folgt an:

[%General]
Driver=QPSQL

[QPSQL]
Host=/tmp/akonadi-<dein-nutzername>.hash
InitDbPath=/usr/bin/initdb
Name=akonadi
Options=
ServerPath=/usr/bin/pg_ctl
StartServer=true

Abschließend Akonadi neu starten und du bist startklar:

$ akonadictl start

Kmail, the mail program of the KDE project, does not come alone. Also included is an address book, an appointment manager, a notification service and much more. The whole thing is kept running by Akonadi, the backend of the whole KDE PIM Suite.

By default Akonadi runs with MySQL as database system, but this has caused quite some fuss again and again. So I looked around for alternatives and ended up at PostgreSQL next to SQLite. Unfortunately there were some negative reports about SQLite and the implementation in Akonadi, so I sorted it out directly.
I had no experience with PostgreSQL, but was able to set it up quite quickly. Connecting Akonadi and Kmail to PostgreSQL was also easy.

All steps under openSUSE

First we install all necessary packages for PostgreSQL and the Akonadi connection:

# zypper in postgresql-server libQt5Sql5-postgresql

Activate and start PostgreSQL Server:

# systemctl enable --now postgresql

Create Postgres user and database:

# su - postgres
$ createuser <your-username>
$ psql postgres
postgres=# alter user <your-username> createdb;
postgres=# \q;
# exit

Then we set up the database access with your regular user account:

$ createdb akonadi-<your-username>

Now we stop Akonadi and delete or move the settings. This is especially important if you have already had started Akonadi!

$ akonadictl stop
$ rm -rf ~/.local/share/akonadi

We adjust the connection to the database server in the file ~/.config/akonadi/akonadiserverrc as follows:

[%General]
Driver=QPSQL

[QPSQL]
Host=/tmp/akonadi-<your-username>.hash
InitDbPath=/usr/bin/initdb
Name=akonadi
Options=
ServerPath=/usr/bin/pg_ctl
StartServer=true

Finally restart Akonadi and you are ready to go:

$ akonadictl start

¿Qué es KDE Connect?

 

• Recibir las notificaciones del teléfono en la computadora de escritorio y responder a los mensajes

• Controlar la reproducción de música en nuestro escritorio desde el teléfono

• Usa el teléfono como control remoto para nuestro escritorio

• Ejecutar comandos predefinidos en la PC desde dispositivos conectados. Veáse la lista de comandos de ejemplo para más detalles.

• Comprueba el nivel de batería del teléfono desde el escritorio.

• Llamar al teléfono para ayudar a encontrarlo.

• Compartir archivos y enlaces entre dispositivos.

• Navega tu teléfono desde el escritorio

• Controla el volumen del escritorio desde el teléfono.

• Implementa un protocolo de comunicación seguro a través de la red, y permite a cualquier desarrollador crear complementos sobre él.
  
  
• Tiene un componente que instalas en tu escritorio.
  
  
• Tiene una aplicación cliente de KDE Connect que ejecutas en tu teléfono.

Instalación en openSUSE LEAP 15

 

Last night, the linux.org DNS was hijacked and redirected to a page that doxed her. Coraline is doing extremely valuable work with the Contributor Covenant code of conduct, which many free software projects have adopted already.

Coraline has been working for years in making free software, and computer technology circles in general, a welcome place for underrepresented groups.

I hope Coraline stays safe and strong. You can support her directly on Patreon.

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