Supplying Useful Information
- Kelli Higdon
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Introduction
In order to be helpful we require data. The data needs to be balanced between useful and concise. Too much useless information can be as bad as no information at all. This guide aims to provide information that will allow users to provide useful and concise information. Please note your log locations may vary based on your distribution of choice
Where is the information at
Log files
Much of the information we need will be contained within various log files. Note that logs may be rotated out so file names may be followed by a dash(-) or a dot(.) with a number such as the date.
Some of these logs may depend on your version and log configuration
Log | Description |
|---|---|
/var/log/asterisk/full | All log levels dump here. Usually this is the log you will look at for old call traces |
/var/log/asterisk/fail2ban | Fail2ban log |
/var/log/asterisk/freepbx.log | Messages put out by FreePBX modules |
/var/log/asterisk/freepbx_security.log | FreePBX Security events |
/var/log/httpd/access_log | Apache Access logs. |
/var/log/httpd/error_log | Apache Error logs |
/var/log/messages | Linux system log |
/var/log/dmesg | Kernel level messages |
/var/log/yum.log | Package activities processed through yum. |
Filtering the Data
Some of these log files will have thousands of lines of data. People are more likely to look at 50 log lines than they are to look at 500. If we can reduce the output we should.
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NOTE THAT EVERYONE WHO MAY SEE INFORMATION YOU POST PUBLICLY IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. BE SURE TO REMOVE ANY PRIVATE AND IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
Passwords
Phone numbers
Public IP addresses
Extension numbers
It may still be desirable to differentiate the information so you should replace this information with something unique to the item. See the following example
ORIGINAL | REPLACEMENT |
|---|---|
$up3r$ecur3P@$$w0rd | PASSWORD |
203.0.113.1 | AAA.A.AAA.A |
203.0.113.12 | |
2013 | NNNN |
2014 | OOOO |
6025551212 | PPPPPPPPPP |
9285551212 | QQQQQQQQQQ |
Grep
Typically to filter we use grep. With grep we can search for strings or patterns.
Finding all lines that have 1234 in the full log
grep 1234 /var/log/asterisk/full |
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Overview
The Support page in System Admin helps you prepare for receiving technical support related to your system. You can quickly and easily set up SSH keys that will give Sangoma support staff access to your server, and you can remove those keys when you no longer need them. You can also download system information files (log dumps) that you can give to the support team.
For more information on paid support options, please see these wikis:
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Logging In
On the top menu click Admin
In the drop-down menu click System Admin
In the menu at the right, click Support
Support Files
This section of the module lets you download a ZIP file containing system information for Sangoma support staff.
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Use the Yes/No toggle buttons to select which items to include in your report. Make your selections according to what has been requested by support staff. If no specific selections have been requested, you can leave everything set to default. The defaults are shown above.
FreePBX Versions:Â A list of all modules installed, and their versions
System Information:Â Operating system information
Asterisk Logs:Â The last 24 hours of Asterisk logs
Firewall Settings: Current ip-tables save output
ASTDB Dump:Â Complete ASTDB dump (not MySQL)
License Information:Â License information and status of this server
Dialplan: Complete dialplan as generated by FreePBX (including _custom files)
SIP Settings: SIP configuration settings. Will contain secret information.
PJSIP Settings: PJSIP configuration settings. Will contain secret information.
IAX Settings: IAX configuration settings. Will contain secret information.Â
After you've made your selections, click the Download button to save the ZIP file to your computer.