=pod

=head1 NAME

B<savelogs> Frequently Asked Questions

=head1 SYNOPSIS

A collection of frequently asked questions about B<savelogs>.

* THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT COMPLETE NOR DOES IT CONTAIN MUCH VALUE AT ALL.
PLEASE READ THE MAN PAGE FOR SAVELOGS FOR REAL ANSWERS. THIS DOCUMENT
IS CURRENTLY JUST A PLACEHOLDER FOR A FUTURE FAQ *

=head1 DESCRIPTION

=over 4

=item Q.

I don't understand the process phases (move, archive, etc.). What's
really going on here?

=item A.

Read the manual. Really. There's a brief little ditty on 'phases'
right at the top of the manual.

=item Q.

Can I archive just one log file on a regular basis?

=item A.

Sure. You have read the man page, right? You need to decide what
"archive" means for you. Some people think archive means to rename
the file and then compress it. Other people think it just means to
rename the file, etc.

=item Q.

How does savelogs behave with very low disk space?

=item A.

Savelogs uses B<tar> to archive log files and B<gzip> to compress
them (unless you specify otherwise). If you're adding logs to an
archive and then compressing that archive, you must be able to
guarantee this much disk space:

    - size of current log * 2
    - size of archive uncompressed

If this is more space than you have, consider using the 'period'
option, which will compress a certain quantity (which you specify with
the 'count' option) of individual logs. While this does not save as
much total disk space (tar files compress slightly better than
individual logs because of the added redundancy of multiple logs in
one file), it does reduce the free disk space required to save the
log files because you don't have to decompress the tar file before
adding the log file to it.

You may also add the 'count' option which will limit the number of
logs saved. By also specifying the 'size' option and running savelogs
more frequently, you can get a good idea how much total disk space
you will need for all of your logs.

To calculate how much log space you'll need, you can also set the
'size' limit so that logs only get archived if they are a minimum
size. This way you can know that the log size will be within a certain
range (you can run savelogs several times a day to get finer control
over the log size). Multiply that size plus that log compressed
(roughly 10:1) times the number of logs. For example:
   
    savelogs --size=500 --count=5 --period --conf=/etc/savelogs.conf
   
will yield:
   
    500K (approx)    log
     50K             log.0.gz
     50K             log.1.gz
     50K             log.2.gz
     50K             log.3.gz
     50K             log.4.gz
    ===========================
    750K             total logs
   
You now need roughly only 750K for your logs. Then if you limit your
user quotas, you can guarantee you never run out of space for any
reason (barring core dumps and other unforseeable acts).

=item Q.

Can I specify my own compression program?

=item A.

Yes. Use the B<gzip> directive to specify a path to an alternative
compression program like B<bzip>.

=item Q.

Can I specify my own date format when renaming logs?

=item A.

As of version 1.33 you may use the B<datefmt> directive on the
command-line or in your configuration file. B<datefmt> uses the same
arguments as strftime(1), so read that manpage.

=item Q.

Any way to "group" logs with similar settings to avoid running
savelogs so many times?

=item A.

As of version 1.90 you may use the B<Group> directive. See manpage for
details.

=back
