What is "syslog"

Syslog is a standard created by the IETF for the transmission of log messages on IP networks. The term is usually used to identify both the network protocol and the application or messaging library in the syslog protocol. The syslog protocol is very simplistic: the sender sends a small text message (less than 1024 bytes) to the recipient (also called "syslogd", "syslog service" or "syslog server"). Such messages can be sent either by UDP or by TCP. The content of the message can be pure or encoded by SSL. The syslog protocol is typically used in computer management and systems security audit. Because it is supported by a wide variety of devices across multiple platforms, the protocol can be used to integrate different systems into a single data repository.