Chapter 4. Configuring the systemd journal by using RHEL system roles


With the journald RHEL system role you can automate the systemd journal, and configure persistent logging by using the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform.

4.1. Configuring persistent logging by using the journald RHEL system role

By default, the systemd journal stores logs only in a small ring buffer in /run/log/journal, which is not persistent. Rebooting the system also removes journal database logs. You can configure persistent logging consistently on multiple systems by using the journald RHEL system role.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Create a playbook file, for example ~/playbook.yml, with the following content:

    ---
    - name: Configure journald
      hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
      tasks:
        - name: Configure persistent logging
          ansible.builtin.include_role:
            name: redhat.rhel_system_roles.journald
          vars:
            journald_persistent: true
            journald_max_disk_size: <size>
            journald_per_user: true
            journald_sync_interval: <interval>
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    The settings specified in the example playbook include the following:

    journald_persistent: true
    Enables persistent logging.
    journald_max_disk_size: <size>
    Specifies the maximum size of disk space for journal files in MB, for example, 2048.
    journald_per_user: true
    Configures journald to keep log data separate for each user.
    journald_sync_interval: <interval>

    Sets the synchronization interval in minutes, for example, 1.

    For details about all variables used in the playbook, see the /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.journald/README.md file on the control node.

  2. Validate the playbook syntax:

    $ ansible-playbook --syntax-check ~/playbook.yml
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    Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.

  3. Run the playbook:

    $ ansible-playbook ~/playbook.yml
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