loggen - Generate syslog messages at a specified rate

NAME Synopsis Description Options Examples Files AUTHOR COPYRIGHT NOTES

NAME

loggen −−− Generate syslog messages at a specified rate

NOTE: The loggen application is distributed with the syslog−ng OSE system logging application, and is usually part of the syslog−ng OSE package. The latest version of the syslog−ng OSE application is available at the syslog−ng OSE page.

This manual page is only an abstract.

The loggen application is a tool to test and stress−test your syslog server and the connection to the server. It can send syslog messages to the server at a specified rate using a number of connection types and protocols, including TCP, UDP, and unix domain sockets. The messages can be generated automatically (repeating the PADDstring over and over), or read from a file or the standard input.

When loggen finishes sending the messages, it displays the following statistics:

	•		average rate: The average rate of the sent messages in messages/second.
	•		count: The total number of messages sent.
	•		time: The time required to send the messages in seconds.
	•		average message size: The average size of the sent messages in bytes.
	•		bandwidth: The average bandwidth used for sending the messages in kilobytes/second.

Options

•

−−active−connections <number−of−connections>

Number of connections loggen will use to send messages to the destination. This option is usable only when using TCP or TLS connections to the destination. Default value: 1

The loggen utility waits until every connection is established before starting to send messages. See also the −−idle−connections option.

•

−−csv or −C

Send the statistics of the sent messages to stdout as CSV. This can be used for plotting the message rate.

•

−−dgram or −D

Use datagram socket (UDP or unix−dgram) to send the messages to the target. Requires the −−inet option as well.

•

dont−parse or −d

Do not parse the lines read from the input files, send them as received.

•

−−help or −h

Display a brief help message.

•

−−idle−connection <number−of−connections>

Number of idle connections loggen will establish to the destination. Note that loggen will not send any messages on idle connections, but the connection is kept open using keep−alive messages. This option is usable only when using TCP or TLS connections to the destination. See also the −−active−connections option. Default value: 0

•

−−inet or −i

Use the TCP (by default) or UDP (when used together with the −−dgram option) protocol to send the messages to the target.

•

−−interval <seconds> or −I <seconds>

The number of seconds loggen will run. Default value: 10

NOTE: When −−interval and −−number are used together, loggen will send messages until the period set in −−interval expires or the amount of messages set in −−number is reached, whichever happens first.

•

−−ipv6 or −6

Specify the destination using its IPv6 address. Note that the destination must have a real IPv6 address.

•

−−loop−reading or −l

Read the file specified in −−read−file option in loop: loggen will start reading from the beginning of the file when it reaches the end of the file.

•

−−number <number−of−messages> or −n <number−of−messages>

Number of messages to generate.

•

−−no−framing or −F

Do not use the framing of the IETF−syslog protocol style, even if the −−syslog−proto option is set.

•

−−quiet or −Q

Display statistics only when loggen is finished. If not set, the statistics are displayed every second.

•

−−permanent or −T

Keep sending logs indefinitely, without time limit.

•

−−rate <message/second> or −r <message/second>

The number of messages generated per second for every active connection. Default value: 1000

If you want to change the message rate while loggen is running, send SIGUSR1 to double the message rate, or SIGUSR2 to halve it:

kill −USR1 <loggen−pid>kill −USR2 <loggen−pid>

•

−−read−file <filename> or −R <filename>

Read the messages from a file and send them to the target. See also the −−skip−tokens option.

Specify − as the input file to read messages from the standard input (stdio). Note that when reading messages from the standard input, loggen can only use a single thread. The −R −parameters must be placed at end of command, like: loggen 127.0.0.1 1061 −−read−file −

•

−−sdata <data−to−send> or −p <data−to−send>

Send the argument of the −−sdata option as the SDATA part of IETF−syslog (RFC−5424 formatted) messages. Use it together with the −−syslog−proto option. For example: −−sdata \"[test name=\\"value\\"]

•

−−size <message−size> or −s <message−size>

The size of a syslog message in bytes. Default value: 256. Minimum value: 127 bytes, maximum value: 8192 bytes.

•

−−skip−tokens <number>

Skip the specified number of space−separated tokens (words) at the beginning of every line. For example, if the messages in the file look like foo bar message, −−skip−tokens 2 skips the foo bar part of the line, and sends only the message part. Works only when used together with the −−read−file parameter. Default value: 0

•

−−stream or −S

Use a stream socket (TCP or unix−stream) to send the messages to the target.

•

−−syslog−proto or −P

Use the new IETF−syslog message format. By default, loggen uses the legacy BSD−syslog message format. See also the −−no−framing option.

•

−−unix </path/to/socket> or −x </path/to/socket>

Use a UNIX domain socket to send the messages to the target.

•

−−use−ssl or −U

Use an SSL−encrypted channel to send the messages to the target. Note that it is not possible to check the certificate of the target, or to perform mutual authentication.

•

−−version or −V

Display version number of syslog−ng.

Examples

The following command generates 100 messages per second for ten minutes, and sends them to port 2010 of the localhost via TCP. Each message is 300 bytes long.

loggen −−size 300 −−rate 100 −−interval 600 127.0.0.1 2010

The following command is similar to the one above, but uses the UDP protocol.

loggen −−inet −−dgram −−size 300 −−rate 100 −−interval 600 127.0.0.1 2010

Send a single message on TCP6 to the ::1 IPv6 address, port 1061:

loggen −−ipv6 −−number 1 ::1 1061

Send a single message on UDP6 to the ::1 IPv6 address, port 1061:

loggen −−ipv6 −−dgram −−number 1 ::1 1061

Send a single message using a unix domain−socket:

loggen −−unix −−stream −−number 1 </path/to/socket>

Read messages from the standard input (stdio) and send them to the localhost:

loggen 127.0.0.1 1061 −−read−file −

Files

/usr/bin/loggen

NOTE: If you experience any problems or need help with syslog−ng OSE, see the syslog−ng OSE Administration Guide[1], or visit the syslog−ng OSE mailing list[2]. For news and notifications about syslog−ng OSE, visit the syslog−ng OSE blogs[3].

[3] syslog−ng OSE blogs
⟨https://syslog-ng.com/blog/⟩

Updated 2026-06-01 - jenkler.se | uex.se