Which statement correctly describes how logrotate is configured on a typical distribution?
LPIC-1 Exam 102-500, objective 108. Essential system services medium
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The options
Correct /etc/logrotate.conf holds global defaults and normally includes the per-package snippets in /etc/logrotate.d.
Correct. The main file sets defaults such as the rotation interval, how many old files to keep and whether to compress, then an `include /etc/logrotate.d` line pulls in one snippet per package.
Not correct logrotate must be started as a long-running daemon, which watches log file sizes continuously.
Wrong. logrotate is a batch program run periodically, historically from a cron job in /etc/cron.daily and on systemd hosts from a logrotate.timer unit. Nothing watches the files between runs.
Not correct Rotation settings live inside /etc/rsyslog.conf, alongside the selectors that create the files.
Wrong. rsyslog.conf decides which messages go into which file; it has no rotation directives. The two tools are separate and must simply agree on file names.
Not correct logrotate can only rotate files under /var/log, because that path is compiled in.
Wrong. A logrotate stanza starts with any glob pattern of file paths, so logs anywhere on the filesystem can be rotated. /var/log is convention, not a restriction.
Why
A logrotate stanza names one or more log paths and then a block of directives: daily/weekly/monthly for frequency, `rotate N` for how many old copies to keep, `compress`, `missingok`, `notifempty`, `create MODE OWNER GROUP` to recreate the file after rotation, and `postrotate ... endscript` to signal the writing daemon so it reopens its file. `logrotate -d` does a dry run and `logrotate -f` forces rotation even when the schedule says it is not due.
Where this comes from
- Cited
- LPI exam objective 108.2
- What it says
- Understand the configuration of log rotation with logrotate.
Practise this
Reading one question is not practice. The trainer will draw a set from objective 108 and space the ones you get wrong.