If we didn't laugh, we'd cry

Log Messages that Made Us Laugh

It might come as a complete shock to the casual reader, but there's a lot of humor to be found in some of the obscure messages that computers and network devices record. Here are a few of our favorites. Please send us yours, with an explanation of the message if available. We'll add them here if we're amused, too.

We support the SANS Log Management Summit 2006 (Click Here for more information)

(Bonus: Now You can download Tbird's SANS Webcast Slides)

Cisco router message:

Sep 14 03:49:48 3U:x.x.x.x %PIX-3-211003: CPU utilization for 10 seconds = 45305562%

What it means: a Cisco router under light load for 49 days experiences a wrap in a counter, which creates unlikely CPU utilization results. That is, it's a known bug.

Cisco's bug report (available to the public)

From named

Aug 2 09:01:37 box named[17820]: Malformed response from [192.168.77.66].53 (answer to wrong question)

Random bizarre UNIX syslog messages

Apr 4 10:08:44 machine.example.edu ^PA>@^O5|P^O"u(^PA>@^?^?%l: Xlib: connection to ":0.0" refused by server

Aug 26 15:11:03 machine.example.edu Job_control[9095]: root: Job_control: error 'root: unknown control request 'timebomb''

Jun 25 12:20:47 pc1h kernel: lp0 on fire

Microsoft Exchange message:

According to former student Craig Woods (AT&T Professional Services), this message is created due to improper inter-process communication. The Information Store service spawns a shell (the Service Control Manager), whose only goal in life is to start the Microsoft Exchange Directory Service. The Directory Service process has failed for some reason – the ultimate cause of the problems with the Information Store. And the Information Store knows enough to verify that the process upon which it’s dependent is up and running. But unfortunately, instead of querying the Directory Service and discovering that all was lost, it queries the Service Control Manager, which has successfully accomplished its mission. So the Information Store continues on its merry way with its own start-up process, only to fall over when it can’t get to the Directory Service.

[Optional]

Haiku. Yep, some of us spend so much time thinking about this stuff that we write haiku. Send 'em in. Other poetic forms are welcome, too, if you're so moved.

From Abe Singer:

to find intruder
I grep my system log files
/tmp: file system full

From Marcus Ranum:

my log compressed and
compressed in a while loop
hmm... disk usage zero

You might be entertained by this page of Haiku Error Messages.

It might come as a complete shock to the casual reader, but there's a lot of humor to be found in some of the obscure messages that computers and network devices record. Here are a few of our favorites. Please send us yours, with an explanation of the message if available. We'll add them here if we're amused, too.	We support the SANS Log Management Summit 2006 (Click Here for more information) (Bonus: Now You can download Tbird's SANS Webcast Slides)
*Cisco router message:* Sep 14 03:49:48 3U:x.x.x.x %PIX-3-211003: CPU utilization for 10 seconds = 45305562% What it means: a Cisco router under light load for 49 days experiences a wrap in a counter, which creates unlikely CPU utilization results. That is, it's a known bug. Cisco's bug report (available to the public) *From named* Aug 2 09:01:37 box named[17820]: Malformed response from [192.168.77.66].53 (answer to wrong question) Random bizarre UNIX syslog messages Apr 4 10:08:44 machine.example.edu ^PA>@^O5\|P^O"u(^PA>@^?^?%l: Xlib: connection to ":0.0" refused by server Aug 26 15:11:03 machine.example.edu Job_control[9095]: root: Job_control: error 'root: unknown control request 'timebomb'' Jun 25 12:20:47 pc1h kernel: lp0 on fire
Microsoft Exchange message: According to former student Craig Woods (AT&T Professional Services), this message is created due to improper inter-process communication. The Information Store service spawns a shell (the Service Control Manager), whose only goal in life is to start the Microsoft Exchange Directory Service. The Directory Service process has failed for some reason – the ultimate cause of the problems with the Information Store. And the Information Store knows enough to verify that the process upon which it’s dependent is up and running. But unfortunately, instead of querying the Directory Service and discovering that all was lost, it queries the Service Control Manager, which has successfully accomplished its mission. So the Information Store continues on its merry way with its own start-up process, only to fall over when it can’t get to the Directory Service.
[Optional]
Haiku. Yep, some of us spend so much time thinking about this stuff that we write haiku. Send 'em in. Other poetic forms are welcome, too, if you're so moved. From Abe Singer: to find intruder I grep my system log files /tmp: file system full From Marcus Ranum: my log compressed and compressed in a while loop hmm... disk usage zero You might be entertained by this page of Haiku Error Messages.