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#1 2011-03-13 12:49:27
- Hyugga
- Member
- From: Santiago, Chile
- Registered: 2010-03-26
- Posts: 335
Newbie question about daemons...Sorry
After almost a year using Arch i wonder: why do i have to put syslog-ng and crond in my daemon array?
I know syslog-ng is a provides system logs, but for a mere mortal user like me who has never read a log in his entire life, do i really need to start it?
Cron is the same story... I think i'll never schedule something...xD
So, do i have to start it? KDE uses them for something? Some other applications that aren't front ends uses them? My system will crash if i don't start them?
Thanks in advance, and sorry if you notice my poor english.
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#2 2011-03-13 12:53:20
- nTia89
- Banned
- From: varese, italy
- Registered: 2008-12-22
- Posts: 1,230
Re: Newbie question about daemons...Sorry
i think:
-system logging is needed, not an optional
-cron is used also for arch job, not only user (your) jobs
+pc: custom | AMD Opteron 175 | nForce4 Ultra | 2GB ram DDR400 | nVidia 9800GT 1GB | ArchLinux x86_64 w/ openbox
+laptop: Apple | MacBook (2,1) | 2GB ram | Mac OS X 10.4 -> DIED
+ultrabook: Dell | XPS 13 (9343) | 8GB ram | 256GB ssd | FullHD display | Windows 8.1 64bit ArchLinux x86_64 w/ Gnome
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#3 2011-03-13 13:17:48
- litemotiv
- Forum Fellow
- Registered: 2008-08-01
- Posts: 5,026
Re: Newbie question about daemons...Sorry
The best way to find out is to remove them from the daemons array and see what happens, just keep a boot cd/stick around in case of any problems.
If you don't require any logging, afaik it shouldn't be a problem to disable it, i've never tried it. For the active cronjobs on your system check the entries under /etc/cron.*
ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
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#4 2011-03-13 13:43:58
- Hyugga
- Member
- From: Santiago, Chile
- Registered: 2010-03-26
- Posts: 335
Re: Newbie question about daemons...Sorry
i found three files in /etc/cron.daily: logrotate, man-db and shadow.
Logrotate has something to do with log files (useless for me right now).
man-db works with the man pages or something, it uses some rates that i don't understand (NICE, IONICE_CLASS...)
And shadow says: "# Verify integrity of password and group files". Seems useful.
I don't know if any of these are necesary...
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#5 2011-03-13 13:52:44
- Awebb
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- Registered: 2010-05-06
- Posts: 6,286
Re: Newbie question about daemons...Sorry
Let's put it simple: If you turn off the logging and create, say, in a month, a thread with a problem, the first thing you'll be asked for is "logfile plz?". If you can't provide one, because you deactivated it for no replicable reasons, you might end up scratching your head asking yourself why the hell you thought turning off the logging might bring you any benefit.
If the log daemon makes a noticable strike on your performance, you might have other leaks to worry about...
EDIT:
Oh, I forgot: I had cron turned off for a while and did not run into any problems.
Last edited by Awebb (2011-03-13 14:08:34)
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#6 2011-03-13 15:02:46
- Hyugga
- Member
- From: Santiago, Chile
- Registered: 2010-03-26
- Posts: 335
Re: Newbie question about daemons...Sorry
Let's put it simple: If you turn off the logging and create, say, in a month, a thread with a problem, the first thing you'll be asked for is "logfile plz?". If you can't provide one, because you deactivated it for no replicable reasons, you might end up scratching your head asking yourself why the hell you thought turning off the logging might bring you any benefit.
If the log daemon makes a noticable strike on your performance, you might have other leaks to worry about...
Yeah maybe you're right. So, can i background it (@syslog-ng)?
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#7 2011-03-13 15:50:56
- falconindy
- Developer
- From: New York, USA
- Registered: 2009-10-22
- Posts: 4,111
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Re: Newbie question about daemons...Sorry
Backgrounding has nothing to do with the actual operation of the daemon, only the way its started. The process to start the daemon is forked and rc.multi continues on without waiting for it to come back pass/fail. It's safe to background without fear of losing messages (the kernel message log is buffered) but I suggest you look elsewhere for ways to speed up boot time, as I suspect that's what your interest is.
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#8 2011-03-13 16:01:43
- Hyugga
- Member
- From: Santiago, Chile
- Registered: 2010-03-26
- Posts: 335
Re: Newbie question about daemons...Sorry
I suggest you look elsewhere for ways to speed up boot time, as I suspect that's what your interest is.
That is right, but also i don't like to have things i don't use.
Another thing: the "sensors" daemon is necesary??
What can happen if i don't monitor my hardware?
Thanks for all, you're really the best linux community!
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#9 2011-03-13 17:18:02
- jac
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- From: /home/jac
- Registered: 2009-05-19
- Posts: 431
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Re: Newbie question about daemons...Sorry
Another thing: the "sensors" daemon is necesary??
What can happen if i don't monitor my hardware?
Anything you have added yourself is not needed 
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#10 2011-03-13 17:38:27
- egan
- Member
- From: Mountain View, CA
- Registered: 2009-08-17
- Posts: 273
Re: Newbie question about daemons...Sorry
I removed cron for awhile because I thought I didn't need it. Turns out some useful things like NTP time syncing and locatedb updating have cron jobs installed by pacman.
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