Chapter 5: Status Menu
114
Viewing Event Messages
A wireless access point is a complex piece of network equipment that
includes both hardware and software components. Multiple software
features operate simultaneously, interoperating with each other and
processing large amounts of network traffic. It is often difficult to determine
exactly what is happening when an access point appears not to be
operating normally, or what happened when a problem occurred.
You may monitor the operations of the access point by viewing the
messages in its event log. The events and the vital information about
system activity that they provide can help you identify and solve system
problems.
The access point has two types of event messages:
System messages
Kernel messages
System messages, which cover a variety of events, such as
authentications of 802.1x wireless users and hardware or software
problems, are divided by severity into the following categories:
0 - Emergency
1 - Alert
2 - Critical
3 - Error
4 - Warning
5 - Notice
6 - Informational
7 - Debug
System event messages are stored in the event log on the access point
and can be viewed from web browser management sessions of the
device, as explained in “Viewing System Event Messages” on page 115.
They can also be sent to a syslog server on your network for more
permanent storage, as described in “Configuring the Syslog Client” on
page 118.
System event messages can be stored in either volatile or non-volatile
memory. Messages stored in volatile memory, the default setting, are
discarded whenever the unit is reset or powered off.
When system event messages are stored in non-volatile memory, they are
retained even when the unit is powered off or reset. This can be useful if
you are troubleshooting a problem with the unit or network. However,