1. Article purpose[edit source]
The purpose of this article is to provide information about the Linux® kernel log including configuration, and to detail usage of dmesg command.
2. Introduction[edit source]
Linux kernel is able to print log and trace messages, which are by default stored in a ring buffer.
The same messages can also be displayed, applying filter, on uart/console using serial port. This is defined in the kernel command-line, with the "console" parameter. See [1] for detail.
dmesg is a shell command on the kernel console, which also displays the content of the ring buffer, with filter or not (default).
3. printk function[edit source]
The simplest way to get some debug information from the kernel code is by printing out various information with the kernel's equivalent of printf - the printk function and its derivatives.
printk("My Debugger is Printk\n");
See elinux.org[2] for reference. This information will be sent to the console, and also stored in a ring buffer.
You can also check to the printk-format.txt[3] document provided in the Linux kernel package to get detail about syntax and formatting.
4. Linux kernel ring buffer[edit source]
The Linux kernel also manages a ring buffer to store log and trace messages.
The size of the buffer cannot be modified in runtime, and its default size value is 2^CONFIG_LOG_BUF_SHIFT bytes.
To change it, there are 3 possibles ways:
- Modify CONFIG_LOG_BUF_SHIFT value in defconfig file or use the config fragment file:
In example for 64K : CONFIG_LOG_BUF_SHIFT=16
- or use the Linux kernel menuconfig update
Location:
-> General setup
-> Kernel log buffer size (16 => 64KB, 17 => 128KB)
- Or modify kernel arguments[4] in kernel command-line (via bootargs value in device tree, or directly in extlinux uboot config file)
bootargs = "root=/dev/mmcblk0p5 rootwait rw console=ttySTM0,115200 log_buf_len=65536";
This ring buffer can be displayed using dmesg command (see dmesg).
5. Loglevels[edit source]
As reference, please see elinux.org[5].
The log level is used by the kernel to determine the importance of a message and to decide whether it should be presented to the user immediately, by printing it to the current console.
For this, the kernel compares the log level of the message to the console_loglevel (a kernel variable) and if the priority is higher (i.e. a lower value) than the console_loglevel, the message will be printed to the current console. As example, if console_loglevel=5, all messages with log level 0 to 4 will be displayed.
Please note that all messages with loglevel lower or equal to KERN_INFO level are stored in the ring buffer.
5.1. loglevels values[edit source]
| Name | String | Meaning | alias functions | dev alias function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KERN_EMERG | "0" | Emergency messages, system is about to crash or is unstable | pr_emerg | dev_emerg |
| KERN_ALERT | "1" | Something bad happened and action must be taken immediately | pr_alert | dev_alert |
| KERN_CRIT | "2" | A critical condition occurred like a serious hardware/software failure | pr_crit | dev_crit |
| KERN_ERR | "3" | An error condition, often used by drivers to indicate difficulties with the hardware | pr_err | dev_err |
| KERN_WARNING | "4" | A warning, meaning nothing serious by itself but might indicate problems | pr_warning | dev_warn |
| KERN_NOTICE | "5" | Nothing serious, but notably nevertheless. Often used to report security events | pr_notice | dev_notice |
| KERN_INFO | "6" | Informational message e.g. startup information at driver initialization | pr_info | dev_info |
| KERN_DEBUG | "7" | Debug messages | pr_debug, pr_devel if DEBUG is defined | dev_dbg |
Important: please note that Higher priority message is loglevel 0
5.2. Set loglevel filter value for console[edit source]
5.2.1. Default values[edit source]
To determine your current console_loglevel on the target you can verifiy with the following command:
cat /proc/sys/kernel/printk 7 4 1 7 current default_msg minimum default_console
The first integer shows you the current console_loglevel; the second the default log level, see Use loglevel in the kernel source for log and trace.
This is defined at compilation:
- - Current console loglevel via CONFIG_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_DEFAULT=7 (defined in file lib/Kconfig.debug)
- - Default message loglevel via CONFIG_MESSAGE_LOGLEVEL_DEFAULT=4 (defined in file lib/Kconfig.debug)
- - Minimum console loglevel via #define CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_MIN 1 (defined in file include/linux/printk.h)
- - Default console loglevel is equal to CONFIG_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_DEFAULT
5.2.2. Using kernel command-line[edit source]
The console loglevel can be also set via a kernel command-line parameter if you want to use a different value than one specify by CONFIG_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_DEFAULT.
For example:
root=/dev/mmcblk0p5 rootwait rw console=ttySTM0,115200 loglevel=4
In that case only messages with a higher priority than KERN_WARNING (means < 4, KERN_EMERG to KERN_ERR ) will be displayed on the console.
2 ways to add this command-line parameter which is set in the extlinux.conf file of boot partition:
- If using SD card, this is possible to edit the file on host PC:
Insert SD card on host PC Check for mounting boot partition (i.e. /media/$USER/bootfs) Check for your HW config (i.e. booting on mmc0 (SD Card) with ev1 board) cd /media/$USER/bootfs/mmc0_stm32mp157c-ev1_extlinux/ gedit extlinux.conf Add loglevel=8 at the end of APPEND line Save and insert SD card on the board
- If using SD Card or eMMC, this is possible to edit the file directly on the board side:
When software is boot
Mount boot partition
mount /dev/mmcblk0p4 /boot (if not already done)
Update the kernel command line
cd /boot
cd mmc0_stm32mp157c-ev1_extlinux (case SD card on ev1 board)
Modify extlinux.conf to add loglevel=8 at the end of APPEND line by using ‘vi’ editor
Save and reboot the board
5.2.3. Using sysfs in runtime[edit source]
To change your current console_loglevel simply write to this file:
echo <loglevel> > /proc/sys/kernel/printk
or using dmesg command.
As example:
echo 8 > /proc/sys/kernel/printk # Temporary increase loglevel to display messages up to loglevel 8
- In that case, every kernel messages will appear on your console, as all priority higher than 8 (lower loglevel values) will be displayed.
Please note that after reboot, this configuration is reset.
[edit source]
As values are defined first at compilation step, this is also possible to set them (CONFIG_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_DEFAULT and CONFIG_MESSAGE_LOGLEVEL_DEFAULT) using the Linux kernel Menuconfig tool (Menuconfig or how to configure kernel):
Symbol: CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_DEFAULT [=7] Location: Kernel hacking ---> printk and dmesg options ---> (7) Default console loglevel (1-15) Symbol: MESSAGE_LOGLEVEL_DEFAULT [=4] Location: Kernel hacking ---> printk and dmesg options ---> (4) Default message log level (1-7)
5.3. Use loglevel in kernel source for log and trace[edit source]
5.3.1. Using printk[edit source]
A loglevel information can be added in the printk function call, with the following syntax.
printk(KERN_ERR "something went wrong, return code: %d\n",ret);
When not present, default loglevel value is given by CONFIG_MESSAGE_LOGLEVEL_DEFAULT (usually "4"=KERN_WARNING)
5.3.2. Using dedicated functions[edit source]
In the loglevels table above, there are some alias functions pr_ and dev_.
These functions are defined to replace printk + loglevel info inside, in order to simplify syntax.
pr_err("something went wrong, return code: %d\n",ret);
dev_ functions are taken one more parameter to provide more information about current device or driver where message is coming from.
- Example for pr_info
pr_info("%s%s%s at %s (irq = %d, base_baud = %d) is a %s\n",
port->dev ? dev_name(port->dev) : "",
port->dev ? ": " : "",
port->name,
address, port->irq, port->uartclk / 16, uart_type(port));
will display information below:
[ 0.919488] 40010000.serial: ttySTM0 at MMIO 0x40010000 (irq = 41, base_baud = 6046875) is a stm32-usart
- Example for dev_info
dev_info(&pdev->dev, "interrupt mode used for rx (no dma)\n");
will display information below, including device reference automatically:
[ 1.046700] stm32-usart 40010000.serial: interrupt mode used for rx (no dma)
6. earlyprintk[edit source]
earlyprintk is a Linux kernel debug feature useful to get traces for kernel issues which happen before the normal console is initialized.
6.1. Linux kernel configuration[edit source]
In order to enable earlyprintk feature, the Linux kernel configuration must activate CONFIG_DEBUG_LL, CONFIG_STM32MP1_DEBUG_UART and CONFIG_EARLY_PRINTK using the Linux kernel Menuconfig tool (Menuconfig or how to configure kernel):
Symbol: DEBUG_LL Location: Kernel hacking ---> [*] Kernel low-level debugging functions Symbol: STM32MP1_DEBUG_UART Location: Kernel hacking ---> [*] Kernel low-level debugging functions (*) Use STM32MP1 UART for low-level debug Symbol: EARLY_PRINTK Location: Kernel hacking ---> [*] Early printk
6.2. Serial port configuration[edit source]
When enabling the Linux kernel configuration CONFIG_STM32MP1_DEBUG_UART, it configures the addresses of the UART registers to be used.
By default, on STM32MP1 boards, UART4 is used for console for Linux kernel and by extension at all boot stages.
In case the UART port is different on a new board, you must apply the following changes:
- Update value for CONFIG_DEBUG_UART_PHYS, to select the UART port for the debug console
Symbol: DEBUG_UART_PHYS [=0x40010000] Location: Kernel hacking ---> [*] Kernel low-level debugging port (Use STM32MP1 UART4 for low-level debug) (0x40010000) Physical base address of debug UART
- Update value for CONFIG_DEBUG_UART_VIRT, to define the associated virtual address to be used
Symbol: DEBUG_UART_VIRT [=0xFE010000] Location: Kernel hacking ---> [*] Kernel low-level debugging port (Use STM32MP1 UART4 for low-level debug) (0xFE010000) Virtual base address of debug UART
- Following rules to be respected for defining the virtual address:
- - The 20 low weight bits (21 in case LPAE is enabled) must be kept in order to align region size of 1MB (2MB in LPAE is enabled).
- - It must be mapped at the upper address of the vmalloc area, in order to not be overwritten by kernel which is stating from lower addresses: i.e here we select 0xFE0xxxxx
CONFIG_DEBUG_UART_PHYS: 0x40010000 /* UART4 */ CONFIG_DEBUG_UART_VIRT: 0xFE010000
- Please find below table for USART/UART of STMP32MP1:
Name Physical base address Virtual base address USART1 5c000000 FE000000 USART2 4000e000 FE00e000 USART3 4000f000 FE00f000 UART4 40010000 FE010000 UART5 40011000 FE011000 USART6 44003000 FE003000 UART7 40018000 FE018000 UART8 40019000 FE019000
6.3. Linux kernel boot command configuration[edit source]
The Linux kernel boot command must contain the command-line parameter earlyprintk.
For instance, the kernel bootargs can be modified in the following ways:
- Mount a boot partition from the Linux kernel console, and then update the extlinux.conf file using the vi editor (see man page[6], or introduction page[7] ). For example:
mount /dev/mmcblk0p4 /boot vi /boot/mmc0_stm32mp157c-ev1_extlinux/extlinux.conf
or
- Edit the extlinux.conf file by using UMS (USB Mass Storage): see How to use USB mass storage in U-Boot for details.
To mount partitions (mmc 0:microSD card / mmc 1: eMMC):
- - Press any key to stop at U-Boot execution when booting the board.
... Hit any key to stop autoboot: 0 STM32MP>
- - Then
STM32MP> ums 0 mmc 0
- - Check for the boot partition mounted on your host PC (/media/$USER/bootfs)
- - Edit the extlinux file corresponding to your setup (/media/$USER/bootfs/mmc0_stm32mp157c-ev2_extlinux/extlinux.conf
- Update the kernel command line by adding the earlyprintk parameter:
root=/dev/mmcblk0p6 rootwait rw earlyprintk console=ttySTM0,115200
Save and quit file update, and then reboot the board.
6.4. Get trace[edit source]
Earlyprintk traces are pushed automatically to the serial console defined as seen previously, and also added to the kernel ring log buffer.
7. dmesg command[edit source]
As reference, please see man page[8].
The Kernel ring buffer can be displayed using dmesg command. It will display on the console all the content of the ring buffer.
- It is possible to filter messages following the loglevels:
dmesg -n <loglevel>
In that case, only messages with a value lower (not lower equal) than the console_loglevel will be printed.
Here, <loglevel> can be a numeric value, but also a string:
Supported log levels (priorities):
emerg (0)
alert (1)
crit (2)
err (3)
warn (4)
notice (5)
info (6)
debug (7)
- As example:
dmesg -n 8 # Temporary change loglevel to display messages up to debug level or dmesg -n debug
- In that case, every kernel messages will appear on your console, as all priority higher than 8 (lower loglevel values) will be displayed.
- It is possible to clear the dmesg buffer
dmesg -c # Display the full content of dmesg ring buffer, and then clear it dmesg -C # Clear the dmesg ring buffer
8. /var/log/messages file system entry[edit source]
An other way to display the content of the Linux kernel log is to look at the content of the file /var/log/messages.
It contains general system activity messages from the start-up. It also provides useful information about origin of the message, and log level.
9. Dynamic debug message[edit source]
These messages are using the loglevel 7 (KERN_DEBUG).
Please see How to use the kernel dynamic debug article.
10. References[edit source]
- ↑ https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/admin-guide/serial-console.html
- ↑ https://elinux.org/Debugging_by_printing
- ↑ https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/printk-formats.txt
- ↑ https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.html
- ↑ https://elinux.org/Debugging_by_printing#Log_Levels
- ↑ http://ex-vi.sourceforge.net/vi.html
- ↑ http://ex-vi.sourceforge.net/viin/paper.html
- ↑ http://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man1/dmesg.1.html