ProFTPD Logging: Log Messages


Log Messages This document attempts to list the most common messages logged (either via syslog or the SystemLog file), grouped by the log level for the message.

EMERG Log Messages
There are currently no EMERG-level messages logged by proftpd.

ALERT Log Messages
ALERT-level messages are logged by proftpd when a crucial system resource (e.g. memory, CPU, file descriptors, disk space) has been exhausted.

CRIT Log Messages
There are currently no CRIT-level messages logged by proftpd.

ERR Log Messages
ERR-level messages are logged by proftpd when proftpd cannot start up because it cannot use the given configuration for some reason: no DNS resolution for hostnames, unable to listen on addresses/ports, or necessary cryptographics keys/certs are unusable.

WARNING Log Messages

NOTICE Log Messages

INFO Log Messages
INFO-level messages are logged by proftpd when common events happen: a connection session begins/ends, a user logs in, idle connections are dropped, etc.

DEBUG Log Messages
There are many DEBUG-level messages logged by proftpd. This section will be filled, over time, with the ones most commonly seen/asked about by users.

Many of the reasons for various errors/failures that appear in log messages (and elsewhere) come from the strerror(3) libc function, which provides human readable strings, given a numeric errno value. The table below lists the reason strings you may commonly see, with a fuller description of what it means.

Message Code Details
 Operation not permitted   EPERM  Indicates that the requested operation cannot be done for some reason, usually caused by misconfigurations or lack of system support/resources. Note: Some platforms (e.g. Solaris) actually translate the EACCES code to this message, which is confusing.
 Permission denied   EACCES  Means that the request operation is not allowed due to access controls: the logged-in user does not have sufficient filesystem permissions to open/read/write/delete a file/directory, the logged-in user (or client) is barred from access by configuration, etc.
 Invalid argument   EINVAL  This generic message indicates that the supplied parameters are considered invalid; the reasons behind this are myriad, depending on the requested operation.
 No such file or directory   ENOENT  The requested resource does not exist; can apply to files, directories, and other non-filesystem resources.
 Is a directory   EISDIR  The requested operation expects to operate on a file, but the requested resource was a directory, not a file.
 Bad file descriptor   EBADF  Read/write/close/delete operation on a file was requested on a file descriptor which was not already opened.
 Address already in use   EADDRINUSE  Process is attempting to listen on a network address/port which is already bound; usually some other process on the system is listening on that address (e.g. inetd/xinetd).
 Broken pipe   EPIPE  Process tried to send something to a connected TCP peer, and found out that the connection had already been closed; can happen when a firewall/router/NAT between TCP peers silently closes the connection without informing one or both peers.
 Connection reset by peer   ECONNRESET  Remote TCP peer sent the RST TCP flag, indicating that the connection should be reset; this almost always indicates an issue with the connected client (or some firewall/router/NAT device between the client and the server).
 Connection refused   ECONNREFUSED  The remote peer refused to accept the TCP connection; could be firewalls/routers/NATs in the way, other network ACLs that deny the connection, etc.
 Too many open files   EMFILE  Per-process limit of number of open files (including sockets) has been reached.
 Too many open files in system   ENFILE  System-wide limit of number of open files (including sockets) has been reached.


Last Updated:$Date: 2013-11-10 02:34:15 $

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