Setting Up System Accounting

You can set up system accounting to run while the system is in multiuser mode (Run Level 2). Generally, this task involves these steps:

1. Creating the /etc/rc0.d/K22acct and /etc/rc2.d/S22acct startup scripts

2. Modifying the /var/spool/cron/crontabs/adm and /var/spool/cron/crontabs/root crontab files

The following table describes the default accounting scripts.

Table 9-1 Default Accounting Scripts

Purpose	Accounting Script	Man Page	Run Frequency
Checks the size of the /usr/adm/pacct log file and makes sure that it does not get too large.	ckpacct	acctsh(1M)	Periodically
Processes connect, disk, and fee accounting information. You can remove from this script the commands for the accounting features you do not want processed.	runacct	runacct(1M)	Daily
Generates fiscal accounting summary reports on a monthly basis. You can determine how often this script is run. You can remove from this script the commands for the accounting features you do not want to use.	monacct	acctsh(1M)	On a fiscal basis

You can choose which accounting scripts run by default. After these entries have been added to the crontab files, system accounting should run automatically.

How to Set Up System Accounting

1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

   Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

2. If necessary, install the SUNWaccr and SUNWaccu packages on your system by using the pkgadd command.
3. Install /etc/init.d/acct as the startup script for Run Level 2.

   # ln /etc/init.d/acct /etc/rc2.d/S22acct

4. Install /etc/init.d/acct as the stop script for Run Level 0.

   # ln /etc/init.d/acct /etc/rc0.d/K22acct

5. Add the following lines to the adm crontab file to start the ckpacct, runacct, and monacct scripts automatically.

   # EDITOR=vi; export EDITOR
   # crontab -e adm
   0 * * * * /usr/lib/acct/ckpacct
   30 2 * * * /usr/lib/acct/runacct 2> /var/adm/acct/nite/fd2log
   30 7 1 * * /usr/lib/acct/monacct

6. Add the following line to the root crontab file to start the dodisk script automatically.

   # crontab -e
   30 22 * * 4 /usr/lib/acct/dodisk

7. Edit /etc/acct/holidays to include national holidays and local holidays.

   For more information, see the holidays(4) man page and the example that follows.

8. Reboot the system, or start system accounting manually by typing:

   # /etc/init.d/acct start

Example 9-1 Setting Up Accounting (adm crontab)

This modified adm crontab contains entries for the ckpacct, runacct, and monacct scripts.

#ident  "@(#)adm        1.5     92/07/14 SMI"    /* SVr4.0 1.2   */
#
# The adm crontab file should contain startup of performance 
# collection if the profiling and performance feature has been 
# installed.
0 * * * * /usr/lib/acct/ckpacct
30 2 * * * /usr/lib/acct/runacct 2> /var/adm/acct/nite/fd2log
30 7 1 * * /usr/lib/acct/monacct

Example 9-2 Setting Up Accounting (root crontab)

This modified root crontab contains entries for the dodisk program.

#ident  "@(#)root       1.19    98/07/06 SMI"   /* SVr4.0 1.1.3.1       */
#
# The root crontab should be used to perform accounting data collection.
#
#
10 3 * * * /usr/sbin/logadm
15 3 * * 0 /usr/lib/fs/nfs/nfsfind
30 3 * * * [ -x /usr/lib/gss/gsscred_clean ] && /usr/lib/gss/gsscred_clean
30 22 * * 4 /usr/lib/acct/dodisk

Example 9-3 Setting Up Accounting (/etc/acct/holidays)

The following example shows a sample /etc/acct/holidays file.

* @(#)holidays    January 1, 2004
*
* Prime/Nonprime Table for UNIX Accounting System
*
* Curr    Prime    Non-Prime
* Year    Start    Start
*
  2004    0800    1800
*
* only the first column (month/day) is significant.
*
* month/day    Company
*         Holiday
*
1/1        New Years Day
7/4        Indep. Day
12/25        Christmas