Syslog

syslog identifiers / syslog facilities
The files to which syslog writes each type of message received is set in the /etc/syslog.conf configuration file. This file consists of two columns. The first lists the facilities and severities of messages to expect and the second lists the files to which they should be logged. By default, RedHat/Fedora's /etc/syslog.conf file is configured to put most of the messages in the file /var/log/messages. Here is a sample:

.info;mail.none;authpriv.none;cron.none          /var/log/messages

Levels
0 - emerg - almost dead :p

1 - alert - act now!

2 - critical - getting worse

3 - error - the regular ones

4 - warning - just warning you

5 - notice - just telling you

6 - info - if you want to know more

7 - debug - for the freaks