Dell EMC Networking OS10 Upon Login Log Message "syslog-ng.service is not active, cannot reload" Resolution

Summary: If you see the message "syslog-ng.service is not active, cannot reload" while logging in, follow this content for workaround and resolution.

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Symptoms

When logging into the switch may see the following lines after logging into the switch:
  
syslog-ng.service is not active, cannot reload


Cause


In rare cases the /var/lib/syslog-ng/syslog-ng.persist may get corrupted. When this occurs, the syslog-ng service cannot start and will go into a failed state.

When you run the below command, you see the state as failed.

OS10# system "sudo systemctl status syslog-ng"
syslog-ng.service - System Logger Daemon
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/syslog-ng.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: failed (Result: core-dump) since Tue 2021-10-01 11:58:22 UTC; 3 weeks

Resolution

Work Around



The failed syslog-ng.service can be started by deleting the /var/lib/syslog-ng/syslog-ng.persist file and starting the service.

Short term fix to restore service until scheduled upgrade-

OS10# system "sudo rm /var/lib/syslog-ng/syslog-ng.persist"
OS10# system "sudo systemctl start syslog-ng"
OS10# system "sudo systemctl status syslog-ng"
syslog-ng.service - System Logger Daemon
   Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/syslog-ng.service; enabled; vendor preset
   Active: active (running) since Thu 2021-10-28 22:05:58 UTC; 1min 35s ago


Resolution


Upgrade to 10.5.2.2 or a higher release for resolution.

Affected Products

SmartFabric OS10 Software
Article Properties
Article Number: 000193969
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 05 Jun 2025
Version:  3
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