This article explains the meaning of the cmd='ls -i /var/etc/filters/filter-define.conf'  log message that is generated every 30 seconds on MX and PTX series devices, and indicates whether any action is required, and how to filter out these messages.

The following log messages are generated:

*** messages ***
Sep 20 18:51:52.530 2018  mx-re0 rshd[xxxxx]: %AUTH-7: root@re1 as root: cmd='ls -i /var/etc/filters/filter-define.conf'
Sep 20 18:52:22.615 2018  mx-re0 rshd[xxxxx]: %AUTH-7: root@re1 as root: cmd='ls -i /var/etc/filters/filter-define.conf'
Sep 20 18:52:52.747 2018  mx-re0 rshd[xxxxx]: %AUTH-7: root@re1 as root: cmd='ls -i /var/etc/filters/filter-define.conf'
Sep 20 18:53:22.778 2018  mx-re0 rshd[xxxxx]: %AUTH-7: root@re1 as root: cmd='ls -i /var/etc/filters/filter-define.conf'
Sep 20 18:53:52.814 2018  mx-re0 rshd[xxxxx]: %AUTH-7: root@re1 as root: cmd='ls -i /var/etc/filters/filter-define.conf'
Sep 20 18:54:22.849 2018  mx-re0 rshd[xxxxx]: %AUTH-7: root@re1 as root: cmd='ls -i /var/etc/filters/filter-define.conf'
Sep 20 18:54:52.974 2018  mx-re0 rshd[xxxxx]: %AUTH-7: root@re1 as root: cmd='ls -i /var/etc/filters/filter-define.conf'
Sep 20 18:55:23.006 2018  mx-re0 rshd[xxxxx]: %AUTH-7: root@re1 as root: cmd='ls -i /var/etc/filters/filter-define.conf'

Under normal conditions, when graceful Routing Engine switchover (GRES) is enabled, the above message is seen periodically. It means that the backup Routing Engine (RE) is trying to check connectivity with the primary RE every 30 seconds (in addition to the regular GRES keepalives). The message does not appear when GRES is not enabled.

The logging is done by the RSHD tool at a frequency of 30 seconds to make sure that the filter template between the primary and the backup RE is in sync. The periodic task can be considered as an internal integrity check performed on the firewall filter configuration.

Note: The firewall filter configuration file is stored at /var/etc/filters/filter-define.conf .

The log message is harmless and can safely be ignored. If required, the logging can be modified by changing the severity level for authorization from any to info as follows:

{MASTER}

User@mx-re0> show configuration system syslog file messages
any any;
authorization info;
explicit-priority;

If the severity is required to remain at info level, then the other way to get stop sending these messages is by explicitly filtering them out:

set system syslog host <> match "!(root@re0 as root: cmd='ls -i /var/etc/filters/filter-define.conf')"

Worth mentioning that these messages will be written to a file named "security" in var/log/ regardless of the previous if below config existed

    file security {

      authorization any;

2021-04-05: Updated the article terminology to align with Juniper's Inclusion & Diversity initiatives
11-04-2025: added another method to eliminate these logs incase first one is not feasible/doable from customer perspective, also the description.