On many Unix-like systems, the boot process generates a particularly dense stream of kernel messages. Many administrative issues pertain to whether a desired hardware device is successfully enumerated during the boot process, so the diagnostic process for a failed device often begins by inspecting the dmesg output from the kernel identification message to the point where the boot process concludes. Since this buffer can be overwritten by a flood of messages in subsequent operation, many Unix-like distributions store a post-boot copy of the message buffer at or similar secure system location.