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syslog-ng Premium Edition 7.0.33 - Administration Guide

Preface Introduction to syslog-ng The concepts of syslog-ng Installing syslog-ng PE The syslog-ng PE quick-start guide The syslog-ng PE configuration file Collecting log messages — sources and source drivers
How sources work default-network-drivers: Receive and parse common syslog messages internal: Collecting internal messages file: Collecting messages from text files google-pubsub: collecting messages from the Google Pub/Sub messaging service wildcard-file: Collecting messages from multiple text files linux-audit: Collecting messages from Linux audit logs mssql, oracle, sql: collecting messages from an SQL database network: Collecting messages using the RFC3164 protocol (network() driver) office365: Fetching logs from Office 365 osquery: Collect and parse osquery result logs pipe: Collecting messages from named pipes program: Receiving messages from external applications python: writing server-style Python sources python-fetcher: writing fetcher-style Python sources snmptrap: Read Net-SNMP traps syslog: Collecting messages using the IETF syslog protocol (syslog() driver) system: Collecting the system-specific log messages of a platform systemd-journal: Collecting messages from the systemd-journal system log storage systemd-syslog: Collecting systemd messages using a socket tcp, tcp6,udp, udp6: Collecting messages from remote hosts using the BSD syslog protocol udp-balancer: Receiving UDP messages at very high rate unix-stream, unix-dgram: Collecting messages from UNIX domain sockets windowsevent: Collecting Windows event logs
Sending and storing log messages — destinations and destination drivers
elasticsearch2>: Sending messages directly to Elasticsearch version 2.0 or higher (DEPRECATED) elasticsearch-http: Sending messages to Elasticsearch HTTP Event Collector file: Storing messages in plain-text files google_pubsub(): Sending logs to the Google Cloud Pub/Sub messaging service google_pubsub-managedaccount(): Sending logs to the Google Cloud Pub/Sub messaging service authenticated by Google Cloud managed service account hdfs: Storing messages on the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) http: Posting messages over HTTP kafka(): Publishing messages to Apache Kafka (Java implementation) (DEPRECATED) kafka-c(): Publishing messages to Apache Kafka using the librdkafka client (C implementation) logstore: Storing messages in encrypted files mongodb: Storing messages in a MongoDB database network: Sending messages to a remote log server using the RFC3164 protocol (network() driver) pipe: Sending messages to named pipes program: Sending messages to external applications python: writing custom Python destinations sentinel(): Sending logs to the Microsoft Azure Sentinel cloud snmp: Sending SNMP traps smtp: Generating SMTP messages (email) from logs splunk-hec: Sending messages to Splunk HTTP Event Collector sql(): Storing messages in an SQL database stackdriver: Sending logs to the Google Stackdriver cloud syslog: Sending messages to a remote logserver using the IETF-syslog protocol syslog-ng(): Forward logs to another syslog-ng node tcp, tcp6, udp, udp6: Sending messages to a remote log server using the legacy BSD-syslog protocol (tcp(), udp() drivers) unix-stream, unix-dgram: Sending messages to UNIX domain sockets usertty: Sending messages to a user terminal — usertty() destination Client-side failover
Routing messages: log paths, flags, and filters Global options of syslog-ng PE TLS-encrypted message transfer Advanced Log Transport Protocol Reliability and minimizing the loss of log messages Manipulating messages parser: Parse and segment structured messages Processing message content with a pattern database Correlating log messages Enriching log messages with external data Monitoring statistics and metrics of syslog-ng Multithreading and scaling in syslog-ng PE Troubleshooting syslog-ng Best practices and examples The syslog-ng manual pages Glossary

Installing syslog-ng using the .run installer

 Caution:

If you already had syslog-ng Open Source Edition (OSE) installed on the host, and are upgrading to syslog-ng Premium Edition, make sure that the ${SYSLOGNG_OPTIONS} environmental variable does not contain a -p <path-to-pid-file> option. If it does, remove this option from the environmental variable, because it can prevent syslog-ng PE from stopping properly. Typically, the environmental variable is set in the files /etc/default/syslog-ng or /etc/sysconfig/syslog-ng, depending on the operating system you use.

This section describes how to install the syslog-ng PE application interactively using the binary installer. The installer has a simple interface: use the TAB or the arrow keys of your keyboard to navigate between the options, and Enter to select an option.

NOTE: The installer stops the running syslogd application if it is running, but its components are not removed. The /etc/init.d/sysklogd init script is automatically renamed to /etc/init.d/sysklogd.backup. Rename this file to its original name if you want to remove syslog-ng or restart the syslogd package.

Installing syslog-ng PE in client or relay mode

The following describes how to install syslog-ng Premium Edition on clients or relays. For details on the different operation modes of syslog-ng PE, see Modes of operation.

To install syslog-ng Premium Edition on clients or relays

NOTE: The native logrotation tools do not send a SIGHUP to syslog-ng after rotating the log files, causing syslog-ng to write into files already rotated. To solve this problem, the syslog-ng init script links the /var/run/syslog.pid file to syslog-ng's pid. Also, on Linux, the install.sh script symlinks the initscript of the original syslog daemon to syslog-ng's initscript.

  1. Login to the Support Portal and download the syslog-ng PE installer package.

  2. Enable the executable attribute for the installer using the chmod +x syslog-ng-<edition>-<version>-<OS>-<platform>.run, then start the installer as root using the ./syslog-ng-<edition>-<version>-<OS>-<platform>.run command. (Note that the exact name of the file depends on the operating system and platform.) Wait until the package is uncompressed and the welcome screen appears, then select Continue.

    Figure 5: The welcome screen

  3. Accepting the EULA: You can install syslog-ng PE only if you understand and accept the terms of the End-User License Agreement (EULA). The full text of the EULA can be displayed during installation by selecting the Show EULA option, and is also available in this guide for convenience at Software Transaction, License and End User License Agreements. Select Accept to accept the EULA and continue the installation.

    If you do not accept the terms of the EULA for some reason, select Reject to cancel installing syslog-ng PE.

  4. Detecting platform and operating system: The installer attempts to automatically detect your oprating system and platform. If the displayed information is correct, select Yes. Otherwise select Exit to abort the installation, and verify that your platform is supported. For a list of supported platforms, see Supported platforms. If your platform is supported but not detected correctly, contact your local distributor, reseller, or access the Support Portal. For contact details, see About us.

    Figure 6: Platform detection

  5. Installation path: Enter the path to install syslog-ng PE to. This is useful if you intend to install syslog-ng PE without registering it as a service, or if it cannot be installed to the default location because of policy compliance reasons. If no path is given, syslog-ng PE is installed to the default folder.

    Figure 7: Installation path

    NOTE: When installing syslog-ng PE to an alternative path on AIX, HP-UX, or Solaris platforms, set the CHARSETALIASDIR environmental variable to the lib subdirectory of the installation path. That way syslog-ng PE can find the charset.alias file.

  6. Registering as syslog service: Select Register to register syslog-ng PE as the syslog service. This will stop and disable the default syslog service of the system.

    Figure 8: Registering as syslog service

  7. Locating the license: Since you are installing syslog-ng PE in client or relay mode, simply select OK. For details on the different operation modes of syslog-ng PE, see Modes of operation.

  8. Upgrading: The syslog-ng PE installer can automatically detect if you have previously installed a version of syslog-ng PE on your system. To use the configuration file of this previous installation, select Yes. To ignore the old configuration file and create a new one, select No.

    Note that if you decide to use your existing configuration file, the installer automatically checks it for syntax error and displays a list of warnings and errors if it finds any problems.

    Figure 9: Upgrading syslog-ng

  9. Generating a new configuration file: The installer displays some questions to generate a new configuration file.

    1. Remote sources: Select Yes to accept log messages from the network. TCP, UDP, and SYSLOG messages on every interface will be automatically accepted.

      Figure 10: Accepting remote messages

    2. Remote destinations: Enter the IP address or hostname of your log server or relay and select OK.

      Figure 11: Forwarding messages to the log server

    NOTE: Accepting remote messages and forwarding them to a log server means that syslog-ng PE will start in relay mode.

  10. After the installation is finished, add the /opt/syslog-ng/bin and /opt/syslog-ng/sbin directories to your search PATH environment variable. That way you can use syslog-ng PE and its related tools without having to specify the full pathname. Add the following line to your shell profile:

    PATH=/opt/syslog-ng/bin:$PATH

  11. (Optional step for SELinux-enabled systems): Complete Using syslog-ng PE on SELinux.

Installing syslog-ng PE in server mode

The following describes how to install syslog-ng PE on log servers. For details on the different operation modes of syslog-ng PE, see Modes of operation.

To install syslog-ng PE on log servers

  1. Login to the Support Portal and download the syslog-ng PE installer package and your syslog-ng Premium Edition license file (license.txt). The license will be required to run syslog-ng PE in server mode (see Server mode) and is needed when you are installing syslog-ng PE on your central log server.

  2. Enable the executable attribute for the installer using the chmod +x syslog-ng-<edition>-<version>-<OS>-<platform>.run, then start the installer as root using the ./syslog-ng-<edition>-<version>-<OS>-<platform>.run command. (Note that the exact name of the file depends on the operating system and platform.) Wait until the package is uncompressed and the welcome screen appears, then select Continue.

    Figure 12: The welcome screen

  3. Accepting the EULA: You can install syslog-ng PE only if you understand and accept the terms of the End-User License Agreement (EULA). The full text of the EULA can be displayed during installation by selecting the Show EULA option, and is also available in this guide for convenience at Software Transaction, License and End User License Agreements. Select Accept to accept the EULA and continue the installation.

    If you do not accept the terms of the EULA for some reason, select Reject to cancel installing syslog-ng PE.

  4. Detecting platform and operating system: The installer attempts to automatically detect your oprating system and platform. If the displayed information is correct, select Yes. Otherwise select Exit to abort the installation, and verify that your platform is supported. For a list of supported platforms, see Supported platforms. If your platform is supported but not detected correctly, contact your local distributor, reseller, or access the Support Portal. For contact details, see About us.

    Figure 13: Platform detection

  5. Installation path: Enter the path to install syslog-ng PE to. This is useful if you intend to install syslog-ng PE without registering it as a service, or if it cannot be installed to the default location because of policy compliance reasons. If no path is given, syslog-ng PE is installed to the default folder.

    Figure 14: Installation path

    NOTE: When installing syslog-ng PE to an alternative path on AIX, HP-UX, or Solaris platforms, set the CHARSETALIASDIR environmental variable to the lib subdirectory of the installation path. That way syslog-ng PE can find the charset.alias file.

  6. Registering as syslog service: Select Register to register syslog-ng PE as the syslog service. This will stop and disable the default syslog service of the system.

    Figure 15: Registering as syslog service

  7. Locating the license: Enter the path to your license file (license.txt) and select OK. Typically this is required only for your central log server.

    If you are upgrading an existing configuration that already has a license file, the installer automatically detects it.

    Figure 16: Platform detection

  8. Upgrading: The syslog-ng PE installer can automatically detect if you have previously installed a version of syslog-ng PE on your system. To use the configuration file of this previous installation, select Yes. To ignore the old configuration file and create a new one, select No.

    Note that if you decide to use your existing configuration file, the installer automatically checks it for syntax error and displays a list of warnings and errors if it finds any problems.

    Figure 17: Upgrading syslog-ng

  9. Generating a new configuration file: The installer displays some questions to generate a new configuration file.

    1. Remote sources: Select Yes to accept log messages from the network. TCP, UDP, and SYSLOG messages on every interface will be automatically accepted.

      Figure 18: Accepting remote messages

    2. Remote destinations: Enter the IP address or hostname of your log server or relay and select OK.

      Figure 19: Forwarding messages to the log server

    NOTE: Accepting remote messages and forwarding them to a log server means that syslog-ng PE will start in relay mode.

  10. After the installation is finished, add the /opt/syslog-ng/bin and /opt/syslog-ng/sbin directories to your search PATH environment variable. That way you can use syslog-ng PE and its related tools without having to specify the full pathname. Add the following line to your shell profile:

    PATH=/opt/syslog-ng/bin:$PATH

    NOTE: The native logrotation tools do not send a SIGHUP to syslog-ng after rotating the log files, causing syslog-ng to write into files already rotated. To solve this problem, the syslog-ng init script links the /var/run/syslog.pid file to syslog-ng's pid. Also, on Linux, the install.sh script symlinks the initscript of the original syslog daemon to syslog-ng's initscript.

  11. (Optional step for SELinux-enabled systems): Complete Using syslog-ng PE on SELinux.

Installing syslog-ng PE without user-interaction

The syslog-ng PE application can be installed in silent mode without any user-interaction by specifying the required parameters from the command line. Answers to every question of the installer can be set in advance using command-line parameters.

./syslog-ng-premium-edition-<version>.run -- --silent [options]

 Caution:

The -- characters between the executable and the parameters are mandatory, like in the following example: ./syslog-ng-premium-edition-3.0.1b-solaris-10-sparc-client.run -- --silent --accept-eula -l /var/tmp/license.txt

To display the list of parameters, execute the ./syslog-ng-premium-edition-<version>.run -- --h command. Currently the following options are available:

  • --accept-eula or -a: Accept the EULA.

  • --license-file <file> or -l <file>: Path to the license file.

  • --upgrade | -u: Perform automatic upgrade — use the configuration file from an existing installation.

  • --remote <destination host>: Send logs to the specified remote server. Not available when performing an upgrade.

  • --network: Accept messages from the network. Not available when performing an upgrade.

  • --configuration <file>: Use the specified configuration file.

  • --list-installed: List information about all installed syslog-ngs.

  • --path <path>: Set installation path.

  • --register: Force service registration.

  • --no-register: Prevent service registration.

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