The splunk-hec destination of syslog-ng PE can directly post log messages to a Splunk deployment using the HTTP Event Collector (HEC) over the HTTP and Secure HTTP (HTTPS) protocols. The splunk-hec destination has the following options. The required options are: index(), token(), and url().
batch-bytes()
| Accepted values: | number [bytes] |
| Default: | none |
Description: Sets the maximum size of payload in a batch. If the size of the messages reaches this value, syslog-ng PE sends the batch to the destination even if the number of messages is less than the value of the batch-lines() option.
Note that if the batch-timeout() option is enabled and the queue becomes empty, syslog-ng PE flushes the messages only if batch-timeout() expires, or the batch reaches the limit set in batch-bytes().
Available in syslog-ng PE version
For details on how this option influences batch mode, see splunk-hec: Sending messages to Splunk HTTP Event Collector
batch-lines()
| Type: | number |
| Default: | 25 |
Description: Specifies how many lines are flushed to a destination in one batch. The syslog-ng PE application waits for this number of lines to accumulate and sends them off in a single batch. Increasing this number increases throughput as more messages are sent in a single batch, but also increases message latency.
For example, if you set batch-lines() to 100, syslog-ng PE waits for 100 messages.
If the batch-timeout() option is disabled, the syslog-ng PE application flushes the messages if it has sent batch-lines() number of messages, or the queue became empty. If you stop or reload syslog-ng PE or in case of network sources, the connection with the client is closed, syslog-ng PE automatically sends the unsent messages to the destination.
If the batch-timeout() option is enabled and the queue becomes empty, syslog-ng PE flushes the messages only if batch-timeout() expires, or the batch reaches the limit set in batch-lines().
For optimal performance, make sure that the syslog-ng PE source that feeds messages to this destination is configured properly: the value of the log-iw-size() option of the source must be higher than the batch-lines()*workers() of the destination. Otherwise, the size of the batches cannot reach the batch-lines() limit.
For details on how this option influences batch mode, see splunk-hec: Sending messages to Splunk HTTP Event Collector
batch-timeout()
| Type: | time [milliseconds] |
| Default: | -1 (disabled) |
Description: Specifies the time syslog-ng PE waits for lines to accumulate in the output buffer. The syslog-ng PE application sends batches to the destinations evenly. The timer starts when the first message arrives to the buffer, so if only few messages arrive, syslog-ng PE sends messages to the destination once every batch-timeout() milliseconds at most.
For details on how this option influences batch mode, see splunk-hec: Sending messages to Splunk HTTP Event Collector
body-prefix()
| Accepted values: | string |
| Default: | none |
Description: The string syslog-ng PE puts at the beginning of the body of the HTTP request, before the log message. Available in syslog-ng PE version
For details on how this option influences batch mode, see splunk-hec: Sending messages to Splunk HTTP Event Collector
body-suffix()
| Accepted values: | string |
| Default: | none |
Description: The string syslog-ng PE puts to the end of the body of the HTTP request, after the log message. Available in syslog-ng PE version
For details on how this option influences batch mode, see splunk-hec: Sending messages to Splunk HTTP Event Collector
ca-dir()
| Accepted values: | directory name |
| Default: | none |
Description: Name of a directory, that contains a set of trusted CA certificates in PEM format. The CA certificate files have to be named after the 32-bit hash of the subject's name. This naming can be created using the c_rehash utility in OpenSSL. For an example, see Configuring TLS on the syslog-ng clients. The syslog-ng PE application uses the CA certificates in this directory to validate the certificate of the peer.
An alternative way to specify this option is to put it into a tls() block, together with any other TLS options. This allows you to separate these options and ensure better readability.
Make sure that you specify TLS options either using their own dedicated option (ca-dir(), ca-file(), cert-file(), cipher-suite(), key-file(), peer-verify(), and ssl-version()), or using the tls() block and inserting the relevant options within tls(). Avoid mixing the two methods. If you do specify TLS options in both ways, the one that comes later in the configuration file will take effect.
Declaration
destination d_splunk-hec {
splunk-hec(
url("http://your-splunk-server3:8088/services/collector/event")
tls(
ca-dir("dir")
ca-file("ca")
cert-file("cert")
cipher-suite("cipher")
key-file("key")
peer-verify(yes|no)
ssl-version(<the permitted SSL/TLS version>)
)
);
};ca-file()
| Accepted values: | Filename |
| Default: | none |
Description: Name of a file that contains an X.509 CA certificate (or a certificate chain) in PEM format. The syslog-ng PE application uses this certificate to validate the certificate of the HTTPS server. If the file contains a certificate chain, the file must begin with the certificate of the host, followed by the CA certificate that signed the certificate of the host, and any other signing CAs in order.
An alternative way to specify this option is to put it into a tls() block, together with any other TLS options. This allows you to separate these options and ensure better readability.
Make sure that you specify TLS options either using their own dedicated option (ca-dir(), ca-file(), cert-file(), cipher-suite(), key-file(), peer-verify(), and ssl-version()), or using the tls() block and inserting the relevant options within tls(). Avoid mixing the two methods. If you do specify TLS options in both ways, the one that comes later in the configuration file will take effect.
Declaration
destination d_splunk-hec {
splunk-hec(
url("http://your-splunk-server3:8088/services/collector/event")
tls(
ca-dir("dir")
ca-file("ca")
cert-file("cert")
cipher-suite("cipher")
key-file("key")
peer-verify(yes|no)
ssl-version(<the permitted SSL/TLS version>)
)
);
};cert-file()
| Accepted values: | Filename |
| Default: | none |
Description: Name of a file, that contains an X.509 certificate (or a certificate chain) in PEM format, suitable as a TLS certificate, matching the private key set in the key-file() option. The syslog-ng PE application uses this certificate to authenticate the syslog-ng PE client on the destination server. If the file contains a certificate chain, the file must begin with the certificate of the host, followed by the CA certificate that signed the certificate of the host, and any other signing CAs in order.
An alternative way to specify this option is to put it into a tls() block, together with any other TLS options. This allows you to separate these options and ensure better readability.
Make sure that you specify TLS options either using their own dedicated option (ca-dir(), ca-file(), cert-file(), cipher-suite(), key-file(), peer-verify(), and ssl-version()), or using the tls() block and inserting the relevant options within tls(). Avoid mixing the two methods. If you do specify TLS options in both ways, the one that comes later in the configuration file will take effect.
Declaration
destination d_splunk-hec {
splunk-hec(
url("http://your-splunk-server3:8088/services/collector/event")
tls(
ca-dir("dir")
ca-file("ca")
cert-file("cert")
cipher-suite("cipher")
key-file("key")
peer-verify(yes|no)
ssl-version(<the permitted SSL/TLS version>)
)
);
};cipher-suite()
| Accepted values: | Name of a cipher, or a colon-separated list |
| Default: | Depends on the OpenSSL version that syslog-ng PE uses |
Description: Specifies the cipher, hash, and key-exchange algorithms used for the encryption, for example, ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA384. The list of available algorithms depends on the version of OpenSSL used to compile syslog-ng PE. To specify multiple ciphers, separate the cipher names with a colon, and enclose the list between double-quotes, for example:
cipher-suite("ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384")An alternative way to specify this option is to put it into a tls() block, together with any other TLS options. This allows you to separate these options and ensure better readability.
Make sure that you specify TLS options either using their own dedicated option (ca-dir(), ca-file(), cert-file(), cipher-suite(), key-file(), peer-verify(), and ssl-version()), or using the tls() block and inserting the relevant options within tls(). Avoid mixing the two methods. If you do specify TLS options in both ways, the one that comes later in the configuration file will take effect.
Declaration
destination d_splunk-hec {
splunk-hec(
url("http://your-splunk-server3:8088/services/collector/event")
tls(
ca-dir("dir")
ca-file("ca")
cert-file("cert")
cipher-suite("cipher")
key-file("key")
peer-verify(yes|no)
ssl-version(<the permitted SSL/TLS version>)
)
);
};delimiter()
| Accepted values: | string |
| Default: | newline character |
Description: By default, syslog-ng PE separates the log messages of the batch with a newline character. You can specify a different delimiter by using the delimiter() option.
For details on how this option influences batch mode, see splunk-hec: Sending messages to Splunk HTTP Event Collector
disk-buffer()
Description: This option enables putting outgoing messages into the disk-buffer file of the destination to avoid message loss in case of a system failure on the destination side. It has the following options:
| disk-buf-size() | |
| Type: | number [bytes] |
| Default: | |
| Description: This is a required option. The maximum size of the disk-buffer file in bytes. The minimum value is 1048576 bytes. If you set a smaller value, the minimum value will be used automatically. It replaces the old log-disk-fifo-size() option. | |
| mem-buf-length() | |
| Type: | number [messages] |
| Default: | 10000 |
| Description: Use this option if the option reliable() is set to no. This option contains the number of messages stored in overflow queue. It replaces the old log-fifo-size() option. It inherits the value of the global log-fifo-size() option if provided. If it is not provided, the default value is 10000 messages. Note that this option will be ignored if the option reliable() is set to yes. | |
| mem-buf-size() | |
| Type: | number [bytes] |
| Default: | 163840000 |
| Description: Use this option if the option reliable() is set to yes. This option contains the size of the messages in bytes that is used in the memory part of the disk-buffer file. It replaces the old log-fifo-size() option. It does not inherit the value of the global log-fifo-size() option, even if it is provided. Note that this option will be ignored if the option reliable() is set to no. | |
| quot-size() | |
| Type: | number [messages] |
| Default: | 1000 |
|
Description: The number of messages stored in the output buffer of the destination. Note that if you change the value of this option and the disk-buffer file already exists, the change will take effect when the disk-buffer file becomes empty. | |
| reliable() | |||
| Type: | yes|no | ||
| Default: | no | ||
|
Description: If set to yes, syslog-ng PE cannot lose logs in case of reload/restart, unreachable destination or syslog-ng PE crash. This solution provides a slower, but reliable disk-buffer option. It is created and initialized at startup and gradually grows as new messages arrive. If set to no, the normal disk-buffer option will be used. This provides a faster, but less reliable disk-buffer option.
| |||
| truncate-size-ratio() | |||
| Type: | number (for percentage) between 0 and 1 | ||
| Default: | 0.1 (10%) | ||
|
Description: Limits the truncation of the disk-buffer file. Truncating the disk-buffer file can slow down disk I/O operations, but it saves disk space. As a result, syslog-ng PE only truncates the file if the possible disk gain is more than truncate-size-ratio() times disk-buf-size().
| |||
Example: Examples for using disk-buffer()
In the following case, reliable disk-buffer() is used.
destination d_demo {
network("127.0.0.1"
port(3333)
disk-buffer(
mem-buf-size(10000)
disk-buf-size(2000000)
reliable(yes)
dir("/tmp/disk-buffer")
)
);
};
In the following case normal disk-buffer() is used.
destination d_demo {
network("127.0.0.1"
port(3333)
disk-buffer(
mem-buf-length(10000)
disk-buf-size(2000000)
reliable(no)
dir("/tmp/disk-buffer")
)
);
};event()
| Type: | template |
| Default: | ${S_ISODATE} ${HOST} ${MSGHDR}${MSG}\n |
Description: The body of the message that syslog-ng PE sends to Splunk. The content of the events (the value of the ${MSG} macro) is sent in JSON format.
hook-commands()
Description: This option makes it possible to execute external programs when the relevant driver is initialized or torn down. The hook-commands() can be used with all source and destination drivers with the exception of the usertty() and internal() drivers.
NOTE: The syslog-ng PE application must be able to start and restart the external program, and have the necessary permissions to do so. For example, if your host is running AppArmor or SELinux, you might have to modify your AppArmor or SELinux configuration to enable syslog-ng PE to execute external applications.
Using the hook-commands() when syslog-ng PE starts or stops
To execute an external program when syslog-ng PE starts or stops, use the following options:
| startup() | |
| Type: | string |
| Default: | N/A |
|
Description: Defines the external program that is executed when syslog-ng PE starts. | |
| shutdown() | |
| Type: | string |
| Default: | N/A |
|
Description: Defines the external program that is executed when syslog-ng PE stops. | |
Using the hook-commands() when syslog-ng PE reloads
To execute an external program when the syslog-ng PE configuration is initiated or torn down (for example, on startup/shutdown or during a syslog-ng PE reload), use the following options:
| setup() | |
| Type: | string |
| Default: | N/A |
|
Description: Defines an external program that is executed when the syslog-ng PE configuration is initiated, for example, on startup or during a syslog-ng PE reload. | |
| teardown() | |
| Type: | string |
| Default: | N/A |
|
Description: Defines an external program that is executed when the syslog-ng PE configuration is stopped or torn down, for example, on shutdown or during a syslog-ng PE reload. | |
Example: Using the hook-commands() with a network source
In the following example, the hook-commands() is used with the network() driver and it opens an iptables port automatically when syslog-ng PE is started/stopped.
The assumption in this example is that the LOGCHAIN chain is part of a larger ruleset that routes traffic to it. Whenever the syslog-ng PE created rule is there, packets can flow (otherwise the port is closed).
source {
network(transport(udp)
hook-commands(
startup("iptables -I LOGCHAIN 1 -p udp --dport 514 -j ACCEPT")
shutdown("iptables -D LOGCHAIN 1")
;)
);
};host()
| Type: | template |
| Default: | ${HOST} |
Description: The hostname for the message that syslog-ng PE sends to Splunk. In Splunk, the message will appear as it has been sent by this host.
index()
| Accepted values: | string |
| Default: | None |
Description: The name of the Splunk index where Splunk will store the messages received from syslog-ng PE. This option is mandatory for this destination.
log-fifo-size()
| Type: | number |
| Default: | Use global setting. |
Description: The number of messages that the output queue can store.
key-file()
| Accepted values: | Filename |
| Default: | none |
Description: Path and name of a file that contains a private key in PEM format, suitable as a TLS key. If properly configured, the syslog-ng PE application uses this private key and the matching certificate (set in the cert-file() option) to authenticate the syslog-ng PE client on the destination server.
This destination supports only unencrypted key files (that is, the private key cannot be password-protected).
An alternative way to specify this option is to put it into a tls() block, together with any other TLS options. This allows you to separate these options and ensure better readability.
Make sure that you specify TLS options either using their own dedicated option (ca-dir(), ca-file(), cert-file(), cipher-suite(), key-file(), peer-verify(), and ssl-version()), or using the tls() block and inserting the relevant options within tls(). Avoid mixing the two methods. If you do specify TLS options in both ways, the one that comes later in the configuration file will take effect.
Declaration
destination d_splunk-hec {
splunk-hec(
url("http://your-splunk-server3:8088/services/collector/event")
tls(
ca-dir("dir")
ca-file("ca")
cert-file("cert")
cipher-suite("cipher")
key-file("key")
peer-verify(yes|no)
ssl-version(<the permitted SSL/TLS version>)
)
);
};method()
| Type: | POST | PUT |
| Default: | POST |
Description: Specifies the HTTP method to use when sending the message to the server.
password()
| Type: | string |
| Default: |
Description: The password that syslog-ng PE uses to authenticate on the server where it sends the messages.
peer-verify()
| Accepted values: | yes | no |
| Default: | yes |
Description: Verification method of the peer. The following table summarizes the possible options and their results depending on the certificate of the peer.
| The remote peer has: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| no certificate | invalid certificate | valid certificate | ||
| Local peer-verify() setting | no (optional-untrusted) | TLS-encryption | TLS-encryption | TLS-encryption |
| yes (required-trusted) | rejected connection | rejected connection | TLS-encryption | |
For untrusted certificates only the existence of the certificate is checked, but it does not have to be valid — syslog-ng accepts the certificate even if it is expired, signed by an unknown CA, or its CN and the name of the machine mismatches.
|
|
Caution:
When validating a certificate, the entire certificate chain must be valid, including the CA certificate. If any certificate of the chain is invalid, syslog-ng PE will reject the connection. |
An alternative way to specify this option is to put it into a tls() block, together with any other TLS options. This allows you to separate these options and ensure better readability.
Make sure that you specify TLS options either using their own dedicated option (ca-dir(), ca-file(), cert-file(), cipher-suite(), key-file(), peer-verify(), and ssl-version()), or using the tls() block and inserting the relevant options within tls(). Avoid mixing the two methods. If you do specify TLS options in both ways, the one that comes later in the configuration file will take effect.
Declaration
destination d_splunk-hec {
splunk-hec(
url("http://your-splunk-server3:8088/services/collector/event")
tls(
ca-dir("dir")
ca-file("ca")
cert-file("cert")
cipher-suite("cipher")
key-file("key")
peer-verify(yes|no)
ssl-version(<the permitted SSL/TLS version>)
)
);
};persist-name()
| Type: | string |
| Default: |
None |
Description:If you receive the following error message during syslog-ng PE startup, set the persist-name() option of the duplicate drivers:
Error checking the uniqueness of the persist names, please override it with persist-name option. Shutting down.
This error occurs if you use identical drivers in multiple sources, for example, if you configure two file sources to read from the same file. In this case, set the persist-name() of the drivers to a custom string, for example, persist-name("example-persist-name1").
proxy()
| Type: | The proxy server address, in proxy("PROXY_IP:PORT") format.
For example, proxy("http://myproxy:3128") |
| Default: |
None |
Description:
The proxy() option enables you to configure the splunk-hec driver to use a specific HTTP proxy for all HTTP-based destinations, instead of using the proxy that is configured for the system.
If you do not set the proxy() option, the splunk-hec driver uses the http_proxy and https_proxy environment variables, as shown in CURLOPT_PROXY explained.
NOTE: Configuring the proxy() option overwrites the default http_proxy and https_proxy environment variables.
retries()
| Type: | number [of attempts] |
| Default: | 3 |
Description: The number of times syslog-ng PE attempts to send a message to this destination. If syslog-ng PE could not send a message, it will try again until the number of attempts reaches retries(), then drops the message.
To handle HTTP error responses, if the HTTP server returns 5xx codes, syslog-ng PE will attempt to resend messages until the number of attempts reaches retries. If the HTTP server returns 4xx codes, syslog-ng PE will drop the messages.
sourcetype()
| Type: | string |
| Default: | .app.name:-syslog |
Description: The source type that you set in Splunk for the token that syslog-ng PE uses. For details about source types, see the Splunk documentation.
ssl-version()
| Type: | string |
| Default: | None, uses the libcurl default |
Description: Specifies the permitted SSL/TLS version. Possible values: sslv2, sslv3, tlsv1, tlsv1_0, tlsv1_1, tlsv1_2, tlsv1_3.
An alternative way to specify this option is to put it into a tls() block, together with any other TLS options. This allows you to separate these options and ensure better readability.
Make sure that you specify TLS options either using their own dedicated option (ca-dir(), ca-file(), cert-file(), cipher-suite(), key-file(), peer-verify(), and ssl-version()), or using the tls() block and inserting the relevant options within tls(). Avoid mixing the two methods. If you do specify TLS options in both ways, the one that comes later in the configuration file will take effect.
Declaration
destination d_splunk-hec {
splunk-hec(
url("http://your-splunk-server3:8088/services/collector/event")
tls(
ca-dir("dir")
ca-file("ca")
cert-file("cert")
cipher-suite("cipher")
key-file("key")
peer-verify(yes|no)
ssl-version(<the permitted SSL/TLS version>)
)
);
};template()
| Type: | string |
| Default: | A format conforming to the default logfile format. |
Description: Specifies a template defining the logformat to be used in the destination. Macros are described in Macros of syslog-ng PE. Please note that for network destinations it might not be appropriate to change the template as it changes the on-wire format of the syslog protocol which might not be tolerated by stock syslog receivers (like syslogd or syslog-ng itself). For network destinations make sure the receiver can cope with the custom format defined.
throttle()
| Type: | number |
| Default: | 0 |
Description: Sets the maximum number of messages sent to the destination per second. Use this output-rate-limiting functionality only when using the disk-buffer option as well to avoid the risk of losing messages. Specifying 0 or a lower value sets the output limit to unlimited.
time()
| Type: | template |
| Default: | ${S_UNIXTIME}.${S_MSEC} |
Description: The timestamp for the message that syslog-ng PE sends to Splunk.
timeout()
| Type: | number [seconds] |
| Default: | 10 |
Description: The value (in seconds) to wait for an operation to complete, and attempt to reconnect the server if exceeded.
token()
| Accepted values: | string |
| Default: | None |
Description: The Splunk HTTP Event Collector token that permits syslog-ng PE to send messages to Splunk. For details, see Set up and use HTTP Event Collector in Splunk Web. This option is mandatory for this destination.
url()
| Type: | URL or list of URLs, for example, url("site1" "site2") |
| Default: | http://localhost:8088/services/collector/event |
Description: Specifies the hostname or IP address and optionally the port number of the Splunk indexer. Use a colon (:) after the address to specify the port number of the server. For example: http://your-splunk-indexer.server:8088/services/collector/event
This option is mandatory for this destination.
Make sure that the URL ends with event, this is the Splunk API endpoint that properly parses the messages sent by syslog-ng PE.
In case the server on the specified URL returns a redirect request, syslog-ng PE automatically follows maximum 3 redirects. Only HTTP and HTTPS based redirections are supported.
Starting with version
|
|
Caution:
If you set multiple URLs in the url() option, set the persist-name() option as well to avoid data loss. |
user-agent()
| Type: | string |
| Default: | syslog-ng [version]/libcurl[version] |
Description: The value of the USER-AGENT header in the messages sent to the server.
user()
| Type: | string |
| Default: |
Description: The username that syslog-ng PE uses to authenticate on the server where it sends the messages.
use-system-cert-store()
| Type: | yes | no |
| Default: | no |
Description: Use the certificate store of the system for verifying HTTPS certificates. For details, see the curl documentation.
workers()
| Type: | integer |
| Default: | 4 |
Description: Specifies the number of worker threads (at least 1) that syslog-ng PE uses to send messages to the server. Increasing the number of worker threads can drastically improve the performance of the destination.
|
|
Caution:
Hazard of data loss! When you use more than one worker threads together with the disk-buffer option, syslog-ng PE creates a separate disk-buffer file for each worker thread. This means that decreasing the number of workers can result in losing data currently stored in the disk-buffer files. Do not decrease the number of workers when the disk-buffer files are in use. |
If you are using load-balancing (that is, you have configured multiple servers in the url() option), increase the number of worker threads at least to the number of servers. For example, if you have set three URLs (url("site1" "site2" "site3")), set the workers() option to 3 or more.