Chat now with support
Chat with Support

syslog-ng Open Source Edition 3.16 - Administration Guide

Preface Introduction to syslog-ng The concepts of syslog-ng Installing syslog-ng The syslog-ng OSE quick-start guide The syslog-ng OSE configuration file source: Read, receive, and collect log messages
How sources work default-network-drivers: Receive and parse common syslog messages internal: Collecting internal messages file: Collecting messages from text files wildcard-file: Collecting messages from multiple text files network: Collecting messages using the RFC3164 protocol (network() driver) nodejs: Receiving JSON messages from nodejs applications mbox: Converting local e-mail messages to log messages osquery: Collect and parse osquery result logs pipe: Collecting messages from named pipes pacct: Collecting process accounting logs on Linux program: Receiving messages from external applications snmptrap: Read Net-SNMP traps sun-streams: Collecting messages on Sun Solaris 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— OBSOLETE unix-stream, unix-dgram: Collecting messages from UNIX domain sockets stdin: Collecting messages from the standard input stream
destination: Forward, send, and store log messages
amqp: Publishing messages using AMQP elasticsearch: Sending messages directly to Elasticsearch version 1.x elasticsearch2: Sending logs directly to Elasticsearch and Kibana 2.0 or higher file: Storing messages in plain-text files graphite: Sending metrics to Graphite Sending logs to Graylog hdfs: Storing messages on the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) Posting messages over HTTP http: Posting messages over HTTP without Java kafka: Publishing messages to Apache Kafka loggly: Using Loggly logmatic: Using Logmatic.io mongodb: Storing messages in a MongoDB database network: Sending messages to a remote log server using the RFC3164 protocol (network() driver) osquery: Sending log messages to osquery's syslog table pipe: Sending messages to named pipes program: Sending messages to external applications pseudofile() redis: Storing name-value pairs in Redis riemann: Monitoring your data with Riemann smtp: Generating SMTP messages (e-mail) from logs Splunk: Sending log messages to Splunk sql: Storing messages in an SQL database stomp: Publishing messages using STOMP syslog: Sending messages to a remote logserver using the IETF-syslog protocol syslog-ng: Forwarding messages and tags 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) Telegram: Sending messages to Telegram unix-stream, unix-dgram: Sending messages to UNIX domain sockets usertty: Sending messages to a user terminal: usertty() destination Write your own custom destination in Java or Python
log: Filter and route log messages using log paths, flags, and filters Global options of syslog-ng OSE TLS-encrypted message transfer template and rewrite: Format, modify, and manipulate log messages parser: Parse and segment structured messages db-parser: Process message content with a pattern database (patterndb) Correlating log messages Enriching log messages with external data Statistics of syslog-ng Multithreading and scaling in syslog-ng OSE Troubleshooting syslog-ng Best practices and examples The syslog-ng manual pages Third-party contributions Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) License About us

Preface

Welcome to the syslog-ng Open Source Edition 3.16 Administrator Guide!

This document describes how to configure and manage syslog-ng. Background information for the technology and concepts used by the product is also discussed.

Summary of contents

Introduction to syslog-ng describes the main functionality and purpose of syslog-ng OSE.

The concepts of syslog-ng discusses the technical concepts and philosophies behind syslog-ng OSE.

Installing syslog-ng describes how to install syslog-ng OSE on various UNIX-based platforms using the precompiled binaries.

The syslog-ng OSE quick-start guide provides a briefly explains how to perform the most common log collecting tasks with syslog-ng OSE.

The syslog-ng OSE configuration file discusses the configuration file format and syntax in detail, and explains how to manage large-scale configurations using included files and reusable configuration snippets.

source: Read, receive, and collect log messages explains how to collect and receive log messages from various sources.

destination: Forward, send, and store log messages describes the different methods to store and forward log messages.

log: Filter and route log messages using log paths, flags, and filters explains how to route and sort log messages, and how to use filters to select specific messages.

Global options of syslog-ng OSE lists the global options of syslog-ng OSE and explains how to use them.

TLS-encrypted message transfer shows how to secure and authenticate log transport using TLS encryption.

template and rewrite: Format, modify, and manipulate log messages describes how to customize message format using templates and macros, how to rewrite and modify messages, and how to use regular expressions.

parser: Parse and segment structured messages describes how to segment and process structured messages like comma-separated values.

db-parser: Process message content with a pattern database (patterndb) explains how to identify and process log messages using a pattern database.

Correlating log messages explains how to correlate log messages that match a set of filters or that are identified using a pattern database.

Enriching log messages with external data explains how to import data from external sources to include in the log messages, thus extending, enriching, and complementing the data found in the log message.

Statistics of syslog-ng details the available statistics that syslog-ng OSE collects about the processed log messages.

Multithreading and scaling in syslog-ng OSE describes how to configure syslog-ng OSE to use multiple processors, and how to optimize its performance.

Troubleshooting syslog-ng offers tips to solving problems.

Best practices and examples gives recommendations to configure special features of syslog-ng OSE.

The syslog-ng manual pages contains the manual pages of the syslog-ng OSE application.

Third-party contributions includes the text of the licenses applicable to syslog-ng Open Source Edition.

Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) License includes the text of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) License applicable to The syslog-ng Open Source Edition 3.16 Administrator Guide.

Target audience and prerequisites

This guide is intended for system administrators and consultants responsible for designing and maintaining logging solutions and log centers. It is also useful for IT decision makers looking for a tool to implement centralized logging in heterogeneous environments.

The following skills and knowledge are necessary for a successful syslog-ng administrator:

  • At least basic system administration knowledge.

  • An understanding of networks, TCP/IP protocols, and general network terminology.

  • Working knowledge of the UNIX or Linux operating system.

  • In-depth knowledge of the logging process of various platforms and applications.

  • An understanding of the legacy syslog (BSD-syslog) protocol and the new syslog (IETF-syslog) protocol standard.

Products covered in this guide

This guide describes the use of the following products:

  • syslog-ng Open Source Edition (syslog-ng OSE) 3.16.1 and later

Self Service Tools
Knowledge Base
Notifications & Alerts
Product Support
Software Downloads
Technical Documentation
User Forums
Video Tutorials
RSS Feed
Contact Us
Licensing Assistance
Technical Support
View All
Related Documents

The document was helpful.

Select Rating

I easily found the information I needed.

Select Rating