Syslogd
Overview
The Unified Assurance Event Syslog Aggregator is a generic syslog message listener that receives messages from devices, parses the results with customizable rules and creates de-duplicated events within Unified Assurance.
Syslog Aggregator Setup
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Review the logic in the rules files referenced in the configuration to see the processing that will be done when syslogs are received:
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"LoadRules" will be executed during application startup to load data that might be needed during processing.
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"IncludeRules" will be read during application startup to load additional files that might be called during processing.
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"BaseRules" will be executed for each device that is selected based on the configuration.
Update the logic as needed.
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Enable the default Service, unless a specific configuration option is needed.
Default Service
Field | Value |
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Package Name | coreCollection-app |
Service Name | Event Syslog Aggregator |
Service Program | bin/core/collection/Syslogd |
Service Arguments | |
Service Description | Syslog Aggregator that runs on port 514/udp |
Failover Type | Standalone (Supported: Standalone, Primary/Backup) |
Status | Disabled |
Privileged | (Checked) |
Default Configuration
Name | Value | Possible Values | Notes |
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BaseRules | collection/event/syslog/base.rules | Text, 255 characters | Relative path to Base Rules. |
BranchDir | core/default | Text, 255 characters | relative path to Rules dir |
Host | * | Text, 255 characters | DNS name or IP Address of the syslog server. Can associate to a particular interface. - NO RELOAD CONFIG SUPPORT |
IncludeRules | collection/event/syslog/base.includes | Text, 255 characters | Relative path to Include Rules. |
LoadRules | collection/event/syslog/base.load | Text, 255 characters | Relative path to Load Rules. |
LogFile | logs/EventSyslog.log | Text, 255 characters | Relative path to Log File. |
LogLevel | ERROR | OFF, FATAL, ERROR, WARN, INFO, DEBUG | Logging level used by application. |
Port | 514 | Integer | UDP Port for syslog server to collect messages. - NO RELOAD CONFIG SUPPORT |
ShardID | 1 | Integer | Database shard to be used. |
Threads | 3 | Integer | Number of process threads created. The aggregator takes a third of this value (rounded up) for database threads unless overridden by the "DBThreads" application configuration. |
Capture | Disabled | Enabled/Disabled | Optional - If enabled, saves the raw message in the Log. |
DBThreads | Integer | Optional - Number of database threads to be created. If not specified, defaults to a third (rounded up) of "Threads" application configuration. | |
DisableDNS | Disabled | Enabled/Disabled | Optional - If enabled, uses IP address instead of hostname for the event Node. |
FailoverBufferLimit | 0 | Integer | Optional - Enables Failover Standby buffer that keeps N-seconds worth of syslogs and replays this buffer when becoming Failover Active. (0=off N=seconds to keep) See Tokens: $buffer and $received. |
FieldSetFile | Text, 255 characters | Optional - Path to csv file containing custom list of fields that will be used when inserting data. (Requires InsertSQLFile.) | |
InsertSQLFile | Text, 255 characters | Optional - Path to file containing custom SQL Insert statement for handling of event inserts. (Requires FieldSetFile.) |
Best Practices
The following list shows the best practices for working with this application:
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Depending on the server specifications and loads, the number of the Threads that the aggregator uses may need to be increased, however, too many threads has also been seen to have negative effects.
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By default, devices send Syslog Messages on UDP port 514, but this can be changed for other environments. If messages are not reaching the Unified Assurance system, check firewall settings in the network.
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By default, syslog messages are sent in a carriage return delimited format.
Rules
This aggregator uses the Unified Assurance standard rules architecture, which are 100% Perl syntax. Refer to the following articles to assist in rules creation:
Tokens
The aggregator exposes the following tokens for rules processing.
Token | Description |
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$AppConfig | Hash reference to the application configuration name-value pairs that were configured. (i.e. use $AppConfig->{'Host'} to retrieve the set value for 'Host'.) |
$Event | Reference to the hash that is used to create and insert the Event data into the database. Keys map to the fields within the table used and values assigned are inserted in the database to that field. (e.g. $Event->{'IPAddress'} = '192.0.2.1' to assign the event IP address to '192.0.2.1') At least the 'Node' and 'Summary' fields must be set, or no event is inserted. |
$received | Epoch time syslog was received by the aggregator. |
$buffer | Flag for if was buffered during standby and was replayed (0 = No, 1 = Yes). |
$line | Syslog message. |
$node | DNS resolved source of syslog. |
$ip | IP of source of syslog. |
$discard_flag | Flag for discard (0 = No, 1 = Yes). |
$count | Message Counter. |
$CustomHash | Custom key, value cache available across all rules. Contents commonly defined in Load Rules then used in Base or other rules. NOTE: This variable is a shared object and any additional sub hashes or arrays must be shared before use or it will cause the error: "Invalid value for shared scalar". Instantiate the sub hash/array using '&share({})' e.g. $CustomHash->{SubObject} = &share({}); |
$StorageHash | Internal cache used as the StorageHash option when calling rules functions such as FindDeviceID(). NOTE: The structure of this cache is subject to change! Not recommended for custom global storage or manual manipulation; use $CustomHash. |
Example Integrations
Creating Custom Rules Files
In this rules creation example, an IP Phone is sending syslogs that appear in the event list with summary:
Missing Rules for-<134>[0]SIP:RegFailed;Retry in 30s Missing Rules for-<134>+++ send scaps discovery query 134>134>
NOTE - The "Missing Rules for" is added to the beginning of the summary for any syslog messages without corresponding rules.
Steps
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Go to the Rules UI:
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Expand the folder path: core -> default -> collection -> event -> syslog
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Select the "syslog" folder, then click "Add -> Add File". Enter the following:
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File Name => ipphone.rules
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Logic
$Log->Message("DEBUG", " -> Starting running IP Phone Rules"); $Event->{'SubMethod'} = "IPPhone"; $Event->{'Summary'} = $line; $Event->{'AlarmGroup'} = "IPPhone"; if ($line =~ "RegFailed"){ # Phone Registration Failed $Event->{'Severity'} = 3; $Event->{'SubMethod'} = "Registration Failure"; } elsif ($line eq "<134>+++ send scaps discovery query") { #Discard unwanted event $discard_flag = 1; } else { # Catch all for all Phone events $Event->{'Severity'} = 0; } $Event->{'AlarmKey'} = $Event->{'SubMethod'} . $Event->{'Summary'}; $Log->Message("DEBUG", " -> Finished running IP Phone rules");
In the above example:
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Events containing the text "RegFailed" are detected using a Regular Expression match. The event "Severity" is set to 3 (Minor) and the "SubMethod" is set to "Registration Failure".
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Events containing the text "<134>+++ send scaps discovery query" are discarded by setting the "discard_flag" to 1. This is useful if the event should not be kept.
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Any other events have the "Severity" set to 0 (Normal).
Of particular importance in the example above is the "$Event->{'AlarmKey'}" as the AlarmKey is how events are deduplicated.
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Click "Submit", then enter a commit message, then click "OK".
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In the "syslog" folder, select the "base.includes" file. Add the following line:
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Logic
IPPhoneRules,collection/event/syslog/ipphone.rules
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Click "Submit", then enter a commit message, then click "OK".
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Determine how the aggregator should know the correct processing direction of the event using any of the available data. For example, the event can be based on the source of the Syslog Message:
elsif ($node =~ "ipphone.*\.example\.com") { ... }
Or the event can be processed based on the message itself:
elsif ($line =~ /\<134\>/){ ... }
In the "syslog" folder, select on the "base.rules" file. Add the following line:
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Logic
elsif ($line =~ /\<134\>/ || $node =~ "ipphone.*\.example\.com") { $Event->{'SubMethod'} = "IPPhone"; $Log->Message("DEBUG", "Running IPPhone Syslog Rules"); IPPhoneRules(); }
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Click "Submit", then enter a commit message, then click "OK".
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Restart the Syslog Aggregator.
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Verify the Syslog Aggregator is processing the events correctly.
Administration Details
The following list shows the technical details you will need for advanced administration of the application:
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Package - coreCollection-app
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Synopsis -
./Syslogd [OPTIONS]
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Options:
-c, --AppConfigID N Application Config ID (Service, Job, or Request ID) -?, -h, --Help Print usage and exit
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Threaded - Multi-Threaded