syslog-ng Open Source Edition 3.17 - 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 linux-audit: Collecting messages from Linux audit logs 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 Client-side failover
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 Third-party contributions

riemann() destination options

The riemann() driver sends metrics or events to a Riemann monitoring system.

The riemann() destination has the following options:

attributes()
Type: parameter list of the value-pairs() option
Default:

Description: The attributes() option adds extra metadata to the Riemann event, that can be displayed on the Riemann dashboard. To specify the metadata to add, use the syntax of the value-pairs() option. For details on using value-pairs(), see Structuring macros, metadata, and other value-pairs.

description()
Type: template, macro, or string
Default:

Description: The value to add as the description field of the Riemann event.

disk-buffer()

Description: This option enables putting outgoing messages into the disk buffer of the destination to avoid message loss in case of a system failure on the destination side. It has the following options:

reliable()
Type: yes|no
Default: no

Description: If set to yes, syslog-ng OSE cannot lose logs in case of reload/restart, unreachable destination or syslog-ng OSE 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 will be used. This provides a faster, but less reliable disk-buffer option.

Caution:

Hazard of data loss! If you change the value of reliable() option when there are messages in the disk-buffer, the messages stored in the disk-buffer will be lost.

dir()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines the folder where the disk-buffer files are stored.

Caution:

When creating a new dir() option for a disk buffer, or modifying an existing one, make sure you delete the persist file.

syslog-ng OSE creates disk-buffer files based on the path recorded in the persist file. Therefore, if the persist file is not deleted after modifying the dir() option, then following a restart, syslog-ng OSE will look for or create disk-buffer files in their old location. To ensure that syslog-ng OSE uses the new dir() setting, the persist file must not contain any information about the destinations which the disk-buffer file in question belongs to.

disk-buf-size()
Type: number (bytes)
Default:

Description: This is a required option. The maximum size of the disk-buffer 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. 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.
qout-size()
Type: number (messages)
Default: 64
Description: The number of messages stored in the output buffer of the destination.

Options reliable() and disk-buf-size() are required options.

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-time()
Type: template, macro, or string
Default: ${UNIXTIME}

Description: Instead of the arrival time into Riemann, syslog-ng OSE can also send its own timestamp value.

This can be useful if Riemann is inaccessible for a while, and the messages are collected in the disk buffer until Riemann is accessible again. In this case, it would be difficult to differentiate between messages based on the arrival time only, because this would mean that there would be hundreds of messages with the same arrival time. This issue can be solved by using this option.

The event-time() option takes an optional parameter specifying whether the time format is in seconds or microseconds. For example:

event-time("$(* $UNIXTIME 1000000)" microseconds)
event-time("12345678" microseconds)
event-time("12345678" seconds)
event-time("12345678")

In case the parameter is omitted, syslog-ng OSE defaults to the seconds version. In case the event-time() option is omitted altogether, syslog-ng OSE defaults to the seconds version with $UNIXTIME.

Note that the time format parameter requires:

  • riemann-c-client 1.10.0 or newer

    In older versions of riemann-c-client, the microseconds option is not available.

    In case your distribution does not contain a recent enough version of riemann-c-client and you wish to use microseconds, install a new version from .

    If you installed the new version in a custom location (instead of the default one), make sure that you append the directory of the pkg-config file (.pc file) to the environment variable export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=....

    After calling configure, you should see the following message in the case of successful installation:

    [...]
     Riemann destination (module): yes, microseconds: yes
    [...]
  • Riemann 2.13 or newer

    Older versions of Riemann cannot handle microseconds. No error will be indicated, however, the time of the event will be set to the timestamp when the message arrived to Riemann.

Example: Example event-time() option
destination d_riemann {
   riemann(
   server("127.0.0.1")
   port(5555)
   event-time("${UNIXTIME}")
   [...]
   );
};
flush-lines()
Type: number
Default: 1

Description: The syslog-ng OSE application can send the messages in a batch to the Riemann server. To send messages in batches, increase the flush-lines() parameter (by default, it is set to 1). The syslog-ng OSE 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. Note that currently the riemann() destination does not have a timeout for sending messages if the batch is not full.

For example, if you set flush-lines() to 100, syslog-ng OSE waits for 100 messages. If the source sends a few messages, but less than 100 messages, syslog-ng OSE will not send the messages to the destination. If you stop or reload syslog-ng OSE or in case of network sources, the connection with the client is closed, syslog-ng OSE automatically sends the unsent messages to the destination.

If an error occurs while sending the messages to the server, syslog-ng OSE will try to resend every message from the batch. If it does not succeed (you can set the number of retry attempts in the retries() option), syslog-ng OSE drops every message in the batch.

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 OSE 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 OSE to execute external applications.

Using the hook-commands() when syslog-ng OSE starts or stops

To execute an external program when syslog-ng OSE starts or stops, use the following options:

startup()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines the external program that is executed as syslog-ng OSE starts.

shutdown()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines the external program that is executed as syslog-ng OSE stops.

Using the hook-commands() when syslog-ng OSE reloads

To execute an external program when the syslog-ng OSE configuration is initiated or torn down, for example, on startup/shutdown or during a syslog-ng OSE reload, use the following options:

setup()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines an external program that is executed when the syslog-ng OSE configuration is initiated, for example, on startup or during a syslog-ng OSE reload.

teardown()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines an external program that is executed when the syslog-ng OSE configuration is stopped or torn down, for example, on shutdown or during a syslog-ng OSE 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 as syslog-ng OSE 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 OSE 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, macro, or string
Default: ${HOST}

Description: The value to add as the host field of the Riemann event.

log-fifo-size()
Type: number
Default: Use global setting.

Description: The number of messages that the output queue can store.

metric()
Type: template, macro, or string
Default:

Description: The numeric value to add as the metric field of the Riemann event. If possible, include type-hinting as well, otherwise the Riemann server will interpret the value as a floating-point number. The following example specifies the SEQNUM macro as an integer.

metric(int("$SEQNUM"))
port()
Type: number
Default: 5555

Description: The port number of the Riemann server.

retries()
Type: number (of attempts)
Default: 3

Description: The number of times syslog-ng OSE attempts to send a message to this destination. If syslog-ng OSE could not send a message, it will try again until the number of attempts reaches retries, then drops the message.

server()
Type: hostname or IP address
Default: 127.0.0.1

Description: The hostname or IP address of the Riemann server.

service()
Type: template, macro, or string
Default: ${PROGRAM}

Description: The value to add as the service field of the Riemann event.

state()
Type: template, macro, or string
Default:

Description: The value to add as the state field of the Riemann event.

tags()
Type: string list
Default: the tags already assigned to the message

Description: The list of tags to add as the tags field of the Riemann event. If not specified syslog-ng OSE automatically adds the tags already assigned to the message. If you set the tags() option, only the tags you specify will be added to the event.

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 disk-buffer as well to avoid the risk of losing messages. Specifying 0 or a lower value sets the output limit to unlimited.

timeout()
Type: number [seconds]
Default:

Description: The value (in seconds) to wait for an operation to complete, and attempt to reconnect the Riemann server if exceeded. By default, the timeout is disabled.

ttl()
Type: template, macro, or number
Default:

Description: The value (in seconds) to add as the ttl (time-to-live) field of the Riemann event.

type()
Type: tcp | tls | udp
Default: tcp

Description: The type of the network connection to the Riemann server: TCP, TLS, or UDP. For TLS connections, set the ca-file() option to authenticate the Riemann server, and the cert-file() and key-file() options if the Riemann server requires authentication from its clients.

Declaration 1:
destination d_riemann {
	riemann(
		server("127.0.0.1")
		port(5672)
		type(
		   "tls"
		   ca-file("ca")
		   cert-file("cert") 
		   key-file("key")
		)
	);
};

An alternative way to specify TLS options is to group them into a tls() block. This allows you to separate them and ensure better readability.

Declaration 2:
destination d_riemann {
	riemann(
		server("127.0.0.1")
		port(5672)
		type("tls")
		tls(
			ca-file("ca")
			cert-file("cert") 
			key-file("key")
		)
	);
};

Make sure that you specify TLS options either using type() or using the tls() block. Avoid mixing the two methods. In case you do specify TLS options in both ways, the one that comes later in the configuration file will take effect.

ca-file()

Type: path to a CA certificate in PEM format
Default:

Description: Path to the CA certificate in PEM format that signed the certificate of the Riemann server. When establishing TLS connection, syslog-ng OSE verifies the certificate of the Riemann server using this CA.

Alternative 1:

type(
	"tls"
	ca-file("/opt/syslog-ng/etc/syslog-ng/riemann-cacert.pem")
	)

Alternative 2:

riemann(
	.
	.
	type("tls")
	tls(
          	ca-file("/opt/syslog-ng/etc/syslog-ng/riemann-cacert.pem")
	)

This option was called cacert() up until (and including) syslog-ng OSE version 3.12.

cert-file()

Type: path to a certificate in PEM format
Default:

Description: Path to the a certificate file in PEM format. When establishing TLS connection, syslog-ng OSE authenticates on the Riemann server using this certificate and the matching private key set in the key-file() option.

Note that you have to set the cert-file() and key-file() options only if the Riemann server requires authentication from the clients.

Alternative 1:

type(
	"tls"
	cert-file("/opt/syslog-ng/etc/syslog-ng/riemann-client-cert.pem")
	key-file("/opt/syslog-ng/etc/syslog-ng/riemann-client-cert.key")
	)

Alternative 2:

riemann(
	.
	.
	type("tls")
        tls(
              cert-file("/opt/syslog-ng/etc/syslog-ng/riemann-client-cert.pem")
              key-file("/opt/syslog-ng/etc/syslog-ng/riemann-client-cert.key")
       )

This option was called cert() in syslog-ng OSE version 3.7.

key-file()

Type: path to a private key file
Default:

Description: Path to the private key of the certificate file set in the cert-file() option. When establishing TLS connection, syslog-ng OSE authenticates on the Riemann server using this private key and the matching certificate set in the cert-file() option.

Note that you have to set the cert-file() and key-file() options only if the Riemann server requires authentication from the clients.

Alternative 1:

type(
	"tls"
	cert-file("/opt/syslog-ng/etc/syslog-ng/riemann-client-cert.pem")
	key-file("/opt/syslog-ng/etc/syslog-ng/riemann-client-cert.key")
	)

Alternative 2:

riemann(
	.
	.
	type("tls")
        tls(
              cert-file("/opt/syslog-ng/etc/syslog-ng/riemann-client-cert.pem")
              key-file("/opt/syslog-ng/etc/syslog-ng/riemann-client-cert.key")
       )

This option was called key() in syslog-ng OSE version 3.7.


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smtp: Generating SMTP messages (e-mail) from logs

The destination is aimed at a fully controlled local, or near-local, trusted SMTP server. The goal is to send mail to trusted recipients, through a controlled channel. It hands mails over to an SMTP server, and that is all it does, therefore the resulting solution is as reliable as sending an e-mail in general. For example, syslog-ng OSE does not verify whether the recipient exists.

The smtp() driver sends e-mail messages triggered by log messages. The smtp() driver uses SMTP, without needing external applications. You can customize the main fields of the e-mail, add extra headers, send the e-mail to multiple recipients, and so on.

The subject(), body(), and header() fields may include macros which get expanded in the e-mail. For more information on available macros see Macros of syslog-ng OSE.

The smtp() driver has the following required parameters: host(), port(), from(), to(), subject(), and body(). For the list of available optional parameters, see smtp() destination options.

NOTE:

The smtp() destination driver is available only in syslog-ng OSE 3.4 and later.

Declaration:
smtp(host() port() from() to() subject() body() options());
Example: Using the smtp() driver

The following example defines an smtp() destination using only the required parameters.

destination d_smtp {
    smtp(
        host("localhost")
        port(25)
        from("syslog-ng alert service" "noreply@example.com")
        to("Admin #1" "admin1@example.com")
        subject("[ALERT] Important log message of $LEVEL condition received from $HOST/$PROGRAM!")
        body("Hi!\nThe syslog-ng alerting service detected the following important log message:\n $MSG\n-- \nsyslog-ng\n")
    );
};

The following example sets some optional parameters as well.

destination d_smtp {
    smtp(
        host("localhost")
        port(25)
        from("syslog-ng alert service" "noreply@example.com")
        to("Admin #1" "admin1@example.com")
        to("Admin #2" "admin2@example.com")
        cc("Admin BOSS" "admin.boss@example.com")
        bcc("Blind CC" "blindcc@example.com")
        subject("[ALERT] Important log message of $LEVEL condition received from $HOST/$PROGRAM!")
        body("Hi!\nThe syslog-ng alerting service detected the following important log message:\n $MSG\n-- \nsyslog-ng\n")
        header("X-Program", "$PROGRAM")
        );
};
Example: Simple e-mail alerting with the smtp() driver

The following example sends an e-mail alert if the eth0 network interface of the host is down.

filter f_linkdown {
    match("eth0: link down" value("MESSAGE"));
};
destination d_alert {
    smtp(
        host("localhost") port(25)
        from("syslog-ng alert service" "syslog@localhost")
        reply-to("Admins" "root@localhost")
        to("Ennekem" "me@localhost")
        subject("[SYSLOG ALERT]: eth0 link down")
        body("Syslog received an alert:\n$MSG")
        );
};

log {
    source(s_local);
    filter(f_linkdown);
    destination(d_alert);
};

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smtp() destination options

The smtp() sends e-mail messages using SMTP, without needing external applications. The smtp() destination has the following options:

body()
Type: string
Default: n/a

Description: The BODY field of the e-mail. You can also use macros in the string. Use \n to start a new line. For example:

body("syslog-ng OSE received the following alert from $HOST:\n$MSG")
bcc()
Type: string
Default: n/a

Description: The BCC recipient of the e-mail (contents of the BCC field). You can specify the e-mail address, or the name and the e-mail address. Set the bcc() option multiple times to send the e-mail to multiple recipients. For example: bcc("admin@example.com") or bcc("Admin" "admin@example.com") or bcc("Admin" "admin@example.com") bcc("Admin2" "admin2@example.com")

You can also use macros to set the value of this parameter.

cc()
Type: string
Default: n/a

Description: The CC recipient of the e-mail (contents of the CC field). You can specify the e-mail address, or the name and the e-mail address. Set the cc() option multiple times to send the e-mail to multiple recipients. For example: cc("admin@example.com") or cc("Admin" "admin@example.com") or cc("Admin" "admin@example.com") cc("Admin2" "admin2@example.com")

You can also use macros to set the value of this parameter.

disk-buffer()

Description: This option enables putting outgoing messages into the disk buffer of the destination to avoid message loss in case of a system failure on the destination side. It has the following options:

reliable()
Type: yes|no
Default: no

Description: If set to yes, syslog-ng OSE cannot lose logs in case of reload/restart, unreachable destination or syslog-ng OSE 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 will be used. This provides a faster, but less reliable disk-buffer option.

Caution:

Hazard of data loss! If you change the value of reliable() option when there are messages in the disk-buffer, the messages stored in the disk-buffer will be lost.

dir()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines the folder where the disk-buffer files are stored.

Caution:

When creating a new dir() option for a disk buffer, or modifying an existing one, make sure you delete the persist file.

syslog-ng OSE creates disk-buffer files based on the path recorded in the persist file. Therefore, if the persist file is not deleted after modifying the dir() option, then following a restart, syslog-ng OSE will look for or create disk-buffer files in their old location. To ensure that syslog-ng OSE uses the new dir() setting, the persist file must not contain any information about the destinations which the disk-buffer file in question belongs to.

disk-buf-size()
Type: number (bytes)
Default:

Description: This is a required option. The maximum size of the disk-buffer 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. 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.
qout-size()
Type: number (messages)
Default: 64
Description: The number of messages stored in the output buffer of the destination.

Options reliable() and disk-buf-size() are required options.

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")
        )
    );
};
from()
Type: string
Default: n/a

Description: The sender of the e-mail (contents of the FROM field). You can specify the e-mail address, or the name and the e-mail address. For example:

from("admin@example.com")
or
from("Admin" "admin@example.com")

If you specify the from() option multiple times, the last value will be used. Instead of the from() option, you can also use sender(), which is just an alias of the from() option.

You can also use macros to set the value of this parameter.

header()
Type: string
Default: n/a

Description: Adds an extra header to the e-mail with the specified name and content. The first parameter sets the name of the header, the second one its value. The value of the header can contain macros. Set the header() option multiple times to add multiple headers. For example:

header("X-Program", "$PROGRAM")

When using the header option, note the following points:

  • Do not use the header() option to set the values of headers that have dedicated options. Use it only to add extra headers.

  • If you set the same custom header multiple times, only the first will be added to the e-mail, other occurrences will be ignored.

  • It is not possible to set the DATE, Return-Path, Original-Recipient, Content-*, MIME-*, Resent-*, Received headers.

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 OSE 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 OSE to execute external applications.

Using the hook-commands() when syslog-ng OSE starts or stops

To execute an external program when syslog-ng OSE starts or stops, use the following options:

startup()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines the external program that is executed as syslog-ng OSE starts.

shutdown()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines the external program that is executed as syslog-ng OSE stops.

Using the hook-commands() when syslog-ng OSE reloads

To execute an external program when the syslog-ng OSE configuration is initiated or torn down, for example, on startup/shutdown or during a syslog-ng OSE reload, use the following options:

setup()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines an external program that is executed when the syslog-ng OSE configuration is initiated, for example, on startup or during a syslog-ng OSE reload.

teardown()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines an external program that is executed when the syslog-ng OSE configuration is stopped or torn down, for example, on shutdown or during a syslog-ng OSE 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 as syslog-ng OSE 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 OSE 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: hostname or IP address
Default: n/a

Description: Hostname or IP address of the SMTP server.

NOTE:

If you specify host="localhost", syslog-ng OSE will use a socket to connect to the local SMTP server. Use host="127.0.0.1" to force TCP communication between syslog-ng OSE and the local SMTP server.

log-fifo-size()
Type: number
Default: Use global setting.

Description: The number of messages that the output queue can store.

port()
Type: number
Default: 25

Description: The port number of the SMTP server.

reply-to()
Type: string
Default: n/a

Description: Replies of the recipient will be sent to this address (contents of the REPLY-TO field). You can specify the e-mail address, or the name and the e-mail address. Set the reply-to() option multiple times to send the e-mail to multiple recipients. For example: reply-to("admin@example.com") or reply-to("Admin" "admin@example.com") or reply-to("Admin" "admin@example.com") reply-to("Admin2" "admin2@example.com")

You can also use macros to set the value of this parameter.

retries()
Type: number (of attempts)
Default: 3

Description: The number of times syslog-ng OSE attempts to send a message to this destination. If syslog-ng OSE could not send a message, it will try again until the number of attempts reaches retries, then drops the message.

subject()
Type: string
Default: n/a

Description: The SUBJECT field of the e-mail. You can also use macros. For example:

subject("[SYSLOG ALERT]: Critical error message received from $HOST")

If you specify the subject() option multiple times, the last value will be used.

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 disk-buffer as well to avoid the risk of losing messages. Specifying 0 or a lower value sets the output limit to unlimited.

to()
Type: string
Default: localhost

Description: The recipient of the e-mail (contents of the TO field). You can specify the e-mail address, or the name and the e-mail address. Set the to() option multiple times to send the e-mail to multiple recipients. For example: to("admin@example.com") or to("Admin" "admin@example.com") or to("Admin" "admin@example.com") to("Admin2" "admin2@example.com")

You can also use macros to set the value of this parameter.


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Splunk: Sending log messages to Splunk

Although syslog-ng OSE currently does not have any built-in integration with Splunk, the existing message-formatting features and flexibility of syslog-ng OSE allows you to forward your log messages to Splunk. In syslog-ng OSE version 3.8 or later, you can use the http() destination. In earlier versions, you can use the program() destination.

For details on forwarding log messages to Splunk with syslog-ng OSE see the following posts on the Splunk blog:


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