Syslog

Collect logs sent via Syslog

status: stable role: aggregator role: sidecar delivery: best effort acknowledgements: no egress: stream state: stateless output: log
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Configuration

Example configurations 

{
  "sources": {
    "my_source_id": {
      "type": "syslog",
      "address": "0.0.0.0:514",
      "max_length": 102400,
      "mode": "tcp",
      "path": "/path/to/socket"
    }
  }
}
[sources.my_source_id]
type = "syslog"
address = "0.0.0.0:514"
max_length = 102_400
mode = "tcp"
path = "/path/to/socket"

---
sources:
  my_source_id:
    type: syslog
    address: 0.0.0.0:514
    max_length: 102400
    mode: tcp
    path: /path/to/socket

{
  "sources": {
    "my_source_id": {
      "type": "syslog",
      "address": "0.0.0.0:514",
      "host_key": "host",
      "max_length": 102400,
      "mode": "tcp",
      "path": "/path/to/socket",
      "socket_file_mode": 511,
      "receive_buffer_bytes": 65536,
      "keepalive": null,
      "tls": null,
      "connection_limit": null
    }
  }
}
[sources.my_source_id]
type = "syslog"
address = "0.0.0.0:514"
host_key = "host"
max_length = 102_400
mode = "tcp"
path = "/path/to/socket"
socket_file_mode = 511
receive_buffer_bytes = 65_536

---
sources:
  my_source_id:
    type: syslog
    address: 0.0.0.0:514
    host_key: host
    max_length: 102400
    mode: tcp
    path: /path/to/socket
    socket_file_mode: 511
    receive_buffer_bytes: 65536
    keepalive: null
    tls: null
    connection_limit: null

address

required string literal
The address to listen for connections on, or systemd#N to use the Nth socket passed by systemd socket activation. If an address is used it must include a port.
Examples 
"0.0.0.0:514"
"systemd"
"systemd#3"
Relevant when: mode = `tcp` or `udp`

connection_limit

optional uint
The max number of TCP connections that will be processed.
Relevant when: mode = `tcp`

host_key

optional string literal
The key name added to each event representing the current host. This can also be globally set via the global host_key option.
default: host

keepalive

optional object
Configures the TCP keepalive behavior for the connection to the source.

keepalive.time_secs

optional uint
The time a connection needs to be idle before sending TCP keepalive probes.

max_length

common optional uint
The maximum buffer size of incoming messages. Messages larger than this are truncated.
default: 102400 (bytes)

mode

required string literal enum
The type of socket to use.
Examples 
"tcp"
"udp"
"unix"
Enum options string literal
OptionDescription
tcpTCP socket.
udpUDP socket.
unixUnix domain stream socket.

path

required string literal
The unix socket path. This should be an absolute path.
Examples 
"/path/to/socket"
Relevant when: mode = `unix`

receive_buffer_bytes

optional uint
Configures the receive buffer size using the SO_RCVBUF option on the socket.
Examples 
65536
Relevant when: mode = `tcp` or mode = `udp`

socket_file_mode

optional uint
Unix file mode bits to be applied to the unix socket file as its designated file permissions. Note that the file mode value can be specified in any numeric format supported by your configuration language, but it is most intuitive to use an octal number.
Examples 
511
384
508
Relevant when: mode = `unix_datagram` or `unix_stream`

tls

optional object
Configures the TLS options for incoming/outgoing connections.

tls.ca_file

optional string literal

Absolute path to an additional CA certificate file.

The certificate must be in the DER or PEM (X.509) format. Additionally, the certificate can be provided as an inline string in PEM format.

Examples 
"/path/to/certificate_authority.crt"

tls.client_metadata_key

optional string literal
Event field for client certificate metadata.
Examples 
"client_cert"

tls.crt_file

optional string literal

Absolute path to a certificate file used to identify this server.

The certificate must be in DER, PEM (X.509), or PKCS#12 format. Additionally, the certificate can be provided as an inline string in PEM format.

If this is set, and is not a PKCS#12 archive, key_file must also be set.

Examples 
"/path/to/host_certificate.crt"

tls.enabled

optional bool

Whether or not to require TLS for incoming/outgoing connections.

When enabled and used for incoming connections, an identity certificate is also required. See tls.crt_file for more information.

default: false

tls.key_file

optional string literal

Absolute path to a private key file used to identify this server.

The key must be in DER or PEM (PKCS#8) format. Additionally, the key can be provided as an inline string in PEM format.

Examples 
"/path/to/host_certificate.key"

tls.key_pass

optional string literal

Passphrase used to unlock the encrypted key file.

This has no effect unless key_file is set.

Examples 
"${KEY_PASS_ENV_VAR}"
"PassWord1"

tls.verify_certificate

optional bool

Enables certificate verification.

If enabled, certificates must be valid in terms of not being expired, as well as being issued by a trusted issuer. This verification operates in a hierarchical manner, checking that not only the leaf certificate (the certificate presented by the client/server) is valid, but also that the issuer of that certificate is valid, and so on until reaching a root certificate.

Relevant for both incoming and outgoing connections.

Do NOT set this to false unless you understand the risks of not verifying the validity of certificates.

default: false

Outputs

<component_id>

Default output stream of the component. Use this component’s ID as an input to downstream transforms and sinks.

Output Data

Logs

Line

An individual Syslog event
Fields
* required string literal
In addition to the defined fields, any Syslog 5424 structured fields are parsed and inserted, namespaced under the name of each structured data section.
Examples
hello world
appname required string literal
The appname extracted from the Syslog formatted line. If a appname is not found, then the key will not be added.
Examples
app-name
client_metadata optional object
Client TLS metadata.
facility required string literal
The facility extracted from the Syslog line. If a facility is not found, then the key will not be added.
Examples
1
host required string literal
The local hostname, equivalent to the gethostname command.
Examples
my-host.local
hostname required string literal
The hostname extracted from the Syslog line. (host is also this value if it exists in the log.)
Examples
my.host.com
message required string literal
The message extracted from the Syslog line.
Examples
Hello world
msgid required string literal
The msgid extracted from the Syslog line. If a msgid is not found, then the key will not be added.
Examples
ID47
procid required string literal
The procid extracted from the Syslog line. If a procid is not found, then the key will not be added.
Examples
8710
severity required string literal
The severity extracted from the Syslog line. If a severity is not found, then the key will not be added.
Examples
notice
source_ip required string literal
The upstream hostname. In the case where mode = "unix" the socket path will be used. (host is also this value if hostname does not exist in the log.)
Examples
127.0.0.1
source_type required string literal
The name of the source type.
Examples
syslog
timestamp required timestamp
The time extracted from the Syslog formatted line. If parsing fails, then the exact time the event was ingested into Vector is used.
Examples
2020-10-10T17:07:36.452332Z
version required uint
The version extracted from the Syslog line. If a version is not found, then the key will not be added.
Examples
1

Telemetry

Metrics

link

component_received_bytes_total

counter
The number of raw bytes accepted by this component from source origins.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

component_received_events_total

counter
The number of events accepted by this component either from tagged origins like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

component_sent_event_bytes_total

counter
The total number of event bytes emitted by this component.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
output optional
The specific output of the component.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

component_sent_events_total

counter
The total number of events emitted by this component.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
output optional
The specific output of the component.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

connection_read_errors_total

counter
The total number of errors reading datagram.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

events_in_total

counter
The number of events accepted by this component either from tagged origins like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins. This metric is deprecated and will be removed in a future version. Use component_received_events_total instead.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

events_out_total

counter
The total number of events emitted by this component. This metric is deprecated and will be removed in a future version. Use component_sent_events_total instead.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
output optional
The specific output of the component.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

processed_bytes_total

counter
The number of bytes processed by the component.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the bytes originate.
file optional
The file from which the bytes originate.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the bytes originate.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the bytes originate.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the bytes originate.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the bytes originate.

processed_events_total

counter
The total number of events processed by this component. This metric is deprecated in place of using component_received_events_total and component_sent_events_total metrics.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

source_lag_time_seconds

histogram
The difference between the timestamp recorded in each event and the time when it was ingested, expressed as fractional seconds.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

utf8_convert_errors_total

counter
The total number of errors converting bytes to a UTF-8 string in UDP mode.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode
The connection mode used by the component.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

Examples

Syslog Event

Given this event...
<13>1 2020-03-13T20:45:38.119Z dynamicwireless.name non 2426 ID931 [exampleSDID@32473 iut="3" eventSource="Application" eventID="1011"] Try to override the THX port, maybe it will reboot the neural interface!
...and this configuration...
[sources.my_source_id]
type = "syslog"

---
sources:
  my_source_id:
    type: syslog

{
  "sources": {
    "my_source_id": {
      "type": "syslog"
    }
  }
}
...this Vector event is produced:
{
  "appname": "non",
  "exampleSDID@32473": {
    "eventID": "1011",
    "eventSource": "Application",
    "iut": "3"
  },
  "facility": "user",
  "host": "my-host.local",
  "hostname": "dynamicwireless.name",
  "message": "Try to override the THX port, maybe it will reboot the neural interface!",
  "msgid": "ID931",
  "procid": "2426",
  "severity": "notice",
  "source_ip": "34.33.222.212",
  "source_type": "syslog",
  "timestamp": "2020-03-13T20:45:38.119Z"
}

How it works

Context

By default, the syslog source augments events with helpful context keys.

Line Delimiters

Each line is read until a new line delimiter, the 0xA byte, is found.

Parsing

Vector makes a best effort to parse the various Syslog formats out in the wild. This includes RFC 6587, RFC 5424, RFC 3164, and other common variations (such as the Nginx Syslog style). It’s unfortunate that the Syslog specification isn’t more accurately followed, but we hope that Vector insulates you from these deviations.

If parsing fails, Vector will raise an error. If you find this happening often, we recommend using the socket source combined with regex parsing to implement your own custom ingestion and parsing scheme, or syslog parsing and manually handle any errors. Alternatively, you can open an issue to request support for your specific format.

State

This component is stateless, meaning its behavior is consistent across each input.

Transport Layer Security (TLS)

Vector uses OpenSSL for TLS protocols. You can adjust TLS behavior via the tls.* options.
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