Syslog Source

The Vector syslog source ingests data through the Syslog protocol and outputs log events.

Requirements

• This component exposes a configured port. You must ensure your network allows access to this port.

Configuration

• Common
• Advanced

vector.toml

[sources.my_source_id]
  type = "syslog" # required
  address = "0.0.0.0:514" # required, required when mode = "tcp" or mode = "udp"
  mode = "tcp" # required
  path = "/path/to/socket" # required, required when mode = "unix"

6 items

commonrequired

• stringoptional

  host_key

  The key name added to each event representing the current host. This can also be globally set via the global [host_key](#host_key) option.

  See Context for more info.

  • Default: "host"
  • View examples
• stringcommonrequired*

  address

  The TCP or UDP address to listen for connections on, or "systemd#N" to use the Nth socket passed by systemd socket activation.

  • Only required when: mode = ["tcp","udp"]
  • No default
  • View examples
• int (bytes)optional

  max_length

  The maximum bytes size of incoming messages before they are discarded.

  • Default: 102400 (bytes)
  • View examples
• stringenumcommonrequired

  mode

  The input mode.

  • No default
  • Enum, must be one of: "tcp" "udp" "unix"
  • View examples
• stringcommonrequired*

  path

  The unix socket path. This should be absolute path.

  • Only required when: mode = "unix"
  • No default
  • View examples
• tableoptional

  tls

  Configures the TLS options for connections from this source.

  • stringoptional

    ca_path

    Absolute path to an additional CA certificate file, in DER or PEM format (X.509).

    • No default
    • View examples
  • stringcommonoptional

    crt_path

    Absolute path to a certificate file used to identify this server, in DER or PEM format (X.509) or PKCS#12. If this is set and is not a PKCS#12 archive, key_path must also be set. This is required if enabled is set to true.

    • No default
    • View examples
  • boolcommonoptional

    enabled

    Require TLS for incoming connections. If this is set, an identity certificate is also required.

    • Default: false
    • View examples
  • stringcommonoptional

    key_pass

    Pass phrase used to unlock the encrypted key file. This has no effect unless key_path is set.

    • No default
    • View examples
  • stringcommonoptional

    key_path

    Absolute path to a certificate key file used to identify this server, in DER or PEM format (PKCS#8).

    • No default
    • View examples
  • booloptional

    verify_certificate

    If true, Vector will require a TLS certificate from the connecting host and terminate the connection if it is not valid. If false (the default), Vector will not request a certificate from the client.

    • WARNING: Setting this to `false` will cause OpenSSL to not request a certificate from the client
    • Default: false
    • View examples

Fields

example log event

{
  // ...
  "appname": "app-name",
  "facility": "1",
  "host": "my.host.com",
  "message": "<13>Feb 13 20:07:26 74794bfb6795 root[8539]: i am foobar",
  "msgid": "ID47",
  "procid": "8710",
  "severity": "notice",
  "timestamp": "2019-11-01T21:15:47+00:00",
  "version": 1,
  "custom_field1": "custom value 1"
  // ...
}

10 items

commonrequired

• stringoptional

  appname

  The appname extracted from the Syslog formatted line. If a appname is not found, then the key will not be added.

  • No default
  • View examples
• stringoptional

  facility

  The facility extracted from the Syslog line. If a facility is not found, then the key will not be added.

  • No default
  • View examples
• stringcommonrequired

  host

  The hostname extracted from the Syslog line. If a hostname is not found, then Vector will use the upstream hostname. In the case where mode = "unix" the socket path will be used. This key can be renamed via the host_key option.

  • No default
  • View examples
• stringcommonrequired

  message

  The raw message, unaltered.

  See Parsing for more info.

  • No default
  • View examples
• stringoptional

  msgid

  The msgid extracted from the Syslog line. If a msgid is not found, then the key will not be added.

  • No default
  • View examples
• stringoptional

  procid

  The procid extracted from the Syslog line. If a procid is not found, then the key will not be added.

  • No default
  • View examples
• stringoptional

  severity

  The severity extracted from the Syslog line. If a severity is not found, then the key will not be added.

  • No default
  • View examples
• timestampcommonrequired

  timestamp

  The timestamp extracted from the incoming line. If a timestamp is not found, then Vector will use the current time.

  • No default
  • View examples
• intoptional

  version

  The version extracted from the Syslog line. If a version is not found, then the key will not be added.

  • No default
  • View examples
• *optional

  [field-name]

  In addition to the defined fields, any Syslog 5424 structured fields are parsed and inserted as root level fields.

  • No default
  • View examples

Examples

Given the following Syslog 5424 log line:

<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!

A log event will be produced with the following structure:

{
  "severity": "notice",
  "facility": "user",
  "timestamp": "2020-03-13T20:45:38.119Z",
  "host": "dynamicwireless.name", // controlled via the [`host_key`](#host_key) option,
  "appname": "non",
  "procid": "2426",
  "msgid": "ID931",
  "iut": "3",
  "eventSource": "Application",
  "eventID": "1011",
  "message": "Try to override the THX port, maybe it will reboot the neural interface!"
}

How It Works

Context

By default, the syslog source will add context keys to your events via the host_key options.

Environment Variables

Environment variables are supported through all of Vector's configuration. Simply add ${MY_ENV_VAR} in your Vector configuration file and the variable will be replaced before being evaluated.

You can learn more in the Environment Variables section.

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 5424, RFC 3164, and other common variations (such as the Nginx Syslog style). It's unfortunate that the Syslog specification is not more accurately followed, but we hope Vector insulates you from these diviations.

If parsing fails, Vector will include the entire Syslog line in the message key. If you find this happening often, we recommend using the socket source combined with the regex_parser transform to implement your own ingestion and parsing scheme. Or, open an issue requesting support for your specific format.

TLS

Vector uses Openssl for TLS protocols for it's battle-tested and reliable security. You can enable and adjust TLS behavior via the tls.* options.