Syslog and GroundWork Integration

Input and output integration overview

The Syslog plugin enables the collection of syslog messages from various sources using standard networking protocols. This functionality is critical for environments where systems need to be monitored and logged efficiently.

This plugin writes to a GroundWork Monitor instance, allowing for effective metrics management and monitoring in a centralized manner.

Integration details

Syslog

The Syslog plugin for Telegraf captures syslog messages transmitted over various protocols such as TCP, UDP, and TLS. It supports both RFC 5424 (the newer syslog protocol) and the older RFC 3164 (BSD syslog protocol). This plugin operates as a service input, effectively starting a service that listens for incoming syslog messages. Unlike traditional plugins, service inputs may not function with standard interval settings or CLI options like --once. It includes options for setting network configurations, socket permissions, message handling, and connection handling. Furthermore, the integration with Rsyslog allows forwarding of logging messages, making it a powerful tool for collecting and relaying system logs in real-time, thus seamlessly integrating into monitoring and logging systems.

GroundWork

The GroundWork plugin enables Telegraf to send metrics to a GroundWork Monitor instance, specifically supporting GW8 and newer versions. This integration allows users to leverage the robust monitoring capabilities of GroundWork, enabling comprehensive oversight of metrics collected from diverse sources. Users can specify various parameters such as the GroundWork instance URL, agent IDs, and authentication credentials, allowing for a tailored fit within their existing monitoring setups. It also supports secret-store secrets to enhance security for sensitive fields like username and password. Tags used within the plugin provide fine-grained control over how metrics are categorized and displayed within the GroundWork interface, allowing for custom configurations that adapt to different monitoring needs. However, users should be aware that string metrics are currently not supported by GroundWork, impacting how they manage their data.

Configuration

Syslog

[[inputs.syslog]]
  ## Protocol, address and port to host the syslog receiver.
  ## If no host is specified, then localhost is used.
  ## If no port is specified, 6514 is used (RFC5425#section-4.1).
  ##   ex: server = "tcp://localhost:6514"
  ##       server = "udp://:6514"
  ##       server = "unix:///var/run/telegraf-syslog.sock"
  ## When using tcp, consider using 'tcp4' or 'tcp6' to force the usage of IPv4
  ## or IPV6 respectively. There are cases, where when not specified, a system
  ## may force an IPv4 mapped IPv6 address.
  server = "tcp://127.0.0.1:6514"

  ## Permission for unix sockets (only available on unix sockets)
  ## This setting may not be respected by some platforms. To safely restrict
  ## permissions it is recommended to place the socket into a previously
  ## created directory with the desired permissions.
  ##   ex: socket_mode = "777"
  # socket_mode = ""

  ## Maximum number of concurrent connections (only available on stream sockets like TCP)
  ## Zero means unlimited.
  # max_connections = 0

  ## Read timeout (only available on stream sockets like TCP)
  ## Zero means unlimited.
  # read_timeout = "0s"

  ## Optional TLS configuration (only available on stream sockets like TCP)
  # tls_cert = "/etc/telegraf/cert.pem"
  # tls_key  = "/etc/telegraf/key.pem"
  ## Enables client authentication if set.
  # tls_allowed_cacerts = ["/etc/telegraf/clientca.pem"]

  ## Maximum socket buffer size (in bytes when no unit specified)
  ## For stream sockets, once the buffer fills up, the sender will start
  ## backing up. For datagram sockets, once the buffer fills up, metrics will
  ## start dropping. Defaults to the OS default.
  # read_buffer_size = "64KiB"

  ## Period between keep alive probes (only applies to TCP sockets)
  ## Zero disables keep alive probes. Defaults to the OS configuration.
  # keep_alive_period = "5m"

  ## Content encoding for message payloads
  ## Can be set to "gzip" for compressed payloads or "identity" for no encoding.
  # content_encoding = "identity"

  ## Maximum size of decoded packet (in bytes when no unit specified)
  # max_decompression_size = "500MB"

  ## Framing technique used for messages transport
  ## Available settings are:
  ##   octet-counting  -- see RFC5425#section-4.3.1 and RFC6587#section-3.4.1
  ##   non-transparent -- see RFC6587#section-3.4.2
  # framing = "octet-counting"

  ## The trailer to be expected in case of non-transparent framing (default = "LF").
  ## Must be one of "LF", or "NUL".
  # trailer = "LF"

  ## Whether to parse in best effort mode or not (default = false).
  ## By default best effort parsing is off.
  # best_effort = false

  ## The RFC standard to use for message parsing
  ## By default RFC5424 is used. RFC3164 only supports UDP transport (no streaming support)
  ## Must be one of "RFC5424", or "RFC3164".
  # syslog_standard = "RFC5424"

  ## Character to prepend to SD-PARAMs (default = "_").
  ## A syslog message can contain multiple parameters and multiple identifiers within structured data section.
  ## Eg., [id1 name1="val1" name2="val2"][id2 name1="val1" nameA="valA"]
  ## For each combination a field is created.
  ## Its name is created concatenating identifier, sdparam_separator, and parameter name.
  # sdparam_separator = "_"

GroundWork

[[outputs.groundwork]]
  ## URL of your groundwork instance.
  url = "https://groundwork.example.com"

  ## Agent uuid for GroundWork API Server.
  agent_id = ""

  ## Username and password to access GroundWork API.
  username = ""
  password = ""

  ## Default application type to use in GroundWork client
  # default_app_type = "TELEGRAF"

  ## Default display name for the host with services(metrics).
  # default_host = "telegraf"

  ## Default service state.
  # default_service_state = "SERVICE_OK"

  ## The name of the tag that contains the hostname.
  # resource_tag = "host"

  ## The name of the tag that contains the host group name.
  # group_tag = "group"

Input and output integration examples

Syslog

1. Centralized Log Management: Use the Syslog plugin to aggregate log messages from multiple servers into a central logging system. This setup can help in monitoring overall system health, troubleshooting issues effectively, and maintaining audit trails by collecting syslog data from different sources.

2. Real-Time Alerting: Integrate the Syslog plugin with alerting tools to trigger real-time notifications when specific log patterns or errors are detected. For example, if a critical system error appears in the logs, an alert can be sent to the operations team, minimizing downtime and performing proactive maintenance.

3. Security Monitoring: Leverage the Syslog plugin for security monitoring by capturing logs from firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and other security devices. This logging capability enhances security visibility and helps in investigating potentially malicious activities by analyzing the captured syslog data.

4. Application Performance Tracking: Utilize the Syslog plugin to monitor application performance by collecting logs from various applications. This integration helps in analyzing the application’s behavior and performance trends, thus aiding in optimizing application processes and ensuring smoother operation.

GroundWork

1. Centralized Monitoring Dashboard: Use the GroundWork plugin to aggregate metrics from multiple Telegraf instances into a single GroundWork Monitor dashboard. This configuration offers complete visibility into system health across various components, enabling swift identification of performance bottlenecks and improved incident response times.

2. Service Health Monitoring with Alerts: Configure this plugin to send critical service metrics to GroundWork, establishing a robust alerting system. Metrics such as CPU usage and service statuses can trigger alerts based on threshold values, informing administrators of potential issues before they escalate, thereby enhancing system reliability.

3. Historical Data Analysis: Leverage the historical metric capabilities of GroundWork using this plugin to conduct trend analysis over time. This application allows organizations to make data-driven decisions based on comprehensive historical performance metrics, which can assist in capacity planning and optimize resource allocation.

4. Custom Service Tags for Enhanced Monitoring: Extend the functionality of this plugin by utilizing custom tags for different services and hosts. By customizing these tags, users can filter and categorize metrics more effectively within their monitoring framework, leading to tailored monitoring experiences that align specifically with business objectives.

Feedback

Thank you for being part of our community! If you have any general feedback or found any bugs on these pages, we welcome and encourage your input. Please submit your feedback in the InfluxDB community Slack.