Syslog is an industry-standard protocol that can be used to record device logs. Syslog is commonly used in network management tools, security management systems, and log audit systems. This topic describes how to use the Grok function in the Domain Specific Language (DSL) of Log Service to parse Syslog messages in different formats.

Overview

Syslog is widely used for message logging in UNIX-like operating systems. Syslog messages can be recorded in local files or sent to Syslog servers over the Internet. Each server can store and parse Syslog messages of multiple devices.

Background information

Traditional Syslog messages are in random formats due to a lack of Syslog standards. In some cases, Syslog messages may fail to be parsed because they can be considered only as strings. Therefore, correctness is the first priority when you parse Syslog messages in different formats.

Syslog protocols

Two Syslog protocols are commonly used in the industry: RFC 5424 issued in 2009 and RFC 3164 issued in 2001. This section describes the differences between the two protocols to help you better use the Grok function to parse Syslog messages.
  • RFC 5424
    Syslog messages that use the RFC 5424 protocol contain the following fields. For more information, see RFC 5424 - The Syslog Protocol.
    PRI VERSION SP TIMESTAMP SP HOSTNAME SP APP-NAME SP PROCID SP MSGID
    The following examples describe these fields:
    """
Example1:
<34>1 2019-07-11T22:14:15.003Z aliyun.example.com ali - ID47 - BOM'su root' failed for lonvick on /dev/pts/8
"""
PRI -- 34
VERSION -- 1
TIMESTAMP -- 2019-07-11T22:14:15.003Z
HOSTNAME -- aliyun.example.com
APP-NAME -- ali
PROCID -- None
MSGID -- ID47
MESSAGE -- 'su root' failed for lonvick on /dev/pts/8
"""
Example2:
<165>1 2019-07-11T22:14:15.000003-07:00 192.0.2.1 myproc 8710 - - %% It's time to make the do-nuts.
"""
PRI -- 165
VERSION -- 1
TIMESTAMP -- 2019-07-11T05:14:15.000003-07:00
HOSTNAME -- 192.0.2.1
APP-NAME -- myproc
PROCID -- 8710
STRUCTURED-DATA -- "-"
MSGID -- "-"
MESSAGE -- "%% It's time to make the do-nuts."
"""
Example3: - with STRUCTURED-DATA
<165>1 2019-07-11T22:14:15.003Z aliyun.example.com
           evntslog - ID47 [exampleSDID@32473 iut="3" eventSource=
           "Application" eventID="1011"] BOMAn application
           event log entry...
"""
PRI -- 165
VERSION -- 1
TIMESTAMP -- 2019-07-11T22:14:15.003Z
HOSTNAME -- aliyun.example.com
APP-NAME -- evntslog
PROCID -- "-"
MSGID -- ID47
STRUCTURED-DATA -- [exampleSDID@32473 iut="3" eventSource="Application" eventID="1011"]
MESSAGE -- An application event log entry...
  • RFC 3164
    Syslog messages that use the RFC 3164 protocol contain the following fields. For more information, see RFC 3164 - The BSD Syslog Protocol.
    PRI HEADER[TIME HOSTNAME] MSG
    The following example describes these fields:
    """
<30>Oct 9 22:33:20 hlfedora auditd[1787]: The audit daemon is exiting.
"""
PRI -- 30
HEADER
- TIME -- Oct 9 22:33:20
- HOSTNAME -- hlfedora
MSG
- TAG -- auditd[1787]
- Content --The audit daemon is exiting.

Parse Syslog messages in common formats by using the Grok function

This section describes how to use the Grok function to parse Syslog messages in common formats. For more information about Grok rules, see Grok patterns.
  • TraditionalFormat
    • Raw log entry
        receive_time: 1558663265
  __topic__:
  content: May  5 10:20:57 iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ systemd: Started System Logging Service.
    • DSL orchestration
      e_regex('content', grok('%{SYSLOGBASE} %{GREEDYDATA:message}'))
    • Result
        receive_time: 1558663265
  __topic__:
  content: May  5 10:20:57 iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ systemd: Started System Logging Service.
  timestamp: May  5 10:20:57
  logsource: iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ
  program: systemd
  message: Started System Logging Service.
  • FileFormat
    • Raw log entry
        receive_time: 1558663265
  __topic__:
  content: 2019-05-06T09:26:07.874593+08:00 iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ root: 834753
    • DSL orchestration
      e_regex('content',grok('%{TIMESTAMP_ISO8601:timestamp} %{SYSLOGHOST:hostname} %{SYSLOGPROG} %{GREEDYDATA:message}'))
    • Result
        receive_time: 1558663265
  __topic__:
  content: 2019-05-06T09:26:07.874593+08:00 iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ root: 834753
  timestamp: 2019-05-06T09:26:07.874593+08:00
  hostname: iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ
  program: root
  message: 834753
  • RSYSLOG_SyslogProtocol23Format
    • Raw log entry
        receive_time: 1558663265
  __topic__:
  content: <13>1 2019-05-06T11:50:16.015554+08:00 iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ root - - - twish
    • DSL orchestration
      e_regex('content',grok('%{POSINT:priority}>%{NUMBER:version} %{TIMESTAMP_ISO8601:timestamp} %{syslogHOST:hostname} %{PROG:program} - - - %{GREEDYDATA:message}'))
    • Result
        receive_time: 1558663265
  __topic__:
  content: <13>1 2019-05-06T11:50:16.015554+08:00 iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ root - - - twish
  priority: 13
  version: 1
  timestamp: 2019-05-06T11:50:16.015554+08:00
  hostname: iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ
  program: root
  message: twish
  • RSYSLOG_DebugFormat
    • Log content
        receive_time: 1558663265
  __topic__:
  content: 2019-05-06T14:29:37.558854+08:00 iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ root: environment
    • DSL orchestration
      e_regex('content',grok('%{TIMESTAMP_ISO8601:timestamp} %{SYSLOGHOST:hostname} %{SYSLOGPROG} %{GREEDYDATA:message}'))
    • Result
        receive_time: 1558663265
  __topic__:
  content: 2019-05-06T14:29:37.558854+08:00 iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ root: environment
  timestamp: 2019-05-06T14:29:37.558854+08:00 
  hostname: iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ
  program: root
  message: environment

Parse Syslog messages in uncommon formats by using the Grok function

This section describes how to use the Grok function to parse Syslog messages in two uncommon formats: FluentRFC5424 and FluentRFC3164. These messages are collected by using the Fluent software.

  • FluentRFC5424
    • Log content
        receive_time: 1558663265
  __topic__:
  content: <16>1 2019-02-28T12:00:00.003Z 192.168.0.1 aliyun 11111 ID24224 [exampleSDID@20224 iut='3' eventSource='Application' eventID='11211] Hi, from Fluentd!
    • DSL orchestration
      e_regex('content',grok('%{POSINT:priority}>%{NUMBER:version} %{TIMESTAMP_ISO8601:timestamp} %{SYSLOGHOST:hostname} %{WORD:ident} %{USER:pid} %{USERNAME:msgid} (? P<extradata>(\[(. *)\]|[^ ])) %{GREEDYDATA:message}'))
    • Result
        receive_time: 1558663265
  __topic__:
  content: <16>1 2019-02-28T12:00:00.003Z 192.168.0.1 aliyun 11111 ID24224 [exampleSDID@20224 iut='3' eventSource='Application' eventID='11211] Hi, from aliyun!
  priority: 16
  version: 1
  timestamp: 2019-02-28T12:00:00.003Z
  hostname: 192.168.0.1
  ident: aliyun
  pid: 1111
  msgid: ID24224
  extradata: [exampleSDID@20224 iut='3' eventSource='Application' eventID='11211]
  message: Hi, from aliyun!
  • FluentRFC3164
    • Log content
        receive_time: 1558663265
  __topic__:
  content: <6>Feb 28 12:00:00 192.168.0.1 aliyun[11111]: [error] Syslog test
    • DSL orchestration
      e_regex('content', grok('%{POSINT:priority}>%{SYSLOGTIMESTAMP:timestamp} %{SYSLOGHOST:hostname} %{WORD:ident}(? P<pid>(\[[a-zA-Z0-9. _-]+\]|[^:])): (? P<level>(\[(\w+)\]|[^ ])) %{GREEDYDATA:message}'))
    • Result
       receive_time: 1558663265
  __topic__:
  content: <6>Feb 28 12:00:00 192.168.0.1 aliyun[11111]: [error] Syslog test
  priority: 6
  timestamp: Feb 28 12:00:00
  hostname: 192.168.0.1
  ident: aliyun
  pid: [1111]
  level: [error]
  message: Syslog test
  • Parse the priority field in a log entry
    After you parse the Syslog messages in the FluentRFC5424 and FluentRFC3164 formats, you can further parse the priority field to obtain information about facility and severity. For more information about how to use RFC5424, see e_syslogrfc. Example
    • Raw log entry
      receive_time: 1558663265
  __topic__:
  content: <13>1 2019-05-06T11:50:16.015554+08:00 iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ root - - - twish
  priority: 13
  version: 1
  timestamp: 2019-05-06T11:50:16.015554+08:00
  hostname: iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ
  program: root
  message: twish
    • DSL orchestration
      e_syslogrfc("priority","SYSLOGRFC5424")
    • Result
        receive_time: 1558663265
  __topic__:
  content: <13>1 2019-05-06T11:50:16.015554+08:00 iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ root - - - twish
  priority: 13
  version: 1
  timestamp: 2019-05-06T11:50:16.015554+08:00
  hostname: iZbp1a65x3r1vhpe94fi2qZ
  program: root
  message: twish
  _facility_: 1
  _severity_: 5
  _severitylabel_: Notice: normal but significant condition
  _facilitylabel_: user-level messages