Troubleshoot traffic exceptions by querying and analyzing logs - Cloud Firewall

You can monitor network activities and identify traffic exceptions by querying and analyzing collected log data in real time. This improves security monitoring capabilities and the response efficiency of security events. This topic describes how to use query statements and how to view and analyze query results.

Statement description

Search and analytic statements

A query statement of log analysis consists of a search statement and an analytic statement that are separated by a vertical bar (|).

Search statement|Analytic statement

A search statement uses syntax that is specific to Simple Log Service. A search statement is used to query logs that meet specific search conditions and can be separately used. A search statement can contain keywords, numeric values, numeric ranges, spaces, and asterisks (*). If a search statement contains only a space or an asterisk (*), all logs are queried.
Searches are classified into full-text searches and field-specific searches based on the index method. For more information, see Search syntax.
Full-text search
You can enter a keyword to query logs. You can enclose a keyword in a pair of double quotation marks ("") to query the logs that contain the keyword. If you enter multiple keywords, you can separate them with spaces or and. This way, you can query the logs that contain the keywords.
- Query logs based on multiple keywords
  You can query the logs that contain www.aliyun.com and pass.
```
www.aliyun.com pass
```
  or
```
www.aliyun.com and pass
```
- Query logs based on a condition
  You can query the logs that contain www.aliyun.com and contain pass or tcp.
```
www.aliyun.com and (pass or tcp)
```
- Query logs based on a prefix
  You can query the logs that contain www.aliyun.com and start with tcp_.
```
www.aliyun.com and tcp_*
```
  Note
  An asterisk (*) can be added only as a suffix. An asterisk (*) cannot be added as a prefix. For example, *_not_establish is not supported.
Field-specific search
You can query logs based on fields and field values. You can specify a numeric field in the Field name: Value or Field name >= Value format. In this case, comparison is performed to query logs. You can also use operators to specify a combination of fields. The operators include and and or. You can also use field-specific search together with full-text search.
For more information about the log fields of log analysis that support indexes, see Fields that support indexes.
- Query logs based on multiple fields
  You can use the following condition to query the logs on access requests from 192.XX.XX.22 to 192.XX.XX.54:
```
src_ip: 192.XX.XX.22 and dst_ip: 192.XX.XX.54
```
- Query logs based on field existence
  - You can query the logs that contain the cloud_instance_id field.
    cloud_instance_id: *
  - You can query the logs that do not contain the cloud_instance_id field.
    not cloud_instance_id: *
An analytic statement is used to analyze the data in search results and analyze all data in a Logstore. An analytic statement must be executed together with a search statement. If no analytic statement is specified, only query results are returned, and data analysis is not performed. For more information about the syntax and functions of analytic statements, see Log analysis overview.

Common query statements

This section describes common query statements for Cloud Firewall logs and provides examples.

Query statements for traffic statistics

Query the logs of inbound traffic to the internal asset 1.2.*.* over the Internet, and calculate the total volume of inbound traffic and the total number of inbound packets.
```
log_type:internet_log and direction:"in" and dst_ip:1.2.*.* | select sum(in_packet_bytes) as flow, sum(in_packet_count) as packet
```

Query the traffic statistics on NAT firewalls, and analyze the top 10 inbound traffic volumes and outbound traffic volumes of assets based on source IP addresses, destination IP addresses, and destination ports.

log_type:nat_firewall_log | select src_ip, dst_ip, dst_port, sum(in_packet_bytes) as in_bytes, sum(out_packet_bytes) as out_bytes, sum(total_packet_bytes) as total_bytes group by src_ip, dst_ip, dst_port order by total_bytes desc limit 10

Common statements for access control

Query the logs of inbound traffic that is initiated to internal assets over the Internet and hits access control policies.
```
log_type:internet_log and direction:"in" and not acl_rule_id:00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
```
If all digits in the value of the not acl_rule_id field are 0, access control policies are hit. Otherwise, no access control policies are hit.
Query the logs of outbound traffic that is initiated from internal assets over the Internet and blocked by access control policies, and analyze the distribution of the top 10 destination IP addresses and destination ports.
```
log_type:internet_log and direction:out and not acl_rule_id:00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 and rule_result:drop | select dst_ip, dst_port, count(*) as cnt group by dst_ip, dst_port order by cnt desc limit 10
```
Query the logs of outbound traffic that is initiated from internal assets over the Internet, and uses destination port 443, more than three packets, and an unidentified domain name. If the number of packets is greater than 3, a TCP three-way handshake is complete. Then, analyze the top 10 source IP addresses, destination IP addresses, and applications based on destination CIDR blocks and application names.
```
log_type:internet_log and direction:out and dst_port:443 and total_packet_count>3 and domain:""| select array_agg(distinct src_ip) as srcip, array_agg(distinct dst_ip) as dstip, slice(split(dst_ip,'.' ,4),1,3) as dstip_c, app_name, COUNT(1) as cnt GROUP by dstip_c,app_name order by cnt desc limit 10
```

Common statements for attack prevention

Query the logs of inbound traffic that is initiated to internal assets over the Internet and hits protection policies.
```
log_type:internet_log and direction:"in" and not ips_rule_id:00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
```
If all digits in the value of the not ips_rule_id field are 0, protection policies are hit. Otherwise, no protection policies are hit.
Query the logs of outbound traffic that is initiated from internal assets over the Internet and hits protection policies. Then, obtain the information about IP addresses, ports, applications, domain names, intrusion prevention system (IPS) policies, and policy hit results.
```
log_type:internet_log and direction:out and not ips_rule_id:00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 | select src_ip, dst_ip, dst_port,app_name, domain,ips_rule_id, ips_rule_name, rule_result
```

Procedure

Log on to the Cloud Firewall console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Log Analysis > Log Analysis. On the Log Analysis page, click the Logs tab.
Click the icon in the upper-right corner of the Log Analysis page. On the Query tab, disable the feature or specify a query time range. Optional. By default, when you open the Logs tab, the system automatically performs a log query and displays the query results.
Enter a query statement in the search box.
- A search statement is used to view, search for, and filter logs. A search statement supports only simple query. You can use a search statement to search for specific datasets by using conditions, such as time range, query type, and keywords. You can separately use a search statement. For more information, see Search syntax.
- An analytic statement is used to filter, convert, calculate, and aggregate logs. For example, you can use an analytic statement to calculate an average value within a specific period of time or compare data in different time periods. An analytic statement must be used together with a search statement in the Search statement|Analytic statement format. For more information about the syntax, see Aggregate function.
Specify the time range of data that you want to query or analyze. You can use one of the following methods to specify a time range. If you specify a time range in an analytic statement, the time range is used for query and analysis.
Important
By default, only 100 rows of data are returned after you execute a query statement. To increase the number of rows of data that are returned, you can use a LIMIT clause. For more information, see LIMIT clause.
- In the upper part of the query and analysis page, select a time range from the drop-down list. Example: Last 15 Minutes.
- In the analytic statement, use the __time__ field to specify a time range, which is a closed time interval. Example: * | SELECT * FROM log WHERE __time__>1558013658 AND __time__< 1558013660.
- In the analytic statement, use the from_unixtime or to_unixtime function to convert the format of the specified time. Examples:
  - * | SELECT * FROM log WHERE from_unixtime(__time__) > from_unixtime(1664186624) AND from_unixtime(__time__) < now()
  - * | SELECT * FROM log WHERE __time__ > to_unixtime(date_parse('2022-10-19 15:46:05', '%Y-%m-%d %H:%i:%s')) AND __time__ < to_unixtime(now())
Click Search & Analyze to view the query and analysis results. For more information, see Query and analyze logs.

View query and analysis results

You can view query and analysis results based on the data displayed in modules such as the histogram or the Raw Logs tab.

Note

If you do not specify a LIMIT clause in an analytic statement, 100 rows of data are returned. If you want to obtain more data, specify a LIMIT clause.
The following section describes how to view the data displayed in the histogram and Raw Logs tab. For more information about other modules, see Query and analyze logs.

Histogram

The histogram displays the distribution of queried logs over time.

When you move the pointer over a green rectangle, you can view the period of time that is represented by the rectangle and the number of returned logs within the period of time.
If you double-click a green rectangle, you can view log distribution at a fine-grained level. You can also view the returned logs within the specified period of time on the Raw Logs tab.

Raw Logs tab

The Raw Logs tab displays the query and analysis results of logs.

Section	Description
1	Switch the display formats of logs and the order of time in which logs are sorted.
2	Click the icon to download logs to your computer or view the log download records. For more information, see Export logs.
3	Click the icon and then click JSON Configurations to configure the display type of JSON data and level of JSON expansion. Click the icon and select Event Settings. This allows you to configure drill-down events for raw logs. This way, you can visualize and manage the raw logs in an efficient manner. For more information, see Configure events.
4	View log display fields, index logs, and system fields. In the Index Fields section, click the icon next to a field to add the field to the Displayed Fields section. This way, the field is displayed in the right-side logs. In the Displayed Fields section, click the icon next to a field to remove the field from the Displayed Fields section. This way, the field is no longer displayed in the right-side logs. Note If no field is added to the Displayed Fields section, the default fields are displayed in the right-side logs. Click the icon next to a field to view information about the field, such as Basic Distribution and Statistical Metrics. For more information, see Quick analysis.
5	After you specify Displayed Fields, click the icon to add a view to the favorites. Then, you can change the view in a convenient manner. Click the icon and then click Tag Settings to add fields as system tags. The system tags are displayed above the right-side logs. Example: . Click the icon to turn on Alias. After you turn on Alias, the names of fields are replaced with aliases. If no alias is specified for a field, the name of the field is displayed. For more information about how to specify a field alias, see Create an index.
6	View log details. For more information about log fields, see Log fields. Click the icon to copy log content. Click the icon to call a Simple Log Service copilot to summarize information and query error information based on log content. Click the icon to view tag details.

What to do next

You can view log fields and the fields that support indexes. For more information, see Log fields.
You can download log query and analysis results to your computer or ship logs to Object Storage Service (OSS) buckets for storage. For more information, see Export logs.
You can use log reports to view statistics such as basic protection metrics of Cloud Firewall, inbound and outbound traffic distribution, and system stability. For more information, see View log reports.
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