Syslog Server
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Configures a Syslog Server service. It can be set to listen to any valid port. UDP and TCP communication is supported.

mwagent-42-001
Syslog Server Properties


Protocol Type

Syslog messages can be received via UDP, TCP or RFC 3195 RAW. One listener can only listen to one of the protocols. Typically, Syslog messages are received via UDP protocol, which is the default. The syslog server also can receive Syslog messages via TCP and reliable Syslog messages via TCP using the new RFC 3195 RAW standard.


IP Address

The Syslog Server can now be bound to a specific IP Adress. This feature is useful for multihome environments where you want to run different Syslog Servers on different IP Addresses. Please note that the default IP Address 0.0.0.0 means ANY IP Address.


Listener Port

The port the Syslog server listens on. The typical (standard) value is 514. This should be changed only if there is a definite need for it. Such a need typically arises from security concerns. If the port is changed, all reporting devices (routers, printers …) must also be configured to use the non-standard port.


Use Original Message Timestamp

If this box is checked, the timestamp is retrieved from the Syslog message itself (according to RFC 3164
). If left unchecked, the timestamp is generated based on the local system time. The Syslog message timestamp does not contain time zone information. Thus, we strongly recommend unchecking this box if messages from devices in multiple time zones are to be received.


Take source system from Syslog message

If this box is checked, the name or IP address of the source system is retrieved from the Syslog message itself (according to RFC 3164
). If left unchecked, it is generated based on the address, the message was received from.

Please note that there are many devices, which do NOT generate RFC 3164 compliant messages. If you check this option here, you might see a very strange value as the event source!


Resolve Hostnames

If this box is checked, the name of the source system is retrieved via DNS reserve name resolution. If unchecked, the IP address itself is used as the name.

Please note that this setting does have any effect if the "Take source system from Syslog message" setting is checked. In this case, the message is always taken from the Syslog message itself.


Enable RFC 3164 Parsing

If this box is checked, RFC 3164
compliant message parsing is enabled. If unchecked, "traditional" Adiscon message parsing is selected. If you experience trouble with the sender host name or the timestamp, we suggest that you turn off RFC 3164 compliant message parsing. Many existing devices do not fully comply with RFC 3164 and this can cause those issues.


Escape Control Characters

Control characters are special characters. They are used e.g. for tabulation, generating beeps and other non-printable uses. Typically, syslog messages should not contain control characters. If they do, control characters could eventually affect your logging. However, it might also be that control characters are needed.

With this setting, you can specify how control characters received should be handled. When checked, control characters are replaced by a 5-byte sequence with the ASCII character ID. For example, a beep is the ASCII BEL character. BEL is assigned the numerical code 7. So if a BEL is received, it would be converted to "<007>" inside your syslog message. When the box is left unchecked, no conversion takes place.

In any case, ASCII NULs are converted to "<000>" to prevent security issues in the log files.

Please note: if you used double-byte character sets, control character escaping can cause your message to become clobbered. So be sure to leave it unchecked in that case.


Default Ruleset Name

Name of the rule set to be used for this service. The Rule Set name must be a valid Rule Set.


Please Note

Updated the OpenSSL components and libraries with the latest Version openssl-0.9.8d.