CentOS System Log Files
Ship system log files from CentOS to Logstash
Configure Filebeat to ship logs from Centos Systems to Logstash and Elasticsearch.
Follow this step by step guide to get 'logs' from your system to Logit.io:
Step 1 - Install Filebeat
- Linux
To get started you will need to install filebeat. To do this you have two main options:
- Choose the AMD / Intel file (x86_64) or
- Choose the ARM file (arm64)
You can tell if you have a Linux PC with an AMD / Intel CPU (kernel) architecture by opening a terminal and running the uname -m
command. If it displays x86_64 you have AMD / Intel architecture.
If you have an x86_64 system download and extract the contents of the file using the following commands:
curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
tar xzvf filebeat-8.12.2-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
If you have an arm64 system download and extract the contents of the file using the following commands:
curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-linux-arm64.tar.gz
tar xzvf filebeat-8.12.2-linux-arm64.tar.gz
Step 2 - Enable the System module
- Linux
There are several built in filebeat modules you can use. You will need to enable the system module.
Change directory to the location where filebeat was extracted and run the following commands:
sudo filebeat modules list
sudo filebeat modules enable system
Navigate to the modules.d
folder, copy the snippet below and replace the contents of the system.yml module file:
# Module: system
# Docs: https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/beats/filebeat/8.12/filebeat-module-system.html
- module: system
# Syslog
syslog:
enabled: true
# Set custom paths for the log files. If left empty,
# Filebeat will choose the paths depending on your OS.
#var.paths:
# Authorization logs
auth:
enabled: true
# Set custom paths for the log files. If left empty,
# Filebeat will choose the paths depending on your OS.
#var.paths:
Step 3 - Update your configuration file
- Linux
The configuration file below is pre-configured to send data to your Logit.io Stack via Logstash.
Copy the configuration file below and overwrite the contents of filebeat.yml
(this file can be found in the folder where you installed Filebeat in the first step).
###################### Logit.io Filebeat Configuration ########################
# ============================== Filebeat inputs ==============================
filebeat.inputs:
- type: filestream
enabled: true
id: my_unique_id
paths:
# REQUIRED CHANGE TO YOUR LOGS PATH
- /var/log/*.log
fields:
type: logfile
# ============================== Filebeat modules ==============================
filebeat.config.modules:
path: ${path.config}/modules.d/*.yml
reload.enabled: false
#reload.period: 10s
# ================================== Outputs ===================================
# ------------------------------ Logstash Output -------------------------------
output.logstash:
hosts: ["your-logstash-host:your-ssl-port"]
loadbalance: true
ssl.enabled: true
# ================================= Processors =================================
processors:
- add_host_metadata:
when.not.contains.tags: forwarded
- add_cloud_metadata: ~
- add_docker_metadata: ~
- add_kubernetes_metadata: ~
Step 4 - Validate configuration
- Linux
sudo ./filebeat -e -c filebeat.yml --strict.perms=false
Step 5 - Start filebeat
- Linux
To start Filebeat, run:
sudo chown root filebeat.yml
sudo chown root modules.d/system.yml
sudo chown root module/system/syslog/manifest.yml
sudo chown root module/system/auth/manifest.yml
sudo ./filebeat -e
You’ll be running filebeat as root, so you need to change ownership of the configuration file and any configurations enabled in the modules.d directory, or run filebeat with --strict.perms=false as shown above. Read more about how to change ownership.
Step 6 - Check Logit.io for your logs
Data should now have been sent to your Stack.
If you don't see logs take a look at How to diagnose no data in Stack below for how to diagnose common issues.
Step 7 - how to diagnose no data in Stack
If you don't see data appearing in your Stack after following the steps, visit the Help Centre guide for steps to diagnose no data appearing in your Stack or Chat to support now.
Step 8 - (Optional) Update Logstash Pipelines
All Logit.io stacks come pre-configured with popular Logstash Pipelines. We would recommend that you add System specific filters if you don't already have them, to ensure enhanced dashboards and modules work correctly.
Edit your Logstash Pipelines by choosing Stack > Settings > Logstash Pipelines
if [fileset][module] == "system" {
if [fileset][name] == "auth" {
grok {
match => { "message" => ["%{SYSLOGTIMESTAMP:[system][auth][timestamp]} %{SYSLOGHOST:[system][auth][hostname]} sshd(?:\[%{POSINT:[system][auth][pid]}\])?: %{DATA:[system][auth][ssh][event]} %{DATA:[system][auth][ssh][method]} for (invalid user )?%{DATA:[system][auth][user]} from %{IPORHOST:[system][auth][ssh][ip]} port %{NUMBER:[system][auth][ssh][port]} ssh2(: %{GREEDYDATA:[system][auth][ssh][signature]})?",
"%{SYSLOGTIMESTAMP:[system][auth][timestamp]} %{SYSLOGHOST:[system][auth][hostname]} sshd(?:\[%{POSINT:[system][auth][pid]}\])?: %{DATA:[system][auth][ssh][event]} user %{DATA:[system][auth][user]} from %{IPORHOST:[system][auth][ssh][ip]}",
"%{SYSLOGTIMESTAMP:[system][auth][timestamp]} %{SYSLOGHOST:[system][auth][hostname]} sshd(?:\[%{POSINT:[system][auth][pid]}\])?: Did not receive identification string from %{IPORHOST:[system][auth][ssh][dropped_ip]}",
"%{SYSLOGTIMESTAMP:[system][auth][timestamp]} %{SYSLOGHOST:[system][auth][hostname]} sudo(?:\[%{POSINT:[system][auth][pid]}\])?: \s*%{DATA:[system][auth][user]} :( %{DATA:[system][auth][sudo][error]} ;)? TTY=%{DATA:[system][auth][sudo][tty]} ; PWD=%{DATA:[system][auth][sudo][pwd]} ; USER=%{DATA:[system][auth][sudo][user]} ; COMMAND=%{GREEDYDATA:[system][auth][sudo][command]}",
"%{SYSLOGTIMESTAMP:[system][auth][timestamp]} %{SYSLOGHOST:[system][auth][hostname]} groupadd(?:\[%{POSINT:[system][auth][pid]}\])?: new group: name=%{DATA:system.auth.groupadd.name}, GID=%{NUMBER:system.auth.groupadd.gid}",
"%{SYSLOGTIMESTAMP:[system][auth][timestamp]} %{SYSLOGHOST:[system][auth][hostname]} useradd(?:\[%{POSINT:[system][auth][pid]}\])?: new user: name=%{DATA:[system][auth][user][add][name]}, UID=%{NUMBER:[system][auth][user][add][uid]}, GID=%{NUMBER:[system][auth][user][add][gid]}, home=%{DATA:[system][auth][user][add][home]}, shell=%{DATA:[system][auth][user][add][shell]}$",
"%{SYSLOGTIMESTAMP:[system][auth][timestamp]} %{SYSLOGHOST:[system][auth][hostname]} %{DATA:[system][auth][program]}(?:\[%{POSINT:[system][auth][pid]}\])?: %{GREEDYMULTILINE:[system][auth][message]}"] }
pattern_definitions => {
"GREEDYMULTILINE"=> "(.|\n)*"
}
remove_field => "message"
}
date {
match => [ "[system][auth][timestamp]", "MMM d HH:mm:ss", "MMM dd HH:mm:ss" ]
}
geoip {
source => "[system][auth][ssh][ip]"
target => "[system][auth][ssh][geoip]"
}
}
else if [fileset][name] == "syslog" {
grok {
match => { "message" => ["%{SYSLOGTIMESTAMP:[system][syslog][timestamp]} %{SYSLOGHOST:[system][syslog][hostname]} %{DATA:[system][syslog][program]}(?:\[%{POSINT:[system][syslog][pid]}\])?: %{GREEDYMULTILINE:[system][syslog][message]}"] }
pattern_definitions => { "GREEDYMULTILINE" => "(.|\n)*" }
remove_field => "message"
}
date {
match => [ "[system][syslog][timestamp]", "MMM d HH:mm:ss", "MMM dd HH:mm:ss" ]
}
}
}
Step 9 - CentOS Overview
CentOS is a Linux distribution & computing platform that is often compared with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).
The main difference between the two is that CentOS lacks the high level of technical support that is supplied as part of the RHEL package.
CentOS is built off of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux’s open source code base, explaining their commonalities and relative compatibility.
Due to this similarity their library versions are identical. This means that binaries that work on RHEL will work on CentOS. If you're using their administration tools you might notice incompatibilities between the two distributions as minor patches are updated at different rates. Large patches & major releases for CentOS are released sporadically & infrequently compared to other Linux distributions (such as Ubuntu & Debian).
CentOS users are typically individuals & businesses that don’t require strong levels of support, certification & training to use this enterprise class Linux distribution successfully.
Our built in CentOS log file analyser is included in our log management platform and is built upon the open source tools Elasticsearch, Logstash & Kibana to ease the processing of large amounts of Linux server data for troubleshooting & root cause analysis.
Logit.io can be used to centralise your Linux log data & alerts on errors to monitor your operating system (OS). The platform can also be used to view logs within Kibana for detailed visualisations & reporting.
If you need any assistance with analysing your CentOS logs we're here to help. Feel free to reach out by contacting the Logit.io support team via live chat & we'll be happy to help you get started.