IIS Log Configuration

To get started first follow the steps below:

• Install
• Root access
• Verify the required port is open

Older versions can be found here 7, 6, 5

We need to enable the IIS module in Filebeat so that filebeat know to look for IIS logs. In Powershell run the following command:

.\Filebeat modules enable iis

Additional module configuration can be done using the per module config files located in the modules.d folder, most commonly this would be to read logs from a non-default location

win <EXTRACTED_ARCHIVE>/modules.d/

- module: iis
# Access logs
access:
  enabled: true

  # Set custom paths for the log files. If left empty,
  # Filebeat will choose the paths depending on your OS.
  var.paths: ["/custom/path/to/logs"]

# Error logs
error:
  enabled: true

  # Set custom paths for the log files. If left empty,
  # Filebeat will choose the paths depending on your OS.
  var.paths: ["/custom/path/to/logs"]

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.

# ============================== 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: ~

If you’re running Filebeat 7 add this code block to the end. Otherwise, you can leave it out.

# ... For Filebeat 7 only ...
filebeat.registry.path: /var/lib/filebeat

If you’re running Filebeat 6 add this code block to the end. Otherwise, you can leave it out.

# ... For Filebeat 6 only ...
registry_file: /var/lib/filebeat/registry

Validate your YAML

It’s a good idea to run the configuration file through a YAML validator to rule out indentation errors, clean up extra characters, and check if your YAML file is valid. Yamllint.com is a great choice.

If you have issues starting in the next step, you can use these commands below to troubleshoot.

Let's check the configuration file is syntactically correct by running directly inside the terminal. If the file is invalid, will print an error loading config file error message with details on how to correct the problem.

deb/rpm

sudo  -e -c /etc//.yml

macOS

cd <EXTRACTED_ARCHIVE>
sudo ./ -e -c .yml

Windows

cd <EXTRACTED_ARCHIVE>
.\.exe -e -c .yml

Now we need to start the Filebeat service. In powershell run the following command:

Start-Service filebeat

Now you should view your data:

Launch Dashboard

If you don't see logs take a look at How to diagnose no data in Stack below for how to diagnose common issues.

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.

The IIS module comes with predefined Kibana dashboards. To view your dashboards for any of your Logit.io stacks, launch Kibana and choose Dashboards.

Applications developed for .NET can be hosted on an IIS (Internet Information Services) web server which can only be used on the Windows operating system. IIS is commonly used to host web apps & static sites running on ASP.Net.

IIS is known for its high flexibility & rich features. The most recent version of IIS includes a number of out of the box security features including request filters, client certificate mapping & URL authorisation.

Modules for the latest version of IIS can be added as extensions to your configuration if required to process requests. These include modules for security, compression, content & caching which all hold a wealth of unique features essential to server administration teams.

Remote management is also included as part of the server’s functionality making it an ideal choice for DevOps teams undertaking remote work.

All of this server activity generates a huge amount of log data for analysis. Our IIS log file analyser can be used to centralise your data & set up alerts to monitor your application security in real-time as well as deliver metrics for Kibana visualisations & reports easily.

If you need any further assistance with analysing your IIS logs we're here to help you get started. Feel free to reach out by contacting our support team by visiting our dedicate Help Centre or via live chat & we'll be happy to assist.