Palo Alto Networks Firewall
Ship your Palo Alto firewall logs using Filebeat to your Logit.io Stack
Configure a Palo Alto firewall to ship logs via Filebeat to your Logit.io stacks via Logstash.
Follow this step by step guide to get 'logs' from your system to Logit.io:
Step 1 - Install Filebeat
- Windows
- Linux
- macOS
- DEB
- RPM
To get started you will need to install filebeat. To do this you have two main options:
- Choose the filebeat ZIP file (Windows ZIP x86_64) or
- Choose the Microsoft Software Installer MSI file (Windows MSI x86_64 (beta))
If you have chosen to download the zip file:
- Extract the contents of the zip file into C:\Program Files.
- Rename the extracted folder to filebeat
- Open a PowerShell prompt as an Administrator (right-click the PowerShell icon and select Run As Administrator).
- From the PowerShell prompt, run the following commands to install filebeat as a Windows service:
cd 'C:\Program Files\filebeat'
.\install-service-filebeat.ps1
If script execution is disabled on your system, you need to set the execution policy for the current session to allow the script to run. For example:
PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy UnRestricted -File .\install-service-filebeat.ps1
For more information about Powershell execution policies see here
If you have chosen to download the filebeat.msi file:
- double-click on it and the relevant files will be downloaded.
At the end of the installation process you'll be given the option to open the folder where filebeat has been installed.
- Open a PowerShell prompt as an Administrator (right-click the PowerShell icon and select Run As Administrator).
- From the PowerShell prompt, change directory to the location where filebeat was installed and run the following command to install filebeat as a Windows service:
.\install-service-filebeat.ps1
If script execution is disabled on your system, you need to set the execution policy for the current session to allow the script to run. For example:
PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy UnRestricted -File .\install-service-filebeat.ps1
For more information about Powershell execution policies see here
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
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 (aarch64)
You can tell if you have a Mac with an ARM CPU architecture by opening the Terminal application and running the arch
command. If it displays arm64 you have ARM 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-darwin-x86_64.tar.gz
tar xzvf filebeat-8.12.2-darwin-x86_64.tar.gz
If you have an aarch64 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-darwin-aarch64.tar.gz
tar xzvf filebeat-8.12.2-darwin-aarch64.tar.gz
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 (aarch64)
You can tell if you have a PC with an ARM CPU architecture by opening the Terminal application and running the arch
command. If it displays arm64 you have ARM architecture.
If you have an x86_64 system download and install filebeat using the following commands:
curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i filebeat-8.12.2-amd64.deb
If you have an aarch64 system download and install filebeat using the following commands:
curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-arm64.deb
sudo dpkg -i filebeat-8.12.2-arm64.deb
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 (aarch64)
You can tell if you have a PC with an ARM CPU architecture by opening the Terminal application and running the arch
command. If it displays arm64 you have ARM architecture.
If you have an x86_64 system download and install filebeat using the following commands:
curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-x86_64.rpm
sudo rpm -vi filebeat-8.12.2-x86_64.rpm
If you have an aarch64 system download and install filebeat using the following commands:
curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-aarch64.rpm
sudo rpm -vi filebeat-8.12.2-aarch64.rpm
Step 2 - Configure Palo Alto Logging
Configure the Palo Alto Networks firewall to log to a syslog server:
You can configure the Palo Alto firewall to log to a syslog server through the admin console. To configure, go to the "Device" tab and choose "System" -> "Syslog".
Add a new Syslog Server Profile and give the profile a descriptive name that includes "Logitio"
- Name: Enter a name that includes Filebeat
- Syslog Server: Your Filebeat server IP address
- Transport: UDP
- Port: 514
- Format: BSD
- Facility: Remains as "LOG_USER"
Save the profile.
Read more about how to configure Syslog Monitoring with Palo Alto Networks.
To configure logging for a security policy, follow these steps:
- Go to the Policies tab and select Security from the left menu.
- Double-click an existing security policy or create a new one to open the Security Policy Rule dialog.
- Navigate to the Action tab and select Log at Session Start and Log at Session End.
- Choose the log forwarding profile that you created above.
- Ensure all required information highlighted is entered.
Commit and save all changes to your firewall.
Step 3 - Configure Filebeat.yml
The configuration file below is pre-configured to send data to your Logit.io Stack.
Copy the configuration file below and overwrite the contents of the Filebeat configuration file typically located at /etc/filebeat/filebeat.yml
# ============================== Filebeat inputs ===============================
filebeat.inputs:
- type: udp
max_message_size: 10MiB
host: "0.0.0.0:514"
enabled: true
fields:
type: paloalto
fields_under_root: true
encoding: utf-8
ignore_older: 12h
# ================================== Outputs ===================================
output.logstash:
hosts: ["your-logstash-host:your-ssl-port"]
loadbalance: true
ssl.enabled: true
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.
# ... For Filebeat 6 only ...
registry_file: /var/lib/filebeat/registry
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.
Step 4 - Validate configuration
- Windows
- Linux
- macOS
- DEB
- RPM
.\filebeat.exe -e -c filebeat.yml
sudo ./filebeat -e -c filebeat.yml --strict.perms=false
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.
sudo ./filebeat -e -c filebeat.yml --strict.perms=false
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.
sudo filebeat -e -c /etc/filebeat/filebeat.yml
sudo filebeat -e -c /etc/filebeat/filebeat.yml
Step 5 - Start filebeat
- Windows
- Linux
- macOS
- DEB
- RPM
To start Filebeat, run in Powershell:
Start-Service filebeat
To start Filebeat, run:
sudo chown root filebeat.yml
sudo chown root modules.d/{modulename}.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.
To start Filebeat, run:
sudo chown root filebeat.yml
sudo chown root modules.d/{modulename}.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.
To start Filebeat, run:
sudo service filebeat start
To start Filebeat, run:
sudo service filebeat start
Step 6 - Launch Logit.io to view 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 - Palo Alto Overview
Palo Alto Networks firewalls provide advanced network security features for enterprise environments, protecting against cyber threats and unauthorized access. To effectively monitor and analyze network activity, it is essential to have a reliable and efficient log management solution. The Palo Alto Networks firewalls generate logs that capture information about network traffic, threats, and user activity.
To manage these logs effectively, organizations can use Filebeat, an open-source shipping tool, to send logs from Palo Alto Networks firewalls to various destinations, including Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana, due to its reliability and minimal memory footprint. Filebeat is widely used to send logs from Palo Alto Networks firewalls to various destinations, including Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana, due to its compatibility and ease of use.
To send Palo Alto Networks firewall logs to Filebeat, organizations can configure the firewall to forward logs to a syslog server, and then use Filebeat to collect and forward log data to Elasticsearch or other destinations. This process involves setting up a syslog server to receive the logs, configuring the firewall to send logs to the syslog server, and configuring Filebeat to collect and forward the logs from the syslog server to Elasticsearch or other destinations.
Filebeat provides a filebeat.yml wizard that helps users avoid complex logging concerns, such as large registry files and frequent errors encountered when handling deleted or renamed log files. Users can also consider using the Hosted ELK service to simplify tracking numerous pipelines using this shipper.
In summary, using Filebeat to send Palo Alto Networks firewall logs to various destinations, including Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana, is a reliable and efficient log management solution. By configuring the firewall to forward logs to a syslog server and using Filebeat to collect and forward the logs to Elasticsearch or other destinations, organizations can gain insights into network traffic, threats, and user activity, and take action to protect their networks against cyber threats and unauthorized access.
If you need any further assistance with migrating your log data to ELK we're here to help you get started. Feel free to get in contact with our support team by sending us a message via live chat & we'll be happy to assist.