Recent Posts
Syslog-ng development and AI
Recently, several people have asked me about the syslog-ng project’s view on Artificial intelligence. In short, there is cautious optimism: we embrace AI, but it does not take over any critical tasks from humans. But what does this mean for syslog-ng?
Read more at https://www.syslog-ng.com/community/b/blog/posts/syslog-ng-development-and-ai
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Dealing with multiple syslog protocols in syslog-ng made easy
There are multiple syslog protocols with multiple variants. The new transport(auto) option of the syslog() source in syslog-ng allows you to support all TCP-based variants with a single source driver.
When it comes to syslog, there are many transport options. RFC3164 describes the “legacy” or “BSD” syslog protocol, while RFC5424 refers to the “new” syslog protocol (which is also more than a decade old now… :-) ). RFC5424-formatted messages normally come with framing or octet counting (as per RFC6587), where messages are prefixed with the length of the message.
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POWER Is Not Just for Databases
The IBM POWER architecture is not just for database servers. While most people know it only for DB2 and SAP HANA, it is an ideal platform also for HPC or other high performance server applications, like syslog-ng.
While all the buzz is around POWER 11 now, we have yet to see real-world testing results, as GA is still a few weeks away. You can learn more about POWER 11 at https://newsroom.
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FreeBSD audit source is coming to syslog-ng
Last year, I wrote a small configuration snippet for syslog-ng: FreeBSD audit source. I published it in a previous blog, and based on feedback, it is already used in production. And soon, it will be available also as part of a syslog-ng release.
As an active FreeBSD user and co-maintainer of the sysutils/syslog-ng port for FreeBSD, I am always happy to share FreeBSD-related news. Last year, we improved directory monitoring and file reading on FreeBSD and MacOS.
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openSUSE turned 20
Last week, I was in Nürnberg for the openSUSE conference. The project turned 20 years old this year, and I was there right from the beginning (and even before that, if we also count the S.u.S.E. years). There were many great talks, including a syslog-ng talk from me, and even a birthday party… :-)
This year marks not just 20 years of openSUSE but also a major new SLES and openSUSE Leap release: version 16.
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The syslog-ng Insider 2025-06: arm64; PAM; testing
The June syslog-ng newsletter is now on-line:
Installing nightly syslog-ng arm64 packages on a Raspberry Pi
Working with One Identity Cloud PAM Linux agent logs in syslog-ng
Testing the new syslog-ng wildcard-file() source options on Linux
It is available at https://www.syslog-ng.com/community/b/blog/posts/the-syslog-ng-insider-2025-06-arm64-pam-testing
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Deprecating Java-based drivers from syslog-ng: Is HDFS next?
While most Java-based drivers have been deprecated in syslog-ng years ago, we have recently removed all of them in preparation to syslog-ng 4.9.0. Right now, the only Java-based driver remaining is HDFS, so we want to ask the syslog-ng community if the HDFS destination is still needed for them.
Read more at https://www.syslog-ng.com/community/b/blog/posts/deprecating-java-based-drivers-from-syslog-ng-is-hdfs-next
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Testing the new syslog-ng wildcard-file() source options on Linux
Last year, syslog-ng 4.8.0 improved the wildcard-file() source on FreeBSD and MacOS. Version 4.9.0 will do the same for Linux by using inotify for file and directory monitoring, resulting in faster performance while using significantly less resources. This blog is a call for testing the new wildcard-file() source options before release.
Read more at https://www.syslog-ng.com/community/b/blog/posts/testing-the-new-syslog-ng-wildcard-file-source-options-on-linux
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Working with One Identity Cloud PAM Linux agent logs in syslog-ng
One Identity Cloud PAM is one of the latest security products by One Identity. It provides asset management as well as secure and monitored remote access for One Identity Cloud users to hosts on their local network. Last year, I showed you how collect One Identity Cloud PAM Network Agent log messages on Windows and create alerts when somebody connects to a host on your local network using PAM Essentials. This time, I will show you how to work with the Linux version of the Network Agent.
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syslog-ng 4.8.2 is now available
Finally, a new syslog-ng release! As you can see from its version number, this is a bug fix release. It took a bit longer than expected, as we wanted to release it in sync with syslog-ng PE, the commercial variant of syslog-ng. 4.8.2 serves not just as the foundation of the new syslog-ng PE release, but also provides fixes to 4.8.1, which is included in major Linux distributions. This update ensures that all our recent bug fixes reach the majority of our users.
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