2.2. Events and Logging
2.2.1. Overview
The ability to log and analyze system activities is an essential feature of NetDefendOS. Logging
enables not only monitoring of system status and health, but also allows auditing of network usage
and assists in trouble-shooting.
Log Message Generation
NetDefendOS defines a large number of different log event messages, which are generated as a
result of corresponding system events. Examples of such events are the establishment and teardown
of connections, receipt of malformed packets as well as the dropping of traffic according to filtering
policies.
Whenever an event message is generated, it can be filtered and distributed to all configured Event
Receivers. Multiple event receivers can be configured by the administrator, with each event receiver
having its own customizable event filter.
2.2.2. Log Messages
Event Types
NetDefendOS defines several hundred events for which log messages can be generated. The events
range from high-level, customizable, user events down to low-level and mandatory system events.
The conn_open event, for example, is a typical high-level event that generates an event message
whenever a new connection is established, given that the matching security policy rule has defined
that event messages should be generated for that connection.
An example of a low-level event would be the startup_normal event, which generates a mandatory
event message as soon as the system starts up.
Message Format
All event messages have a common format, with attributes that include category, severity and
recommended actions. These attributes enable easy filtering of messages, either within
NetDefendOS prior to sending to an event receiver, or as part of the analysis after logging and
storing messages on an external log server.
A list of all event messages can be found in the NetDefendOS Log Reference Guide. That guide also
describes the design of event messages, the meaning of severity levels and the various attributes
available.
Event Severity
The severity of each event is predefined and it can be, in order of severity, one of:
Emergency
Alert
Critical
Error
Warning
Notice
Info
Debug
2.2. Events and Logging
Chapter 2. Management and Maintenance
57
Summary of Contents for NetDefend DFL-260E
Page 27: ...1 3 NetDefendOS State Engine Packet Flow Chapter 1 NetDefendOS Overview 27...
Page 79: ...2 7 3 Restore to Factory Defaults Chapter 2 Management and Maintenance 79...
Page 146: ...3 9 DNS Chapter 3 Fundamentals 146...
Page 227: ...4 7 5 Advanced Settings for Transparent Mode Chapter 4 Routing 227...
Page 241: ...5 4 IP Pools Chapter 5 DHCP Services 241...
Page 339: ...6 7 Blacklisting Hosts and Networks Chapter 6 Security Mechanisms 339...
Page 360: ...7 4 7 SAT and FwdFast Rules Chapter 7 Address Translation 360...
Page 382: ...8 3 Customizing HTML Pages Chapter 8 User Authentication 382...
Page 386: ...The TLS ALG 9 1 5 The TLS Alternative for VPN Chapter 9 VPN 386...
Page 439: ...Figure 9 3 PPTP Client Usage 9 5 4 PPTP L2TP Clients Chapter 9 VPN 439...
Page 450: ...9 7 6 Specific Symptoms Chapter 9 VPN 450...
Page 488: ...10 4 6 Setting Up SLB_SAT Rules Chapter 10 Traffic Management 488...
Page 503: ...11 6 HA Advanced Settings Chapter 11 High Availability 503...
Page 510: ...12 3 5 Limitations Chapter 12 ZoneDefense 510...
Page 533: ...13 9 Miscellaneous Settings Chapter 13 Advanced Settings 533...