Kiwi syslog server

What is Kiwi Syslog from SolarWinds? Syslog is a UDP protocol that sends messages from Cisco routers and other network devices. These log messages are invaluable for troubleshooting network problems; they are particularly useful for detecting security breaches. The free trial download of Kiwi Syslog Server captures these datagrams and analyzes their log messages so that you can ‘see’ what’s happening inside your network cables. Review of Kiwi Syslog Server Version 9How a Syslog Analyzer Works Getting Started with SolarWinds Syslog ServerThe Actual Kiwi Syslog Install Guy’s Panic – No Messages Guy’s Disappointment – No Network Messages Decisions At Install Extra Features in the Licensed Version A Brief Review of Syslog’s History and Terminology Free Trial Download of the Kiwi Syslog Server Screenshot of the Kiwi Syslog Service Manager Kiwi Syslog Server Free Trial Download How a Syslog Analyzer Works You only have to see the word Daemon, as in Syslog Daemon, to realize that this UDP protocol originated in UNIX. I say protocol, but all that syslog does is transport event messages from routers and other network hardware. Syslog’s success and universal adoption is based on simplicity, it’s just not fussy about what sort of event log messages it carries. As a result syslog has become the de-facto standard for system management and event reporting in heterogeneous networks. A syslog daemon is merely a device / program / entity that listens for the UDP syslog packets. Thus the skill lies in what you do with the information in these message logs, and this where a Windows syslog analyser comes into play. Actually, the manufacturer SolarWinds, call it the Kiwi Syslog Server. The next problem is how to interpret the data as displayed by the Kiwi Daemon. Analyzing logs is part art, part science. As with other facets of life,

A ticket’. Guy says: ‘If you have no messages, give Kiwi a chance and show it a router!’ Alternatively, install ‘Snare’, so that you divert the Windows Server log messages to the Kiwi Syslog application and get some action. Solution: Get Snare and See Windows Event Logs with Kiwi An ideal way of appraising Kiwi syslog is to divert the built-in Windows event logs into the Kiwi Server running in Application mode. This is especially useful if you have a machine with no router available to test a Windows syslog application. In this scenario what you need is to download and install the Snare program, then watch out for the setup menu which links the Kiwi Daemon to the native Windows system and application logs. Caution. By syslog standards, the Windows Event Logs are certainly verbose, and maybe obscure. My point is that this configuration won’t give you the full flavour of what logging syslog network messages from a router could achieve. Free Trial of the SolarWinds Syslog Server Decisions At InstallRun Kiwi Syslog Server Daemon as a Windows Service, or a Stand-alone application. Decide upon the user to run the Service, or the application. I choose the Local Account for the service and logged on as an administrator to run the service.As an alternative to a Windows Server (2003 or 2008), install Kiwi Syslog on a Vista Machine.Plan to protect your logs at least with a backup.Decisions For LaterIdentify threats you want to log, for example both hacker activity and error messages from faulty network equipment.Develop contingency plans for a virus attacks and the danger of being swamped by messages.Integration with SNMP (Optional)Use MySQL or other database to manipulate the data (Licensed version only) Extra Features in the Licensed Version I have to say that all SolarWinds products in

General, and Kiwi Syslog Server in particular, give-away a generous amount of features for free. Naturally, they know their market, but for a small business the free version maybe all that they need. This is all good news for we users as the features are all robust having been tested on the ‘big brother’ full licensed version. No Kiwi syslog assessment would be complete without a list of the extra features in the licensed version.Database Logging to SQL or MySQLSophisticated Message FilteringAdvanced AlertingIndustrial Size Buffer for MessagesEvent Log Forwarder for WindowsFree Kiwi CatTools See more about the Kiwi Syslog Sever SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Video Here is a great way to review the Kiwi Syslog Server: Kiwi Syslog Server Free Trial Download Where Next? While my mission is over when you complete a real-life set-up of this Windows syslog analyzer, I want to point out that this Kiwi program has depth. For example, check out the scripts that come with Kiwi Syslog Server, you will see a selection in \Syslogd\Scripts folder: Here is a straightforward template to filter, then write the messages that you are interested in to a file.Function Main()Main = "OK"‘ Note: This script requires Read access to "Other fields" variables. ‘ Ensure that the Fields read/write permissions are set as below… ‘ ‘ Read | Write ‘ Common fields X | ‘ Other fields X | ‘ Custom fields | X ‘‘ This script will write to the specified filename using a tab delimited format. ‘ AutoSplit syntax values can be used in the filename if you want. ‘ To have the filename contain the current hour of the day, use %TimeHH ‘ Example: Filename = "C:\Program files\Syslogd\Logs\TestLog%TimeHH.txt"Filename = "C:\Program files\Syslogd\Logs\TestLog.txt" MsgPriority = "Local7.Info" MsgHostAddress = Fields.VarPeerAddress ‘ Use the date and time from the current message MsgDate

This discussion has been locked. The information referenced herein may be inaccurate due to age, software updates, or external references. You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a similar question you can start a new discussion in this forum. I setup a new server hosting Orion NPM and NCM and KIWI Syslog. Orion Syslog seems to be collecting data. Is this why KIWI Syslog is not showing anything in its console? How do I disable the sysylog in Orion and just use KIWI? To Disable the NCM and Orion NPM Syslog Service, please do the Following:Go into Start> Run and type in Services.msc and select OKselect the Solarwinds NCM Syslog Service and the Solarwinds Syslog Service Right Click both of the Services and go inyo Properties. Select Disabled in the Drop Down and select Stop to stop the Service, then Select OKIn the Services.msc window, right click on the Kiwi Syslog Server and select Start. We use Orion NPM and Kiwi Syslog, but Kiwi is installed on a different server. Our network devices are all set to report everything to Orion, but certain critical devices are also configured to report to Kiwi.I keep a terminal session open to the Kiwi server and can see real time issues and messages.The same info is available in Orion, but not as quickly, and not as simply parsed.Kiwi is easy to customize to page/e-mail alerts, and especially simple to set thresholds for the alerts. It'll never replace NPM, but it fits a great niche in my network management tool environment.

The more you work with logging the better you get. Thanks to all the articles on the internet, learning how to filter the syslog data has never been easier. My mission is simply to get you up and running with Kiwi Syslog Server. Getting Started with the SolarWinds Syslog Server Nobody ever says: ‘Our software is difficult to setup’. In fact many say, ‘This product is easy to install’, but Guy says most of them lie, or the statement only applies if you are already an expert in that type of software. Guy says: That if you take 100 experts on routers, then 90 will get the Kiwi Syslog Server up and running without even reading the instructions. The other 10 will succeed with a quick glance at the help files. Guy says: That if you take 100 good computer techies / administrators, who have no knowledge of routers, then only 33 will get the Kiwi Syslog Server working, even if they digest the manual. The aim of this article is to get that figure up to 75 by giving you a few tips based on my experience. My whole rational is to get people to the point where the product is working, and they can now enjoy discovering for themselves all about the advanced features. Kiwi Syslog Server Free Trial Download Guy’s Review of the Actual Kiwi Syslog Install The actual Kiwi install was easy. I extracted the files from the zip, ran setup noting that the program’s files were copied to the Program Files\syslogd\ (The last ‘d’ is not a typo, but ‘d’ for daemon). The hardest decision during install is whether to opt for the Daemon Service, or to select the (Daemon) Windows Application mode. If you change your mind about Windows syslog, just run setup again.