NXLog

NXLog is the workhorse of Windows logging plugins. You can use our configuration file for NXLog to set up the ingestion of Windows events logs to Mezmo.

Set Up NXLog Log Ingestion

Follow the instructions in the Mezmo Web App to set up NXLog log ingestion using your Mezmo syslog port and security certificate

Log in to the Mezmo Web App.
In the bottom section of the left-hand navigation, click Help.
Select Add Log Sources.
Under Via platform, click NXLog.
Follow the instructions to set up NXLog log ingestion.

You can also get a copy of the NXLog configuration file from our GitHub repository.

Example NXLog Configuration File

Copy the following config to $NXLOGDIR\conf\nxlog.conf, where $NXLOGDIR is directory nxlog is installed in.

Panic Soft
#NoFreeOnExit TRUE
define ROOT     C:\\Program Files (x86)\\nxlog
define CERTDIR  %ROOT%\\cert
define CONFDIR  %ROOT%\\conf
define LOGDIR   %ROOT%\\data
define LOGFILE  %LOGDIR%\\nxlog.log
LogFile %LOGFILE%
Moduledir %ROOT%\\modules
CacheDir  %ROOT%\\data
Pidfile   %ROOT%\\data\\nxlog.pid
SpoolDir  %ROOT%\\data
<Extension _syslog>
    Module      xm_syslog
</Extension>
<Extension _exec>
    Module      xm_exec
</Extension>
<Extension json>
    Module	xm_json
</Extension>
<Input internal>
    Module im_internal
    Exec $Message = to_json();
</Input>
#######################################################################
##### This is just explicit version of internal input above ###########
#######################################################################
# <Input nxlog>
#     Module im_file
#     File '%LOGFILE%'
#     <Exec>
#         $Message = $raw_event;
#         if $Message == '' drop();
#         $SourceName = substr(file_name(), size('%LOGDIR%') + 1);
#     </Exec>
# </Input>
#######################################################################
# Define Directory for Making Substring Operation
define LOGFOLDER C:\\ProgramData\\logs
<Input filelog>
    Module im_file
    File '%LOGFOLDER%\\*.log'
    Recursive TRUE
    <Exec>
        $Message = $raw_event;
        if $Message == '' drop();
        $SourceName = substr(file_name(), size('%LOGFOLDER%') + 2);
    </Exec>
</Input>
<Input eventlog>
    Module im_msvistalog
    <QueryXML>
        <QueryList>
            <Query Id='0'>
                <!--Select Path='Application'>*</Select-->
                <Select Path='System'>*</Select>
                <!--Select Path='Security'>*</Select-->
            </Query>
        </QueryList>
    </QueryXML>
    Exec $Message = to_json();
</Input>
<Processor buffer>
    Module pm_buffer
    MaxSize 102400
    Type disk
</Processor>
<Output out>
    Module om_ssl
    Host syslog-a.logdna.com
    Port CUSTOM_PORT
    CAFile %CERTDIR%\ca.pem
    Exec to_syslog_ietf();
</Output>
<Route 1>
    Path internal, filelog, eventlog => buffer => out
</Route>

Customizing the Config

Windows Event Logging is captured in lines 61—73.
- Uncomment the lines to enable logging from the specified channels
- Comment out the lines to disable logging from the specified channels
- Add custom channels to enable logging from into the same Query block
Windows File Logging is capture in lines 47—59.
- Update log directory where to stream logs from log files located in line 48
- Update log files to stream logs from in line 52
All input, processor, and output channels are connected in route block.
- Comment out the whole block and remove from the route to disable logging from specific input channel
- Add new input modules with unique names to be added to the route to enable logging from new sources

Example for Tailing Additional Log Files

You can add additional logfiles by creating a new <Input {name}> section that imitates the previous ones, and adding the name of that section to <Route 1> at the end.

<Input newlog>
    Module im_file
    File '%LOGDIR%\\example.log'
    Exec $Message = to_json();
</Input>

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