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[Deprecated] Collect data in custom log formats to Microsoft Sentinel with the Log Analytics agent

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Important

Log collection from many appliances and devices is now supported by the Common Event Format (CEF) via AMA, Syslog via AMA, or Custom Logs via AMA data connector in Microsoft Sentinel. For more information, see Find your Microsoft Sentinel data connector.

This article describes how to collect data from devices that use custom log formats to Microsoft Sentinel using the Log Analytics agent. To learn how to ingest custom logs using the Azure Monitor Agent (AMA), see Collect logs from text files with the Azure Monitor Agent and ingest to Microsoft Sentinel.

Many applications log data to text files instead of standard logging services like Windows Event log or Syslog. You can use the Log Analytics agent to collect data in text files of nonstandard formats from both Windows and Linux computers. Once collected, you can either parse the data into individual fields in your queries or extract the data during collection to individual fields.

For more information about supported data connectors that collect custom log formats, see Data connectors reference.

Important

The Log Analytics agent will be retired on 31 August, 2024. If you are using the Log Analytics agent in your Microsoft Sentinel deployment, we recommend that you complete your migration to the Azure Monitor Agent (AMA). For more information, see AMA migration for Microsoft Sentinel.

Learn all about custom logs in the Azure Monitor documentation.

Note

For information about feature availability in US Government clouds, see the Microsoft Sentinel tables in Cloud feature availability for US Government customers.

Install the Log Analytics agent

Install the Log Analytics agent on the Linux or Windows machine that will be generating the logs.

Some vendors recommend installing the Log Analytics agent on a separate log server instead of directly on the device. Consult your product's section on the Data connectors reference page, or your product's own documentation.

Select the appropriate tab below, depending on whether your connector is part of solution listed in the content hub of Microsoft Sentinel or not.

Before you begin, install the solution for the product from the Content Hub in Microsoft Sentinel. For more information, see Discover and manage Microsoft Sentinel out-of-the-box content. Once the data connector for the product is available, continue with the following steps.

  1. From the Microsoft Sentinel navigation menu, select Data connectors.

  2. Search for and select the appropriate product data connector.

  3. Select Open connector page.

  4. Install and onboard the agent on the device that generates the logs. Choose Linux or Windows as appropriate.

    Machine type Instructions
    For an Azure Linux VM
    1. Under Choose where to install the Linux agent, expand Install agent on Azure Linux virtual machine.

    2. Select the Download & install agent for Azure Linux Virtual machines > link.

    3. In the Virtual machines blade, select a virtual machine to install the agent on, and then select Connect. Repeat this step for each VM you wish to connect.
    For any other Linux machine
    1. Under Choose where to install the Linux agent, expand Install agent on a non-Azure Linux Machine.

    2. Select the Download & install agent for non-Azure Linux machines > link.

    3. In the Agents management blade, select the Linux servers tab, then copy the command for Download and onboard agent for Linux and run it on your Linux machine.

      If you want to keep a local copy of the Linux agent installation file, select the Download Linux Agent link above the "Download and onboard agent" command.
    For an Azure Windows VM
    1. Under Choose where to install the Windows agent, expand Install agent on Azure Windows virtual machine.

    2. Select the Download & install agent for Azure Windows Virtual machines > link.

    3. In the Virtual machines blade, select a virtual machine to install the agent on, and then select Connect. Repeat this step for each VM you wish to connect.
    For any other Windows machine
    1. Under Choose where to install the Windows agent, expand Install agent on a non-Azure Windows Machine

    2. Select the Download & install agent for non-Azure Windows machines > link.

    3. In the Agents management blade, on the Windows servers tab, select the Download Windows Agent link for either 32-bit or 64-bit systems, as appropriate.

Configure the logs to be collected

Many device types have their own data connectors appearing in the Data connectors page in Microsoft Sentinel. Some of these connectors require special additional instructions to properly set up log collection in Microsoft Sentinel. These instructions can include the implementation of a parser based on a Kusto function.

All connectors listed in Microsoft Sentinel will display any specific instructions on their respective connector pages in the portal, as well as in their sections of the Microsoft Sentinel data connectors reference page.

If your product doesn't have a solution with a data connector listed in the Content Hub, consult your vendor's documentation for instructions on configuring logging for your device.

Configure the Log Analytics agent

  1. From the connector page, select the Open your workspace custom logs configuration link.

    Or, from the Log Analytics workspace navigation menu, select Custom logs.

  2. In the Custom tables tab, select Add custom log.

  3. In the Sample tab, upload a sample of a log file from your device (e.g. access.log or error.log). Then, select Next.

  4. In the Record delimiter tab, select a record delimiter, either New line or Timestamp (see the instructions on that tab), and select Next.

  5. In the Collection paths tab, select a path type of Windows or Linux, and enter the path to your device's logs based on your configuration. Then, select Next.

  6. Give your custom log a name and optionally a description and select Next.
    Don't end your name with "_CL", as it will be appended automatically.

Find your data

To query the custom log data in Logs, type the name you gave your custom log (ending in "_CL") in the query window.

Next steps

In this document, you learned how to collect data from custom log types to ingest into Microsoft Sentinel. To learn more about Microsoft Sentinel, see the following articles: