Log File Management

Log file management (LFM) deals with large volumes of computer-generated log messages that are also known as audit records, audit trails and event-logs to name a few. LFM covers log collection, centralized aggregation, long-term retention, log analysis (in real-time and in bulk after storage) as well as log search and reporting.

Log management is driven by reasons of security, system and network operations (such as system or network administration) and regulatory compliance.

Effectively analyzing large volumes of diverse logs can pose many challenges — such as huge log-volumes (reaching hundreds of gigabytes of data per day for a large organization), log-format diversity, undocumented proprietary log-formats (that resist analysis) as well as the presence of false log records in some types of logs (such as intrusion-detection logs).

Users and potential users of LFM can build their own log management and intelligence tools, assemble the functionality from various open-source components or acquire (sub-) systems from commercial vendors. Log file management is a complicated process and organizations often make mistakes while approaching it.

Because of this, we’re asking online business owners to honestly answer the following questions concerning their log file management:

            Can you access all your logs from one central location?
            Can you quickly search and analyze your logs to troubleshoot issues, meet compliance
                        requirements and investigate security threats?

Business owners with answers not in the affirmative are turning to Splunk to improve how they use and analyze log data. Splunk automatically indexes all the data, including complex multi-line application logs, enabling you to search on all the data without need for custom connectors and without limitations inherent in database schemas. 

Once in Splunk, you can quickly search and report on this data - and Splunk interprets the data as you search providing a more complete context. The result is a more flexible and complete approach to using and analyzing log data, enabling you to diagnose issues and troubleshoot security incidents fasterwhile providing repeatable and affordable compliance.

To talk to a Log File Management expert, contact DJ Skillman with Splunk.

http://www.splunk.com/index.php/ask_expert/default/3107