Many of the most common data sources that power Splunk product use cases require a syslog server for data collection. Most administrators do not possess the specific expertise required to successfully design, deploy and configure a syslog server to properly work with Splunk at scale. Additionally, the traditional Universal Forwarder or Heavy Forwarder approach to syslog collection have several issues with scale and complexity. Some customers send syslog events directly to Splunk to avoid architecting a syslog server, which introduces further problems. To help customers address these issues, Splunk Connect For Syslog (SC4S) was developed, a Splunk open source community developed product.



Splunk Connect for Syslog is a containerized Syslog-ng server with a configuration framework designed to simplify getting syslog data into Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Cloud. This approach provides an agnostic solution allowing administrators to deploy using the container runtime environment of their choice. Additionally, skilled deployment engineers with syslog server experience can utilize the source and configurations directly to craft their own custom solutions more easily and more consistently than starting from scratch.



The benefits of Splunk Connect for Syslog include the following:

* Repeatable, Concise, and Prescriptive Splunk solution for syslog

* Removal of the UF reduces configuration and management effort

* Turnkey deployment via the SC4S container architecture

* Custom deployment via a "Bring Your Own Environment" distribution

* A library of data source filters we will be continually growing with the help of the community

* Exceptionally even event distribution across the Splunk Indexers (benefits search performance)

* Enhanced data enrichment beyond the standard Splunk metadata of timestamp, host, source, and sourcetype

* Easily add custom “filters” for additional sourcetypes beyond those supported out of the box

* Complete deployment documentation



Splunk Connect for Syslog is an open source product developed by Splunkers with contributions from the community of partners and customers. This unique product will be enhanced, maintained and supported by the community, led by Splunkers with deep subject matter expertise. The primary reason why Splunk is taking this approach is to push product development closer to those that use and depend upon it. This direct connection will help us all be more successful and move at a rapid pace.



Community Discussions: splunk-usergroups.slack.com #splunk-connect-for-syslog

File Issues or Enhancements: https://github.com/splunk/splunk-connect-for-syslog/issues



Get involved, try it out, ask questions, contribute filters, and make new friends!