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rsyslog

Manage rsyslog v8 configuration
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Version information

  • 7.1.0 (latest)
  • 7.0.1
  • 7.0.0
  • 6.0.0
  • 5.2.0
  • 5.1.0
  • 5.0.1
  • 4.0.0
  • 3.3.0
  • 3.2.0
  • 3.1.1
  • 3.1.0
  • 3.0.0
  • 2.3.2
  • 2.3.1
  • 2.3.0
  • 2.2.1
  • 2.2.0
  • 2.1.0
  • 2.0.0
released Oct 20th 2023
This version is compatible with:
  • Puppet Enterprise 2023.8.x, 2023.7.x, 2023.6.x, 2023.5.x, 2023.4.x, 2023.3.x, 2023.2.x, 2023.1.x, 2023.0.x, 2021.7.x, 2021.6.x, 2021.5.x, 2021.4.x, 2021.3.x, 2021.2.x, 2021.1.x, 2021.0.x
  • Puppet >= 7.0.0 < 9.0.0
  • , , , , , Debian,

Start using this module

  • r10k or Code Manager
  • Bolt
  • Manual installation
  • Direct download

Add this module to your Puppetfile:

mod 'puppet-rsyslog', '7.1.0'
Learn more about managing modules with a Puppetfile

Add this module to your Bolt project:

bolt module add puppet-rsyslog
Learn more about using this module with an existing project

Manually install this module globally with Puppet module tool:

puppet module install puppet-rsyslog --version 7.1.0

Direct download is not typically how you would use a Puppet module to manage your infrastructure, but you may want to download the module in order to inspect the code.

Download

Documentation

puppet/rsyslog — version 7.1.0 Oct 20th 2023

puppet-rsyslog

Build Status License Puppet Forge Puppet Forge Puppet Forge Puppet Forge

Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Module Description
  3. Setup
  4. Usage
  5. Known Issues
  6. License
  7. Maintainer

Overview

This module was first published as crayfishx/rsyslog. It has now moved to puppet/rsyslog and is managed by the community group Vox Pupuli.

Module Description

This module manages the rsyslog server and client configuration. It supports rsyslog v8 and defaults to configuring most things in the newer rainerscript configuration style. Where possible, common configuration patterns have been abstracted so they can be defined in a structured way from hiera. Though there are a lot of customization options with the configuration, highly complex rsyslog configurations are not easily represented in simple data structures and in these circumstances you may have to provide raw rainerscript code to acheive what you need. However, the aim of this module is to abstract as much as possible.

This module is only compatible with Puppet 4.0.0+

Setup

What this module affects

  • Installs the Rsyslog package, service, and configuration.
  • Install ancillary plugin packages.

Beginning with this module

This declaration will get you basic configuration for Rsyslog on your system:

include rsyslog::config

Usage

Rsyslog Configuration Directives

Config file

By default, everything is configured in a single file under $confdir called 50_rsyslog.conf. This means that packages and other OS specific configurations can also be included (see purge_config_files above). The default file can be changed using the rsyslog::target_file directive and is relative to the confdir.

eg:

rsyslog::target_file: 50_rsyslog.conf

You can, however, define custom confdirs and/or custom paths for configuration files. All configuration options have the following global options you can add to their hiera keys:

  • priority - Order in the file to place the config value relative to the other config options in the file. Takes an integer. Defaults to the priority set for the configuration type. See Ordering for more.
  • target - Target file to place the config values in. Defaults to 50_rsyslog.conf in the default $confdir.
  • confdir - Target configuration directory. Defaults to /etc/rsyslog.d.
Ordering

The following configuration parameters are defaults for the order of configuration object types within the configuration file. They can be overriden for individual object definitions (see configuring objects below)

## Default object type priorities (can be overridden)
rsyslog::global_config_priority: 10
rsyslog::module_load_priority: 20
rsyslog::input_priority: 30
rsyslog::main_queue_priority: 40
rsyslog::parser_priority: 45
rsyslog::template_priority: 50
rsyslog::filter_priority: 55
rsyslog::action_priority: 60
rsyslog::ruleset_priority: 65
rsyslog::lookup_table_priority: 70
rsyslog::legacy_config_priority: 80
rsyslog::custom_priority: 90

Ordering is done numerically. I.E. 111 is after 110 is after 99.

Configuring Objects

Configuration objects are written to the configuration file in rainerscript format and can be configured in a more abstract way directly from Hiera. The following configuration object types are supported

rsyslog::config::modules

A hash of hashes, hash key represents the module name and accepts a hash with values or an empty hash as its value. The hash accepts the following three values:

  • type: values can be external or builtin the default value is external and need not be specified explicitly.
  • config: its a hash which provides optional parameters to the module loaded.
  • priority: The module load order can be prioritised based on the optional priority value.

Puppet example:

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'modules' => {
    'imuxsock' => {},
    'imudp' => {
      'config' => {
        'threads'     => '2',
        'TimeRequery' => '8',
        'batchSize'   => '128',
      },
    },
    'omusrmsg' => {
      'type' => 'builtin',
    },
    'omfile' => {
      'type'   => 'builtin',
      'config' => {
        'fileOwner'      => 'syslog',
        'fileGroup'      => 'adm',
        'dirGroup'       => 'adm',
        'fileCreateMode' => '0640',
        'dirCreateMode'  => '0755',
      },
    },
    'impstats' => {
      'type'     => 'external',
      'priority' => 29,
      'config'   => {
        'interval'   => '60',
        'severity'   => '7',
        'log.syslog' => 'off',
        'log.file'   => '/var/log/rsyslog/logs/stats/stats.log',
        'Ruleset'    => 'remote',
      },
    },
  },
}

Hiera example:

rsyslog::config::modules:
  imuxsock: {}
  imudp:
    config:
      threads: "2"
      TimeRequery: "8"
      batchSize: "128"
  omusrmsg:
    type: "builtin"
  omfile:
    type: "builtin"
    config:
      fileOwner: "syslog"
      fileGroup: "adm"
      dirGroup: "adm"
      fileCreateMode: "0640"
      dirCreateMode: "0755"
  impstats:
    type: "external"
    priority: 29
    config:
      interval: "60"
      severity: "7"
      log.syslog: "off"
      log.file: "/var/log/rsyslog/logs/stats/stats.log"
      Ruleset: "remote"

will produce

module (load="imuxsock")
module (load="imudp"
           threads="2"
           TimeRequery="8"
           batchSize="128"

)
module (load="builtin:omusrmsg")
module (load="builtin:omfile"
           fileOwner="syslog"
           fileGroup="adm"
           dirGroup="adm"
           fileCreateMode="0640"
           dirCreateMode="0755"

)
module (load="impstats"
           interval="60"
           severity="7"
           log.syslog="off"
           log.file="/var/log/rsyslog/logs/stats/stats.log"
           Ruleset="remote"

)
rsyslog::config::global_config

A hash of hashes, they key represents the configuration setting and the value is a hash with the following keys:

  • value: the value of the setting
  • type: the type of format to use (legacy or rainerscript), if omitted rainerscript is used.

Puppet example:

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'global_config' => {
    'umask' => {
      'value'    => '0000',
      'type'     => 'legacy',
      'priority' => 01,
    },
    'RepeatedMsgReduction' => {
      'value' => 'on',
      'type'  => 'legacy',
    },
    'PrivDropToUser' => {
      'value' => 'syslog',
      'type'  => 'legacy',
    },
    'PrivDropToGroup' => {
      'value' => 'syslog',
      'type'  => 'legacy',
    },
    'parser.escapeControlCharactersOnReceive' => {
      'value' => 'on',
    },
    'workDirectory' => {
      'value' => '/var/spool/rsyslog',
    },
    'maxMessageSize' => {
      'value' => '64k',
    },
  },
}

Hiera example:

rsyslog::config::global_config:
  umask:
    value: '0000'
    type: legacy
    priority: 01
  RepeatedMsgReduction:
    value: 'on'
    type: legacy
  PrivDropToUser:
    value: 'syslog'
    type: legacy
  PrivDropToGroup:
    value: 'syslog'
    type: legacy
  parser.escapeControlCharactersOnReceive:
    value: 'on'
  workDirectory:
    value: '/var/spool/rsyslog'
  maxMessageSize:
    value: '64k'

will produce

$umask 0000
$PrivDropToGroup syslog
$PrivDropToUser syslog
$RepeatedMsgReduction on
global (
    parser.escapeControlCharactersOnReceive="on"
    workDirectory="/var/spool/rsyslog"
    maxMessageSize="64k"
)
rsyslog::config::main_queue_opts

Configures the main_queue object in rsyslog as a hash. eg:

Puppet Example:

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'main_queue_opts' => {
    'queue.maxdiskspace'     => '1000G',
    'queue.dequeuebatchsize' => 1000,
  }
}

Hiera Example:

rsyslog::config::main_queue_opts:
  queue.maxdiskspace: 1000G
  queue.dequeuebatchsize: 1000

will produce

main_queue(
  queue.maxdiskspace="1000G"
  queue.dequeuebatchsize="1000"
)
rsyslog::config::templates

Configures template objects in rsyslog. Each element is a hash containing the name of the template, the type and the template data. The type parameter can be one of string, subtree, plugin or list

Puppet Example:

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'templates' => {
    'remote' => {
      'type'   => 'string',
      'string' => '/var/log/rsyslog/logs/%fromhost-ip%.log',
    },
    'tpl2' => {
      'type'    => 'subtree',
      'subtree' => '$1!$usr',
    },
    'someplug' => {
      'type'   => 'plugin',
      'plugin' => 'foobar',
    },
  }
}

Hiera Example:

rsyslog::config::templates:
  remote:
    type: string
    string: "/var/log/rsyslog/logs/%fromhost-ip%/%fromhost-ip%.log"
  tpl2:
    type: subtree
    subtree: "$1!$usr"
  someplug:
     type: plugin
     plugin: foobar

will produce

template (name="remote" type="string"
  string="/var/log/rsyslog/logs/%fromhost-ip%/%fromhost-ip%.log"
)

When using list, the list_descriptions hash should contain an array of single element hashes, the key should be constant or property with their corresponding parameters in a sub hash.

Puppet example:

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'templates' => {
    'plain-syslog' => {
      'type' => 'list',
      'list_descriptions' => [
        {
          'constant' => {
            'value' => '{',
          }
        },
        {
          'constant' => {
            'value' => '\"@timestamp\":\"',
          }
        },
        {
          'propery' => {
            'name' => 'timereported',
            'dateFormat' => 'rfc3339',
          }
        },
        {
          'constant' => {
            'value' => '\",\"host\":\"'
          }
        },
        {
          'property' => {
            'name' => 'hostname'
          }
        },
        {
          'constant' => {
            'value' => '\",\"severity\":\"'
          }
        },
        {
          'property' => {
            'name' => 'syslogseverity-text',
          }
        },
        {
          'constant' => {
            'value' => '\",\"facility\":\"'
          }
        },
        {
          'property' => {
            'name' => 'syslogfacility-text'
          }
        },
        {
          'constant' => {
            'value' => '\",\"host\":\"'
          }
        },
        {
          'property' => {
            'name'   => 'syslogtag',
            'format' => 'json',
          }
        },
        {
          'constant' => {
            'value' => '\",\"message\":\"'
          }
        },
        {
          'property' => {
            'name'   => 'msg',
            'format' => 'json'
          }
        },
        {
          'constant' => {
            'value' => '\"}'
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Hiera example:

  plain-syslog:
    type: list
    list_descriptions:
      - constant:
          value: '{'
      - constant:
          value: '\"@timestamp\":\"'
      - property:
         name: timereported
         dateFormat: rfc3339
      - constant:
         value: '\",\"host\":\"'
      - property:
         name: hostname
      - constant:
         value: '\",\"severity\":\"'
      - property:
         name: syslogseverity-text
      - constant:
         value: '\",\"facility\":\"'
      - property:
         name: syslogfacility-text
      - constant:
         value: '\",\"tag\":\"'
      - property:
         name: syslogtag
         format: json
      - constant:
         value: '\",\"message\":\"'
      - property:
         name: msg
         format: json
      - constant:
         value: '\"}'

will produce

template (name="plain-syslog" type="list"
)
{
    constant(value="{" )
    constant(value="\"@timestamp\":\"" )
    property(name="timereported" dateFormat="rfc3339" )
    constant(value="\",\"host\":\"" )
    property(name="hostname" )
    constant(value="\",\"severity\":\"" )
    property(name="syslogseverity-text" )
    constant(value="\",\"facility\":\"" )
    property(name="syslogfacility-text" )
    constant(value="\",\"tag\":\"" )
    property(name="syslogtag" format="json" )
    constant(value="\",\"message\":\"" )
    property(name="msg" format="json" )
    constant(value="\"}" )
}
rsyslog::config::actions

Configures action objects in rainerscript. Each element of the hash contains the type of action, followed by a hash of configuration options. It also accepts an optional facility parameter and the content is formatted based on the no of config options passed and if the facility option is present.

Puppet example:

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'actions' => {
    'all_logs' => {
      'type'     => 'omfile',
      'facility' => '*.*;auth,authpriv.none',
      'config'   => {
        'dynaFile'  => 'remoteSyslog',
        'specifics' => '/var/log/test',
      }
    },
    'kern_logs' => {
      'type'     => 'omfile',
      'facility' => 'kern.*',
      'config'   => {
        'dynaFile' => 'remoteSyslog',
        'file'     => '/var/log/kern.log',
        'cmd'      => '/proc/cmdline',
      }
    },
    'elasticsearch' => {
      'type'   => 'omelasticsearch',
      'config' => {
        'queue.type'           => 'linkedlist',
        'queue.spoolDirectory' => '/var/log/rsyslog/queue'
      }
    }
  }
}

Hiera example:

rsyslog::config::actions:
  all_logs:
    type: omfile
    facility: "*.*;auth,authpriv.none"
    config:
      dynaFile: "remoteSyslog"
      specifics: "/var/log/test"
  kern_logs:
    type: omfile
    facility: "kern.*"
    config:
      dynaFile: "remoteSyslog"
      file: "/var/log/kern.log"
      cmd: "/proc/cmdline"
  elasticsearch:
    type: omelasticsearch
    config:
      queue.type: "linkedlist"
      queue.spoolDirectory: /var/log/rsyslog/queue

will produce

#Note: There is only 2 options passed so formats in a single line.
# all_logs
*.*;auth,authpriv.none         action(type="omfile" dynaFile="remoteSyslog" specifics="/var/log/test" )

#Note: There is more than 2 options passed so formats into multi line with facility.
# kern_logs
kern.*                         action(type="omfile"
                                 dynaFile="remoteSyslog"
                                 file="/var/log/kern.log"
                                 cmd="/proc/cmdline"
                               )

#Note: There is no facility option passed so formats it without facility.
action(type="omelasticsearch"
  queue.type="linkedlist"
  queue.spoolDirectory="/var/log/rsyslog/queue"
)
rsyslog::config::inputs

Configures input objects in rainerscript. Each element of the hash contains the type of input, followed by a hash of configuration options. Eg:

Puppet examples:

class { 'rsyslog:config':
  'inputs' => {
    'imudp' => {
      'type'   => 'imudp',
      'config' => {
        'port' => '514'
      }
    }
  }
}

Hiera examples:

rsyslog::config::inputs:
  imudp:
    type: imudp
    config:
      port: '514'

will produce

# imdup
input(type="imudp"
  port="514"
)
rsyslog::config::lookup_tables

Configures lookup_tables objects in rainerscript AND generates the JSON lookup_table file. Each key of the hash contains the name of the lookup/lookup_table. The elements of the hash contain a json hash containing the values for the JSON file, a lookup_file element that is the path to where the JSON file will be stored, and a reload_on_hup boolean.

The json hash contains 4 elements: version, nolookup, type, and table. They MUST be specified in this order as per the lookup_tables documentation:

  • version - Integer denoting the version/revision of the lookup_table file.
  • nolookup - String denoting what should be returned if a lookup doesn't find a match in the table.
  • type - Enumerable denoting the type of lookup table. This can be string, array, or sparseArray.
  • table - An Array of hashes containing the table index and value for each lookup.

Puppet example:

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'lookup_tables' => {
    'ip_lookup' => {
      'lookup_json' => {
        'version'  => 1,
        'nolookup' => 'unk',
        'type'     => 'string',
        'table'    => [
          {
            'index' => '1.1.1.1',
            'value' => 'AB'
          },
          {
            'index' => '2.2.2.2',
            'value' => 'CD'
          }
        ]
      },
      'lookup_file'   => '/etc/rsyslog.d/tables/ip_lookup.json',
      'reload_on_hup' => true
    }
  }
}

Hiera Example:

rsyslog::config::lookup_tables:
  ip_lookup:
    lookup_json:
      version: 1
      nolookup: 'unk'
      type: 'string'
      table:
        - index: '1.1.1.1'
          value: 'AB'
        - index: '2.2.2.2'
          value: 'CD'
    lookup_file: '/etc/rsyslog.d/tables/ip_lookup.json'
    reload_on_hup: true

will produce

# /etc/rsyslog.d/tables/ip_lookup.json
{
  "version": 1,
  "nomatch": "unk",
  "type": "string",
  "table": [
    {
      "index": "1.1.1.1",
      "value": "A"
    },
    {
      "index": "2.2.2.2",
      "value": "B"
    }
  ]
}

and

lookup_table(name="ip_lookup" file="/etc/rsyslog.d/tables/ip_lookup.json" reloadOnHUP="on")

NOTE: This does not create the actual lookup() call in the Rsyslog configuration file(s). Currently that is only supported via the rsyslog::config::custom_config hash as it requires setting rsyslog variables (I.E. - set $.iplook = lookup('ip_lookup', $hostname)).

rsyslog::config::parser

Configures parser objects in rainerscript. Each Element of the hash contains the type of parser, followed by a hash of configuration options. Eg:

Puppet Example:

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'parser' => {
    'pmrfc3164_hostname_with_slashes' => {
      'type'   => 'pmrfc3164',
      'config' => {
        'permit.slashesinhostname' => 'on'
      }
    }
  }
}

Hiera Example:

rsyslog::config::parser:
  pmrfc3164_hostname_with_slashes:
    type: pmrfc3164
    config:
      permit.slashesinhostname: 'on'

will produce

parser(name="pmrfc3164_hostname_with_slashes"
       type="pmrfc3164"
       permit.slashesinhostname="on"
)
rsyslog::config::rulesets

Configures Rsyslog ruleset blocks in rainerscript. There are two elements in the rulesets hash:

  • parameters - settings to pass to the ruleset determining things such as which rsyslog parser to use or the ruleset's queue size.
  • rules - the actual content that goes inside the ruleset. Currently the following are supported:
    • action - rsyslog actions defined inside of the ruleset.
    • lookup - Sets a variable to the results of an rsyslog lookup.
    • set - Set an rsyslog variable or property. Property explicitly requires that the set name be a string beginning with $!, while a variable can be a plain string or a string starting with $..
      • NOTE: Setting the variable with a string that does NOT begin with $. is deprecated and will be removed in the next major release!
    • call - call a specific action.
    • exec - execute the following system command
    • expression_filter - Filter based on one or more expressions.
    • property_filter - Filter based on one or more RsyslogD properties.
  • stop - a Boolean to set if the ruleset ends with a stop or not.

NOTE: For any rule key that can also be a standalone rsyslog resource (action, expression_filter, or property_filter), the user MUST define a name key that will be passed as the resource name to the template. This will be simplified in a future release.

NOTE: While it is entirely possible to configure Rulesets using the Puppet DSL, it is recommended against as Rulesets can easily become difficult to read when compared to the YAML-based hieradata.

Puppet example:

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'rulesets' => {
    'ruleset_eth0_514_tcp' => {
      'parameters' => {
        'parser'     => 'pmrfc3164.hostname_with_slashes',
        'queue.size' => '10000',
      },
      'rules' => [
        { 'set' => { '$!rcv_time'  => 'exec_template("s_rcv_time")' }},
        { 'set' => { '$.utime_gen' => 'exec_template("s_unixtime_generated")' }},
        { 'set' => { 'uuid'        => '$uuid' }},
        {
          'action' => {
            'name' => 'utf8-fix',
            'type' => 'mmutf8fix',
          }
        },
        {
          'action' => {
            'name'     => 'test-action',
            'type'     => 'omfile',
            'facility' => '*.*;auth,authpriv.none',
            'config'   => {
              'dynaFile'  => 'remoteSyslog',
              'specifics' => '/var/log/test'
            }
          }
        },
        {
          'action' => {
            'name'   => 'test-action2',
            'type'   => 'omfile',
            'config' => {
              'dynaFile'  => 'remoteSyslog',
              'specifics' => '/var/log/test'
            }
          }
        },
        {
          'lookup' => {
            'var'          => 'srv',
            'lookup_table' => 'srv-map',
            'expr'         => '$fromhost-ip'
          }
        },
        { 'call' => 'action.parse.rawmsg' },
        { 'call' => 'action.parse.r_msg' },
      ],
      'stop' => true,
    }
  }
}

Hiera example:

rsyslog::config::rulesets:
  ruleset_eth0_514_tcp:
    parameters:
      parser: pmrfc3164.hostname_with_slashes
      queue.size: '10000'
    rules:
      - set:
          # Set a Property with a value from a template.
          $!rcv_time: 'exec_template("s_rcv_time")'
      - set:
          # Set a Variable with a value from a template.
          $.utime_gen: 'exec_template("s_unixtime_generated")'
      - set:
          # Set a Variable using the deprecated method with a value from $uuid
          uuid: '$uuid'
      - action:
          name: utf8-fix
          type: mmutf8fix
      - action:
          name: test-action
          type: omfile
          facility: "*.*;auth,authpriv.none"
          config:
            dynaFile: "remoteSyslog"
            specifics: "/var/log/test"
      - action:
          name: test-action2
          type: omfile
          config:
            dynaFile: "remoteSyslog"
            specifics: "/var/log/test"
      - lookup:
          var: srv
          lookup_table: srv-map
          expr: '$fromhost-ip'
      - call: 'action.parse.rawmsg'
      - call: 'action.parse.r_msg'
      - exec: '/bin/echo'
    stop: true

Will produce:

ruleset (name="ruleset_eth0_514_tcp"
  parser="pmrfc3164.hostname_with_slashes"
  queue.size="10000"
) {
  set $.rcv_time = exec_template("s_rcv_time");
  set $.utime_gen = exec_template("s_unixtime_generated");
  set $.uuid = $uuid;
  # utf8-fix action
  action(type="mmutf8fix"
    name="utf8-fix"
  )
  # test-action action
*.*;auth,authpriv.none         action(type="omfile"
                                 name="test-action"
                                 dynaFile="remoteSyslog"
                                 specifics="/var/log/test"
                               )
  # test-action2 action
  action(type="omfile"
    name="test-action2"
    dynaFile="remoteSyslog"
    specifics="/var/log/test"
  )
  set $.srv = lookup("srv-map", $fromhost-ip);
  call action.parse.rawmsg
  call action.parse.r_msg
  ^/bin/echo
  stop
}

Rulesets can also contain filtering logic for calling other rulesets, setting other variables, or even dropping logs based on specific values. Filtering logic is required to utilize lookup_tables and lookup calls.

Rsyslog puppet supports two kinds of filters:

  • expression_filter
  • property_filter

More information about Rsyslog Filters can be found at: http://www.rsyslog.com/doc/v8-stable/configuration/filters.html

Ruleset Expression Filter

Expression filters use traditional if/else and if/else if/else logic to execute rules on specific return values. lookup_tables are compatible ONLY with expression_filters

The Ruleset expression_filter key has a few different keys than the rsyslog::config::expression_filters parameter:

  • name - Currently required to prevent errors. This is logical and only used by Puppet.
  • filter - The filter key is synonymous with the conditionals key found in the rsyslog::config::expression_filters parameter. See the Expression Filter Docs for more info.

Puppet Example:

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'rulesets' => {
    'ruleset_eth0_514_udp' => {
      'parameters' => {
        'queue.type' => 'LinkedList'
      },
      'rules' => [
        {
          'expression_filter' => {
            'filter' => {
              'if' => {
                'expression' => '$fromhost-ip == "192.168.255.1"',
                'tasks' => [
                  { 'call' => 'ruleset.action.rawlog.standard' },
                  { 'stop' => true }
                ]
              }
            }
          }
        },
        { 'call' => 'ruleset.client.log.standard' },
        { 'call' => 'ruleset.unknown.standard' },
      ],
      'stop' => true
    }
  }
}

Hiera Example:

rsyslog::config::rulesets:
  ruleset_eth0_514_udp:
    parameters:
      queue.type: LinkedList
    rules:
      - expression_filter:
          filter:
            if:
              expression: '$fromhost-ip == "192.168.255.1"'
              tasks:
                - call: "ruleset.action.rawlog.standard"
                - stop: true
      - call: "ruleset.client.log.standard"
      - call: "ruleset.unknown.standard"
    stop: true

will produce:

ruleset (name="ruleset_eth0_514_tcp"
  queue.type="LinkedList"
) {
  if $fromhost-ip == "192.168.255.1" then {
    call ruleset.action.rawlog.standard
    stop
  }
  call ruleset.client.log.standard
  call ruleset.unknown.standard
  stop
}

Puppet example with lookup tables: NOTE: Good example for how to define multiple rsyslog resources in a single rsyslog::config class

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'lookup_tables' => {
    'srv-map' => {
      'lookup_json'   => {
        'version'  => 1,
        'nolookup' => 'unk',
        'type'     => 'string',
        'table'    => [
          {
            'index' => '192.168.255.10',
            'value' => 'windows'
          },
          {
            'index' => '192.168.255.11',
            'value' => 'windows'
          },
          {
            'index' => '192.168.255.12',
            'value' => 'linux'
          }
        ],
      },
      'lookup_file'   => '/etc/rsyslog.d/tables/srv-map.json',
      'reload_on_hup' => true
    }
  },
  'rulesets' => {
    'ruleset_lookup_set_windows_by_ip' => {
      'rules' => [
        {
          'lookup' => {
            'var'          => 'srv',
            'lookup_table' => 'srv-map',
            'expr'         => '$fromhost-ip'
          }
        },
        {
          'expression_filter' => {
            'filter' => {
              'main' => {
                'expression' => '$.srv == \"windows\"',
                'tasks' => [
                  { 'call' => 'ruleset.action.forward.windows' },
                  { 'stop' => true }
                ]
              },
              'unknown_log' => {
                'expression' => '$.srv == \"unk\"',
                'tasks' => [
                  { 'call' => 'ruleset.action.drop.unknown' },
                  { 'stop' => 'true' }
                ]
              },
              'default' => {
                'tasks' => [
                  { 'stop' => 'true' }
                ]
              }
            }
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Example with lookup:

rsyslog::config::lookup_tables:
  srv-map:
    lookup_json:
      version: 1
      nolookup: 'unk'
      type: 'string'
      table:
        - index: '192.168.255.10'
          value: 'windows'
        - index: '192.168.255.11'
          value: 'windows'
        - index: '192.168.255.12'
          value: 'linux'
    lookup_file: '/etc/rsyslog.d/tables/srv-map.json'
    reload_on_hup: true
rsyslog::config::rulesets:
  ruleset_lookup_set_windows_by_ip:
    rules:
      - lookup:
          var: srv
          lookup_table: srv-map
          expr: '$fromhost-ip'
      - expression_filter:
          filter:
            main:
              expression: '$.srv == "windows"'
              tasks:
                - call: "ruleset.action.forward.windows"
                - stop: true
            unknown_log:
              expression: '$.srv == "unk"'
              tasks:
                - call: "ruleset.action.drop.unknown"
                - stop: true
            default:
              tasks:
                - stop: true
    stop: true

Will produce:

#/etc/rsyslog.d/tables/srv-map.json
{
  "version": 1,
  "nomatch": "unk",
  "type": "string",
  "table": [
    {
      "index": "192.168.255.10",
      "value": "windows"
    },
    {
      "index": "192.168.255.11",
      "value": "windows"
    },
    {
      "index": "192.168.255.12",
      "value": "linux"
    }
  ]
}

#rsyslog.conf
lookup_table(name="srv-map" file="/etc/rsyslog.d/tables/srv-map.json" reloadOnHUP=on)

ruleset(name="ruleset_lookup_set_windows_by_ip"
) {
  set $.srv = lookup("srv-map", $fromhost-ip);
  if ($.srv == "windows") then {
    call ruleset.action.forward.windows
    stop
  } else if ($.srv == "unk") then {
    call ruleset.action.drop.unknown
    stop
  } else {
    stop
  }
}
Ruleset Property Filters

property_filters are unique to rsyslogd. They allow to filter on any property, like HOSTNAME, syslogtag and msg. property_filters are faster than expression_filters as they us built-in rsyslog properties to lookup and match data.

Puppet Example:

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'rulesets' => {
    'ruleset_msg_check_for_error' => {
      'rules' => [
        {
          'property_filter' => {
            'property' => 'msg',
            'operator' => 'contains',
            'value'    => 'error',
            'tasks'    => [
              { 'call' => 'ruleset.action.error' },
              { 'stop' => true }
            ]
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Hiera Example:

rsyslog::config::rulesets:
  ruleset_msg_check_for_error:
    rules:
      - property_filter:
          property: 'msg'
          operator: 'contains'
          value: 'error'
          tasks:
            - call: 'ruleset.action.error'
            - stop: true

Will Generate:

#rsyslog.conf
ruleset(name="ruleset_msg_check_for_error"
) {
  :msg, contains, "informational" {
    call ruleset.action.error
    stop
  }
}
rsyslog::config::property_filters

Rsyslog has the ability to filter each log line based on log properties and/or variables.

There are four kinds of filters in Rsyslog:

  • "traditional" severity/facility based Selectors - handled in the Actions parameter.
  • BSD-style blocks - not supported in Rsyslog 7+ and as such are not supported in this module.
  • Property-based Filters
  • Expression-based Filters

This section covers Property and Expression based filters.

Property-based Filters

Property-based filters are unique to rsyslogd. They allow to filter on any property, like HOSTNAME, syslogtag and msg. Property-based filters are only supported with native properties in Rsyslog. See Rsyslog Properties for a list of supported properties.

The rsyslog::config::property_filters parameter is a Hash of hashes where the hash-key is the logical name for the filter. This name is for Puppet resource naming purposes only and has no other function. The filter name has several additional child keys as well:

  • property - the Rsyslogd property the filter will lookup.
  • operator - the Rsyslogd property filter-supported operator to compare the property value with the expected value. See Rsyslog Property Compare-Operations for a list of supported operators. These operators are validated with the Rsyslog::PropertyOperator data type.
  • value - the value that the property filter will match against.
  • tasks - A hash of actions to take in the event of a filter match.
    • All sub-keys for the tasks hash maps to another rsyslog configuration object.

Puppet Example:

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'property_filters' => {
    'hostname_filter' => {
      'property' => 'hostname',
      'operator' => 'contains',
      'value'    => 'some_hostname',
      'tasks'    => [
        {
          'action' => {
            'name'     => 'omfile_defaults',
            'type'     => 'omfile',
            'facility' => '*.*;auth,authpriv.none',
            'config'   => {
              'dynaFile'  => 'remoteSyslog',
              'specifics' => '/var/log/test',
            }
          }
        },
        { 'stop' => true }
      ]
    },
    'ip_filter' => {
      'property' => 'fromhost-ip',
      'operator' => 'startswith',
      'value'    => '192',
      'tasks'    => [
        { 'stop' => true }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Hiera Example:

rsyslog::config::property_filters:
  hostname_filter:
    property: hostname
    operator: contains
    value: some_hostname
    tasks:
      - action:
          name: omfile_defaults
          type: omfile
          facility: "*.*;auth,authpriv.none"
          config:
            dynaFile: "remoteSyslog"
            specifics: "/var/log/test"
      - stop: true
  ip_filter:
    property: fromhost-ip
    operator: startswith
    value: '192'
    tasks:
      - stop: true

will produce

:hostname, contains, "some_hostname" {
  *.*;auth,authpriv.none        action(type="omfile" dynaFile="remoteSyslog" specifics="/var/log/test")
  stop
}

:fromhost-ip, startswith, "192" {
  stop
}
Expression-based Filters

Expression-based filters allow filtering on arbitrary complex expressions, which can include boolean, arithmetic and string operations.

Expression-based filters are also what are used to match against lookup_table data.

The rsyslog::config::expression_filters parameter is a Hash of hashes where the hash-key is the logical name for the filter. This name is for Puppet resource naming purposes only and has no other function. The filter name has a few additional child keys as well:

  • conditionals - Hash describing the different conditional cases, which are hashes of hashes.
    • cases - Hash of hashes. This has two reserved keys and four reserved names:
      • if/main - This is the primary condition for your expression. if is provided for backwards compatibility. required
      • else/default - This defines the optional "default" or "fall through" condition. else is provided for backwards compatibility.
      • [string] case - All other cases are defined by your own descriptive name. These names are non-functional and purely for organizational purposes. They will render as an else if in the rsyslog configuration.
    • expression - The string "expression" that will be used to match values. With all the potential options for logic, this was the easiest way to provide everyone with what they may need.
    • tasks - A hash of actions to take in the event of a filter match.
      • All sub-keys for the tasks hash maps to another rsyslog configuration object.
Puppet Examples

Old Syntax (still works):

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'expression_filters' => {
    'hostname_filter' => {
      'conditionals' => {
        'if' => {
          'expression' => '$msg contains "error"',
          'tasks'      => [
            {
              'action' => {
                'name'   => 'omfile_error',
                'type'   => 'omfile',
                'config' => { 'specifics' => '/var/log/errlog' }
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

New Syntax:

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'expression_filters' => {
    'hostname_filter' => {
      'conditionals' => {
        'main' => {
          'expression' => '$msg contains "error"',
          'tasks'      => [
            {
              'action' => {
                'name'   => 'omfile_error',
                'type'   => 'omfile',
                'config' => { 'specifics' => '/var/log/errlog' }
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
Hiera Examples

Old syntax (still works):

rsyslog::config::expression_filters:
  hostname_filter:
    conditionals:
      # Uses the "if" keyword
      if:
        expression: '$msg contains "error"'
        tasks:
          - action:
              name: omfile_error
              type: omfile
              config:
                specifics: /var/log/errlog

New syntax:

rsyslog::config::expression_filters:
  hostname_filter:
    conditionals:
      # Uses the "main" keyword
      main:
        expression: '$msg contains "error"'
        tasks:
          - action:
              name: omfile_error
              type: omfile
              config:
                specifics: /var/log/errlog

both will produce:

if $msg contains "error" then {
  action(type="omfile" specifics="/var/log/errlog")
}

NOTE: Due to the amount of potential options available to the user, the expression key is a plain text string field and the expression logic must be written out. See next example for more details.

Puppet Examples

Old Syntax (still works):

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'expression_filters' => {
    'complex_filter' => {
      'conditionals' => {
        'if' => {
          'expression' => '$syslogfacility-text == "local0" and $msg startswith "DEVNAME" and ($msg contains "error1" or $msg contains "error0")',
          'tasks'      => [
            { 'stop' => true }
          ]
        },
        'else' => {
          'tasks' => [
            'action' => {
              'name'   => 'error_log',
              'type'   => 'omfile',
              'config' => { 'specifics' => '/var/log/errlog' }
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

New Syntax:

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'expression_filters' => {
    'complex_filter' => {
      'conditionals' => {
        'main' => {
          'expression' => '$syslogfacility-text == "local0" and $msg startswith "DEVNAME" and ($msg contains "error1" or $msg contains "error0")',
          'tasks'      => [
            { 'stop' => true }
          ]
        },
        'default' => {
          'tasks' => [
            'action' => {
              'name'   => 'error_log',
              'type'   => 'omfile',
              'config' => { 'specifics' => '/var/log/errlog' }
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
Hiera Examples

Old Syntax (still works):

rsyslog::config::expression_filters:
  complex_filter:
    conditionals:
      # Uses the "if" keyword
      if:
        expression: '$syslogfacility-text == "local0" and $msg startswith "DEVNAME" and ($msg contains "error1" or $msg contains "error0")'
        tasks:
          - stop: true
      # Uses the "else" keyword
      else:
        tasks:
          - action:
              name: error_log
              type: omfile
              config:
                specifics: /var/log/errlog

New Syntax:

rsyslog::config::expression_filters:
  complex_filter:
    conditionals:
      # Uses the "main" keyword
      main:
        expression: '$syslogfacility-text == "local0" and $msg startswith "DEVNAME" and ($msg contains "error1" or $msg contains "error0")'
        tasks:
          - stop: true
      # Uses the "default" keyword
      default:
        tasks:
          - action:
              name: error_log
              type: omfile
              config:
                specifics: /var/log/errlog

both will produce:

if $syslogfacility-text == "local0" and $msg startswith "DEVNAME" and ($msg contains "error1" or $msg contains "error0") then {
  stop
}
else {
  action(type="omfile" specifics="/var/log/errlog")
}

Example using more than two conditions:

Puppet Examples

class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'expression_filters' => {
    'conditionals' => {
      'main' => {
        'expression' => '$syslogfacility-text == "local0" and $msg startswith "DEVNAME" and ($msg contains "error1" or $msg contains "error0")',
        'tasks'      => [{ 'stop' => true }]
      },
      'errlog' => {
        'expression' => '$msg contains "error"',
        'tasks'      => [
          {
            'action' => {
              'name'   => 'omfile_error',
              'type'   => 'omfile',
              'config' => { 'specifics' => '/var/log/errlog' }
            }
          }
        ]
      },
      'default' => {
        'tasks' => [
          {
            'action' => {
              'name'   => 'system_log',
              'type'   => 'omfile',
              'config' => { 'specifics' => '/var/log/system' }
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Hiera Examples

rsyslog::config::expression_filters:
  complex_filter:
    conditionals:
      # Uses the "main" keyword
      main:
        expression: '$syslogfacility-text == "local0" and $msg startswith "DEVNAME" and ($msg contains "error1" or $msg contains "error0")'
        tasks:
          - stop: true
      # Uses a descriptive keyname
      errlog:
        expression: '$msg contains "error"'
        tasks:
          - action:
              name: omfile_error
              type: omfile
              config:
                - specifics: /var/log/errlog
      # Uses the "default" keyword
      default:
        tasks:
          - action:
              name: system_log
              type: omfile
              config:
                specifics: /var/log/system

will produce:

if $syslogfacility-text == "local0" and $msg startswith "DEVNAME" and ($msg contains "error1" or $msg contains "error0") then {
  stop
} else if $msg == "error" then {
  action(type="omfile" specifics="/var/log/errlog")
} else {
  action(type="omfile" specifics="/var/log/system")
}
rsyslog::config::legacy_config

Legacy config support is provided to facilitate backwards compatibility with sysklogd format as this module mainly supports rainerscript format.

A hash of hashes, each hash name is used as the comment/reference for the setting and the hash will have the following values:

  • key: the key/logger rule setting
  • value: the value/target of the setting
  • type: the type of format to use (legacy or sysklogd), if omitted sysklogd is used. If legacy type is used key can be skipped and one long string can be provided as value.
Puppet Examples
class { 'rsyslog::config':
  'legacy_config' => {
    'auth_priv_rule' => {
      'key'   => 'auth,authpriv.*',
      'value' => '/var/log/auth.log',
    },
    'auth_none_rule' => {
      'key'   => '*.*;auth,authpriv.none',
      'value' => '/var/log/syslog',
    },
    'syslog_all_rule' => {
      'key'   => 'syslog.*',
      'value' => '/var/log/rsyslog.log',
    },
    'mail_error_rule' => {
      'key'   => 'mail.err',
      'value' => '/var/log/mail.err',
    },
    'news_critical_rule' => {
      'key'   => 'news.crit',
      'value' => '/var/log/news/news.crit',
    }
  }
}
Hiera Examples
rsyslog::config::legacy_config:
  auth_priv_rule:
    key: "auth,authpriv.*"
    value: "/var/log/auth.log"
  auth_none_rule:
    key: "*.*;auth,authpriv.none"
    value: "/var/log/syslog"
  syslog_all_rule:
    key: "syslog.*"
    value: "/var/log/rsyslog.log"
  mail_error_rule:
    key: "mail.err"
    value: "/var/log/mail.err"
  news_critical_rule:
    key: "news.crit"
    value: "/var/log/news/news.crit"

will produce

# auth_priv_rule
auth,authpriv.*    /var/log/auth.log

# auth_none_rule
*.*;auth,authpriv.none    /var/log/syslog

# syslog_all_rule
syslog.*    /var/log/rsyslog.log

# mail_error_rule
mail.err    /var/log/mail.err

# news_critical_rule
news.crit    /var/log/news/news.crit

legacy type values can be passed as one long string skipping the key parameter like below and you can also override the priority in the hash to rearrange the contents eg:

  emergency_rule:
    key: "*.emerg"
    value: ":omusrmsg:*"
  testing_legacy_remotelog:
    value: "*.* @@logmonster.cloudfront.net:1514"
    type: "legacy"
    priority: 12
  testing_legacy_rule:
    value: "*.* >dbhost,dbname,dbuser,dbpassword;dbtemplate"
    type: "legacy"

will produce

# emergency_rule
*.emerg    :omusrmsg:*

# testing_legacy_rule
*.* >dbhost,dbname,dbuser,dbpassword;dbtemplate

# testing_legacy_remotelog
*.* @@logmonster.cloudfront.net:1514

Positioning

All rsyslog object types are positioned according to the default variables (see Ordering). The position can be overridden for any object by adding the optional priority parameter.

eg:

rsyslog::config::actions:
  elasticsearch:
    type: omelasticsearch
    config:
      queue.type: "linkedlist"
      queue.spoolDirectory: "/var/log/rsyslog/queue"
    priority: 35

Formatting

This module attempts to abstract rainerscript objects into data structures that can be handled easily within hiera, however there are clearly times when you need to add some more code structure around an object, such as conditionals. For simple code additions, the template, action, input and global_config object types support the optional parameter of format which takes Puppet EPP formatted template as a value, using the variable $content to signify the object itself. For example, to wrap an action in a simple conditional you could format it as

eg:

rsyslog::config::actions:
  elasticsearch:
    type: omelasticsearch
    config:
      queue.type: "linkedlist"
      queue.spoolDirectory: "/var/log/rsyslog/queue"
    format: |
      if [ $fromhost == "foo.localdomain"] then {
      <%= $content %>
      }

For more complicated code structures that don't lend themselves well to a structured format, like multiple nested conditionals there is also a special configuration object type called custom_config. custom_config takes two arguments, priority to determine where in the file it should be configured, and content a text string to insert. By default the priority is set by the custom_config_priority parameter (see Ordering)

rsyslog::config::custom_config:
  localhost_action:
    priority: 45
    content: |
      if $fromhost == ["foo.localdomain","localhost"] then {
        action(type="omfile" file="/var/log/syslog")
      } else {
       action(type="omelasticsearch"
         queue.type="linkedlist"
         queue.spoolDirectory="/var/log/rsyslog/queue"
       )
    }

  stop:
    content: |
      if [ $fromhost == "foo" ] then stop

Known Issues

  • Designed specifically for Rsyslog 8+ and the Rainerscript configuration format. Legacy configuration/Rsyslog < 8 support requires the use of the custom_config parameter.
  • The upstream repository for EL8 is currently broken and will not work.

License

  • This module is licensed under Apache 2.0, see LICENSE for more details

Maintainer

  • This module is maintained by Vox Pupuli. It was originally written by Craig Dunn (craig@craigdunn.org) @crayfishx.