Event Log Analyzer

Windows Event Log Analyzer

This tutorial on event log analyzers is aimed at network administrators and server managers, who are responsible for diagnosing unusual system and network behavior by deciphering critical information contained in event logs. For the purpose of network security and administration, log analysis has become an important source that also aids during internal audits. However, before understanding the significance of log analysis in detail and the use of event log analyzer, it is first important to know the basics of events and event logging.

Event Logs- An Overview

Let us first begin by getting an overview of events and event logging in a Windows environment. The following terminologies will provide an overview of event logs:

Any change in the system status, whether a system fault or a normal system activity is termed as an Event. Whenever, an event occurs in the system, the system component generates an Event Message that describes the event. These event messages are stored in a repository in the form of log entries and this procedure in called Event Logging. The Event Log File, a regular file with the format .evt, contains the event message along with other information about the event such as event type, event severity, event status, event ID, event time and date, etc. Event Logs can be modified by appending the event messages. A Log Client is the system component responsible for editing event messages for event logging.

Event logs play a vital role in modern IT systems, especially in enterprise environment, where large networks are managed. Event logs are an excellent source of information for monitoring systems and the overall network since most event logs are collected in real time as and when they are being emitted by the system components. Moreover, the information obtained from event logs are used in log analysis that helps during audit procedures and management of IT infrastructure.

Syslog, that was earlier implemented for BSD UNIX; is a flexible event logging protocol that supports many operating systems and can be implemented on various network devices such as routers, printers, switches, firewalls, etc. According to this protocol, for the system to log an event, the log client must create a Syslog event message which is then send to the syslog server.

The communication protocol followed between the Syslog server and client is UDP which is fast and appropriate for large IT systems with many network nodes. Syslog is thus considered as a perfect protocol for building centralized logging infrastructure. Event log analyzer and log monitoring tools developed on the concept of a centralized logging system utilize the Syslog protocol.

Due to the importance of event logs, new and advanced event log analyzer systems are being built which are capable of monitoring both system based and web server based events. Furthermore, the new age event log analyzers implement event correlation, filtering and consolidation properties incorporating data mining techniques and other data clustering methods.