Monitoring Windows Event Logs With NagEventLog

Nagios XI Monitoring Windows Event Logs
With NagEventLog
The Industry Standard in IT Infrastructure Monitoring
Purpose
This document describes how to monitor Windows event logs using Nagios XI and the NagEventLog addon.
Target Audience
This document is intended for use by Nagios XI Administrators.
Prerequisites
You must have completed the following steps before you can monitor Windows event logs using this documentation:
Configure NSCA on the Nagios XI Server
You must have configured the NSCA agent on your Nagios XI server in order to monitor Windows event logs with NagEventLog.
Instructions for configuring NSCA can be found in a separate document titled Using NSCA With XI. This document can be found on
the Nagios Library (http://library.nagios.com) or can be downloaded directly at:
http://assets.nagios.com/downloads/nagiosxi/docs/Using_NSCA_With_XI.pdf
Install the Windows Event Log Monitoring Wizard
You must install the Windows Event Log Monitoring Wizard on your Nagios XI server. The wizard can be downloaded from:
http://assets.nagios.com/downloads/nagiosxi/wizards/windowseventlog.zip
Overview
In order to monitor Windows event logs using Nagios XI and the NagEventLog agent, you must complete the following:
1.
2.
3.
Install the NagEventLog agent on the Windows machine

Configure the NagEventLog agent and define event log filters/patterns to monitor
Run the Windows Event Log monitoring wizard in Nagios XI
The following pages will take you through each of these steps.
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P.O. Box 8154
Saint Paul, MN 55108
USA
US: 1-888-NAGIOS-1
Int'l: +1 651-204-9102
Fax: +1 651-204-9103
Web: www.nagios.com
Email: sales@nagios.com
Page 1
Copyright 2011 Nagios Enterprises, LLC
Revision 1.0 August, 2013

With NagEventLog
Installing NagEventLog
In order to monitor Windows event logs with Nagios XI, you must install the NagEventLog agent on the Windows machine. You can get
the latest version of NagEventLog from Steve Shipway's website (http://www.steveshipway.org/software/) or download a copy of the
latest version (1.9.2 as of the time of writing) from:
http://assets.nagios.com/downloads/addons/nageventlog/nagevlog-setup-1.9.2.exe
Launch the NagEventLog installer on the Windows machine and click Next to
get started.
Read the program and license information and click Next to continue.
When prompted for the installation directory, click Next to accept the default
and continue.

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With NagEventLog
When prompted for which components to install, click Next to accept the
defaults and continue.
When prompted for the start menu folder name, click Next to accept the default
and continue.
On the configuration screen, make sure you specify:

1.
The host name (as currently defined, or as you will define it in Nagios
XI) for the Windows machine you are installing the agent on in the
Host name for this computer field.
2.
The IP address of the Nagios XI server in the Nagios NSCA Server

name field.
3.
The port that NSCA is running on (defaults to 5667) on the Nagios XI

server in the Nagios NSCA Server port field.
4.
The password that you have configured NSCA to use on the Nagios
XI server in the Nagios NSCA Server password field.
Click Next to continue.

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With NagEventLog
On the next screen, optionally select the option to create a desktop icon for the
NagEventLog agent (recommended).
Click Next to continue.
Click Install to begin the installation.
Click Next to continue once the installation is completed.

Note: You're not finished yet! You still need to configure the agent. Instructions
for doing so are found on the following pages.

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Fax: +1 651-204-9103
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With NagEventLog
Make sure the Configure the EventLog monitor option is selected and click
Finish.
The main configuration screen for the agent will appear.

Click the NSCA Daemons button to finish configuration of the NSCA settings.
The NSCA Server Settings screen will appear. Make sure you selected the
same encryption method in the Encryption option as what is used to decrypt
data in the NSCA configuration on the Nagios XI server.
Important: If the NSCA password and/or encryption method do not match the
settings used by the NSCA agent on the Nagios XI server, event log monitoring
will not work!
Click OK to continue.

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With NagEventLog
Select Yes when prompted if you want to save the NSCA settings.
Important: If you changed NSCA settings, you will have to restart the
NagiosEventLog service on the Windows machine.
You can do this by using the Computer Management console, or by issuing the
following commands from a command prompt:
net stop NagiosEventLog
net start NagiosEventLog
Configuring Event Log Monitoring

To configure how event logs are monitored, you defined one or more filters in
the Nagios Eventlog Control Manager.
How Filters Work
When an event log item matches a filter you defined, the NagEventLog agent
will send an alert to the Nagios server using the NSCA protocol.
Default Filters
There are three default filters that get defined one each for the System,
Application, and Security event logs.
Prioritizing Matches
Filters are matched by priority in the order they are defined. You can change
the priority of filters by using the Move up and Move down buttons.
Creating New Filters
To create a new filter, click the Create New button.
Editing Existing Filters
To edit an existing filter, select the filter from the drop-down list and click the Edit button.

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With NagEventLog
Defining Filter Settings
When defining or changing each filter's settings, you are able to specify:
1.
What Windows Event Log the filter applies to
2.
What type of events match the filter rules, including:

a. Event type (Error, Warning, Audit Failure, etc.)
b. Event Ids (optional)
c. String matches (optional)
d. Event sources (optional)
3. The service name (as defined in Nagios XI) that alerts for the filter will
be associated with.
4. The service status (e.g. criticality) of a filter match.

Important: The service name you define in each filter must correspond to a
service in Nagios XI. You will define the services using the Nagios XI wizard on
the following pages of the documentation.
Using The Configuration Wizard

Once you have finished defining event log filters on the Windows machine, you need to run the Windows Event Log Monitoring wizard
in Nagios XI.
When you run the wizard, make sure of the following:
1.
The Host Name you specify in the wizard matches the Host Name you
specified in the NSCA Server Settings screen of the NagEventLog
agent.
2.
The Event Log Service Names you specify in the wizard match the
Service Names you specified when defining filters in the NagEventLog
agent.

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USA
US: 1-888-NAGIOS-1
Int'l: +1 651-204-9102
Fax: +1 651-204-9103
Web: www.nagios.com
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With NagEventLog
Once you finish using the wizard, Nagios XI will create the
services for handling event log information.
Note: A special EventLog Agent service is created to handle
heartbeat information sent from the NagEventLog agent.
This screenshot gives an example of how things might look

after event log alerts start to arrive from the NagEventLog
agent.

P.O. Box 8154
USA
US: 1-888-NAGIOS-1
Int'l: +1 651-204-9102
Fax: +1 651-204-9103
Web: www.nagios.com
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Monitoring Windows Event Logs With NagEventLog

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Nagios XI Monitoring Windows Event Logs

Install the NagEventLog agent on the Windows machine

Nagios Enterprises, LLC

Nagios XI Monitoring Windows Event Logs

Nagios Enterprises, LLC

Nagios XI Monitoring Windows Event Logs

On the configuration screen, make sure you specify:

The IP address of the Nagios XI server in the Nagios NSCA Server

The port that NSCA is running on (defaults to 5667) on the Nagios XI

Click Next to continue.

Nagios Enterprises, LLC

Nagios XI Monitoring Windows Event Logs

Click Install to begin the installation.

Click Next to continue once the installation is completed.

Nagios Enterprises, LLC

Nagios XI Monitoring Windows Event Logs

The main configuration screen for the agent will appear.

Nagios Enterprises, LLC

Nagios XI Monitoring Windows Event Logs

Configuring Event Log Monitoring

Nagios Enterprises, LLC

Nagios XI Monitoring Windows Event Logs

What Windows Event Log the filter applies to

What type of events match the filter rules, including:

4. The service status (e.g. criticality) of a filter match.

Using The Configuration Wizard

Nagios Enterprises, LLC

Nagios XI Monitoring Windows Event Logs

This screenshot gives an example of how things might look

Nagios Enterprises, LLC

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