Monitor file on Collection Agent
You can create a data collector to collect logs from a particular host.
Related topics
To create a data collector for collecting files from a host
- Navigate to Administration > Data Collectors > Add Data Collector
.
- In the Name box, provide a unique name to identify this data collector.
- From the Type list, select Monitor File on Collection Agent.
Provide the following information, as appropriate:
Field
Description
Target/Collection Host
Collection Host (Agent)
Type or select the collection host depending on whether you want to use the Collection Station or the Collection Agent to perform data collection.
The collection host is the computer on which the Collection Station or the Collection Agent is located.
By default, the Collection Station is already selected. You can either retain the default selection or select the Collection Agent.
Note: For this type of data collector, the target host and collection host are expected to have the same values.
Collector Inputs
Directory Path
Provide the absolute path of the log file.
To retrieve log files from subdirectories, do not provide the absolute path; instead, provide the path up to the parent directory.
Include subdirectories
(Optional) Select this check box if you want to retrieve log files from subdirectories of the file path specified.
Filename/Rollover Pattern
Specify the file name only, or specify the file name with a rollover pattern to identify subsequent logs.
You can use the following wild card characters:
- Period and asterisk (.*)—Use if you specify details to manually connect to the server containing your log files. The .* characters can be used to replace the changing text.
- Asterisk (*)—Use if you select the target host and collection host. The * character can be used to replace the changing text.
- Question mark (?)—Use if you select the target host and collection host. The ? symbol can be used to replace one changing character or number.
This field is useful to monitor rolling log files where the log files are saved with the same name but differentiated with the time stamp or a number.
Note: Ensure that you specify a rollover pattern for identifying log files that follow the same data format (which means they will be indexed with the same data pattern).
Examples:
Scenario 1
You have log files that are saved with succeeding numbers once they reach a certain size; for example:
IAS0.log
IAS1.log
IAS2.log
In the preceding scenario, you can specify the rollover pattern as IAS?.log.
Scenario 2
You have log files that roll over every hour and are saved with the same date but a different time stamp in the YYYY-MM-DD-HH format; for example:
2013-10-01-11.log
2013-10-01-12.log
2013-10-01-13.log
In the preceding scenario, you can specify the rollover pattern as 2013-10-01-*.log.
Time Zone
Data Pattern
Pattern
Date Format
Select a date format to use for indexing the timestamp in the data file.
To select an option, you can do one of the following:
- Filter the relevant data formats that match the file.
To find a list of relevant data patterns, click Filter Relevant Data Pattern and Date Formatnext to the Pattern field. Click Refresh
to refresh the filtered list and see the complete list of data patterns available.
- Manually scan through the list available and select a date format.
After selecting an option, click Preview parsed log entries
to preview the sample data entries parsed. By looking at the preview of records, you can understand how the data will be indexed and be made available for searching.
If you do not find a relevant date format, you can also create a new date format by selecting the Create new Date Format option.
Notes:
- If you select both – a pattern and a date format, then the date format specified takes precedence over the date format from the pattern that you selected. So the timestamp is indexed as per the specified date format, and the rest of the data is indexed as per the pattern.
- If you select only a date format, then the date format is used for indexing the timestamp, while the rest of the data is displayed in a raw format in your search results.
Poll Interval (mins)
Enter a number to specify the poll interval (in minutes) for the log collection (0 indicates that this is a one-time log collection).
By default, this value is set to 1.
Start/Stop Collection
(Optional) Select this check box if you want to start the data collection immediately.
- Click Create to save your changes.