Monitor remote Windows events
You can create a data collector to collect Windows events.
Local collection implies collection of events by using the Collection Agent and from the computer where the Collection Agent resides, while remote collection implies collection of events by using the Collection Station and from the computer other than where the Collection Station resides. To collect Windows events locally, see Monitor-local-Windows-events. For more information about local and remote collection, see Agent-types.
This topic contains the following information:
Related topics
Before you begin
Before you create the data collector for collecting Windows events, you need to perform certain configurations to enable the event collection. For more information, see Configurations-required-before-collecting-Windows-events.
To collect Windows events remotely
- 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 Remote Windows Events.
Provide the following information, as appropriate:
Field
Description
Target/Collection Host
Target 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 different values.
Collector Inputs
Server Name
Credentials
(Optional) Select Apply security credential to provide user name and password credentials automatically and not having to enter it manually and then select the appropriate credential profile from the Available Credential list, that must have already configured under Administration > Credentials.
OR
Select Provide Credential to manually add credentials, and then manually enter the credentials in the following User Name, Password, Domain fields. You can create a credential profile using the manually entered details by clicking Add Credential
next to the Domain field.
User Name
Provide the user name for connecting with the server from which you want to retrieve the data.
Note: This field is disabled if you applied a security profile earlier.
Password
Provide the password for connecting with the server from which you want to retrieve the data.
Domain
(Optional) Provide the domain of the Windows user with which you want to connect for retrieving the data files.
Click Test Connection
next to the Domain field to verify that the credentials to the server are correct and are working.
Click Add Credential
, provide a credential profile name, and click OK to create a new credential profile from the credentials that you provided in the user name, password, and domain fields. Once this credential profile is created, it is displayed under Administration > Credentials.
Windows Event Log(s)
The product retrieves all the application logs configured on the collection host.
Enter the name of the log type that you want to collect and analyze; from the list of suggestions displayed select the correct log type. You can select multiple log types.
Read from Past (#days)
Indicates the number of days for which the past data must be collected and indexed. The maximum amount of past data that can be collected into the system is defined by the data retention period (default 7). You can change this value by navigating to Administration > System Settings.
By default, this value is set to 0. You cannot search data with a custom time that is set to a duration exceeding the value specified in this field.
BMC recommends you to not use a very high value in this field (for example, 365). This is necessary to avoid a very large amount of data collected into the system in a short time.
Poll Interval (mins)
Enter a number to specify the poll interval (in minutes) for the 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.
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- Click Create to save your changes.