Character encoding conversion for UNIX systems

z/OS UNIX System Services environments typically use IBM-1047 character encoding, which is not correctly decoded on Windows systems. You can use configuration entries to change the character encoding so that BMC AMI Command Center for Security and BMC Defender SIEM Correlation Server (known as BMC Defender Server) can read and process messages.

Related topics

CO-logmon-configuration-file

CO-fmon-configuration-file

Force UTF-8 output

You can force all messages to output in UTF-8 character encoding. This encoding is often necessary for z/OS UNIX System Services environments that send messages to a Windows or Linux system.

With the global configuration entry ForceUTF8output, 

BMC AMI Datastream for z/Linux

detects the current character encoding and performs a character-by-character conversion to UTF-8.

By default, the ForceUTF8output entry is displayed and enabled only in the agent configuration files for IBM z/OS UNIX System Services, CO-fmon.cnf and CO-logmon.cnf. The default value is true, which enables agents on z/OS UNIX System Services environments to send messages to Windows-based BMC Defender Server environments.

You can see examples of the ForceUTF8output entry in the following topics:

Convert from a specified codeset

To monitor log files on z/OS UNIX System Services environments, the files must be in the native z/OS USS IBM-1047 codeset. If you have log files that are encoded in another codeset, such as ASCII or UTF-8, you can add a configuration entry to convert to the IBM-1047 codeset. Add the filecodeset entry to a CO-logmon configuration file with a codeset value that is known in the system.

To see the list of existing codeset IDs names, run the iconv -l command. The command shows a list of recognized codesets to convert from and to.

An example in the CO-logmon configuration file follows. The specified log is a custom log file on z/OS UNIX System Services that is from an application that outputs US-ASCII or UTF-8 format:

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
LogFile             /var/log/custom_log
LogName             Custom App Name:
LogStatChange       enabled
DefaultFacility     audit
DefaultSeverity     warning

#
# for z/OS USS systems that host applications, sometimes the app log
# files are output in US-ASCII or UTF-8 format, and this conversion
# is needed.  Internally the file is opened and the encoding is converted
# from this configuration value to the native z/OS USS IBM-1047 encoding.
#

filecodeset  UTF-8
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # 

 

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