Collect A10 Network Load Balancer logs

Supported in:

Google secops SIEM

This document explains how to ingest A10 Network Load Balancer logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane agent.

A10 Networks provides application delivery controllers (ADCs) and load balancers that optimize and secure application traffic. The A10 Thunder series supports server load balancing, SSL offloading, DDoS protection, and web application firewall capabilities.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

A Google SecOps instance
Windows Server 2016 or later, or Linux host with systemd
Network connectivity between the Bindplane agent and A10 Load Balancer
If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
Privileged access to the A10 Load Balancer CLI (admin credentials)

Get Google SecOps ingestion authentication file

Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
Go to SIEM Settings > Collection Agents.
Download the Ingestion Authentication File.
Save the file securely on the system where the Bindplane agent will be installed.

Note: This JSON file contains credentials for authenticating the Bindplane agent to Google SecOps.

Get Google SecOps customer ID

Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
Go to SIEM Settings > Profile.
Copy and save the Customer IDfrom the Organization Detailssection.

Note: The customer ID is required for configuring the Bindplane agent exporter.

Install the Bindplane agent

Install the Bindplane agent on your Windows or Linux operating system according to the following instructions.

Windows installation

Open Command Promptor PowerShellas an administrator.

Run the following command:

  msiexec 
  
 / 
 i 
  
 "https://github.com/observIQ/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/observiq-otel-collector.msi" 
  
 / 
 quiet

Wait for the installation to complete.
Verify the installation by running:
```
 sc query observiq-otel-collector 
```
The service should show as RUNNING.

Linux installation

Open a terminal with root or sudo privileges.

Run the following command:

 sudo  
sh  
-c  
 " 
 $( 
curl  
-fsSlL  
https://github.com/observiq/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/install_unix.sh ) 
 " 
  
install_unix.sh

Wait for the installation to complete.
Verify the installation by running:
```
 sudo  
systemctl  
status  
observiq-otel-collector 
```
The service should show as active (running).

Additional installation resources

For additional installation options and troubleshooting, see Bindplane agent installation guide .

Configure Bindplane agent to ingest syslog and send to Google SecOps

Locate the configuration file

Linux:

 sudo  
nano  
/etc/bindplane-agent/config.yaml

Windows:

 notepad "C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\config.yaml"

Edit the configuration file

Replace the entire contents of config.yaml with the following configuration:

  receivers 
 : 
  
 udplog 
 : 
  
 listen_address 
 : 
  
 "0.0.0.0:514" 
 exporters 
 : 
  
 chronicle/a10_lb 
 : 
  
 compression 
 : 
  
 gzip 
  
 creds_file_path 
 : 
  
 '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json' 
  
 customer_id 
 : 
  
 '<customer_id>' 
  
 endpoint 
 : 
  
 malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com 
  
 log_type 
 : 
  
 A10_LOAD_BALANCER 
  
 raw_log_field 
 : 
  
 body 
 service 
 : 
  
 pipelines 
 : 
  
 logs/a10_to_chronicle 
 : 
  
 receivers 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 udplog 
  
 exporters 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 chronicle/a10_lb

Configuration parameters

Replace the following placeholders:

Receiver configuration:
- listen_address : IP address and port to listen on:
  - 0.0.0.0 to listen on all interfaces (recommended)
  - Port 514 is the standard syslog port (requires root on Linux; use 1514 for non-root)
Exporter configuration:
- creds_file_path : Full path to ingestion authentication file:
  - Linux: /etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json
  - Windows: C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json
- customer_id : Customer ID copied from the Google SecOps console
- endpoint : Regional endpoint URL:
  - US: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
  - Europe: europe-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
  - Asia: asia-southeast1-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
  - See Regional Endpoints for complete list

Save the configuration file

After editing, save the file:
- Linux: Press Ctrl+O , then Enter , then Ctrl+X
- Windows: Click File > Save

Restart the Bindplane agent to apply the changes

To restart the Bindplane agent in Linux, run the following command:

 sudo  
systemctl  
restart  
observiq-otel-collector

Verify the service is running:

 sudo  
systemctl  
status  
observiq-otel-collector

Check logs for errors:

 sudo  
journalctl  
-u  
observiq-otel-collector  
-f

To restart the Bindplane agent in Windows, choose one of the following options:
- Command Prompt or PowerShell as administrator:
```
 net stop observiq-otel-collector && net start observiq-otel-collector 
```
- Services console:
  1. Press Win+R , type services.msc , and press Enter.
  2. Locate observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector.
  3. Right-click and select Restart.
  4. Verify the service is running:
```
 sc query observiq-otel-collector 
```
  5. Check logs for errors:
```
  type 
  
 "C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\log\collector.log" 
 
```

Configure syslog forwarding on the A10 Load Balancer

Establish an SSH connection to the A10 Load Balancer using an SSH client.
Enter configuration mode by running the following command:
```
 config 
```
Configure the remote syslog server by running the following command:
```
 logging host <BINDPLANE_IP> <PORT> 
```
- Replace <BINDPLANE_IP> with the IP address of the Bindplane agent host (for example, 192.168.1.100 ).
- Replace <PORT> with the port configured in the Bindplane receiver (for example, 514 ).
Set the severity level by running the following command:
```
 logging level information 
```
Note: This sends informational messages and above (warnings, errors) to the Bindplane agent. Available levels include emergency , alert , critical , error , warning , notification , information , and debugging .
Ensure syslog logging is enabled by running the following command:
```
 logging enable 
```
Save the configuration to ensure it persists after a reboot:
```
 write memory 
```

Example of a complete CLI configuration:

 config
logging host 192.168.1.100 514
logging level information
logging enable
write memory

UDM mapping table

Log field	UDM mapping	Logic
`dns`	`additional.fields.dns.value.string_value`	The value is taken from the `dns` field extracted by the grok pattern.
`dns_server`	`additional.fields.dns_server.value.string_value`	The value is taken from the `dns_server` field extracted by the grok pattern.
`gslb`	`additional.fields.gslb.value.string_value`	The value is taken from the `gslb` field extracted by the grok pattern.
`host_name`	`principal.hostnameprincipal.asset.hostname`	The value is taken from the `host_name` field extracted by the grok pattern.
`httpmethod`	`network.http.method`	The value is taken from the `httpmethod` field extracted by the grok pattern.
`partion_id`	`additional.fields.partion_id.value.string_value`	The value is taken from the `partion_id` field extracted by the grok pattern.
`prin_ip`	`principal.ipprincipal.asset.ip`	The value is taken from the `prin_ip` field extracted by the grok pattern.
`prin_mac`	`principal.mac`	The value is taken from the `prin_mac` field extracted by the grok pattern, with dots removed and colons inserted every two characters.
`prin_port`	`principal.port`	The value is taken from the `prin_port` field extracted by the grok pattern and converted to an integer.
`proto`	`network.ip_protocol`	The value is taken from the `proto` field extracted by the grok pattern. If the `message` field contains `UDP` , the value is set to `UDP` .
`sessionid`	`network.session_id`	The value is taken from the `sessionid` field extracted by the grok pattern.
`status_code`	`network.http.response_code`	The value is taken from the `status_code` field extracted by the grok pattern and converted to an integer.
`tar_ip`	`target.iptarget.asset.ip`	The value is taken from the `tar_ip` field extracted by the grok pattern.
`tar_mac`	`target.mac`	The value is taken from the `tar_mac` field extracted by the grok pattern, with dots removed and colons inserted every two characters.
`tar_port`	`target.port`	The value is taken from the `tar_port` field extracted by the grok pattern and converted to an integer.
`time`	`metadata.event_timestamp.seconds`	The value is parsed from the `time` field extracted by the grok pattern, using multiple possible date formats.
`url`	`target.url`	The value is taken from the `url` field extracted by the grok pattern.
`user`	`principal.user.userid`	The value is taken from the `user` field extracted by the grok pattern.
N/A	`metadata.event_type`	Determined by the parser logic based on the presence of principal and target information: - `NETWORK_CONNECTION` : if both principal and target information are present. - `STATUS_UPDATE` : if only principal information is present. - `GENERIC_EVENT` : otherwise.
N/A	`metadata.log_type`	Hardcoded to `A10_LOAD_BALANCER` .
N/A	`network.application_protocol`	Set to `HTTP` if the `proto` field is `HTTP` .

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