Collect Dell switch logs

Supported in:

This document explains how to ingest Dell switch logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

This parser extracts Dell switch logs, normalizes timestamps, and uses grok patterns to structure the log message into key-value pairs. It then maps these extracted fields to the Unified Data Model (UDM), handling various log formats and enriching the data with contextual information such as asset details and security severity.

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 the Dell switch
  • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
  • An active connection and administrative credentials for a Dell switch

Get Google SecOps ingestion authentication file

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

Get Google SecOps customer ID

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

Install the Bindplane agent

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

Windows installation

  1. Open Command Promptor PowerShellas an administrator.
  2. Run the following command:

      msiexec 
      
     / 
     i 
      
     "https://github.com/observIQ/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/observiq-otel-collector.msi" 
      
     / 
     quiet 
     
    
  3. Wait for the installation to complete.

  4. Verify the installation by running:

     sc query observiq-otel-collector 
    

    The service should show as RUNNING.

Linux installation

  1. Open a terminal with root or sudo privileges.
  2. Run the following command:

     sudo  
    sh  
    -c  
     " 
     $( 
    curl  
    -fsSlL  
    https://github.com/observiq/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/install_unix.sh ) 
     " 
      
    install_unix.sh 
    
  3. Wait for the installation to complete.

  4. 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 the Bindplane agent installation guide .

Configure the 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/dell_switch 
     : 
      
     compression 
     : 
      
     gzip 
      
     creds_file_path 
     : 
      
     '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json' 
      
     customer_id 
     : 
      
     '<customer_id>' 
      
     endpoint 
     : 
      
     malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com 
      
     log_type 
     : 
      
     DELL_SWITCH 
      
     raw_log_field 
     : 
      
     body 
     service 
     : 
      
     pipelines 
     : 
      
     logs/dell_switch_to_chronicle 
     : 
      
     receivers 
     : 
      
     - 
      
     udplog 
      
     exporters 
     : 
      
     - 
      
     chronicle/dell_switch 
     
    

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 
    
    1. Verify the service is running:

       sudo  
      systemctl  
      status  
      observiq-otel-collector 
      
    2. 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 export from a Dell switch

  1. Connect to the Dell switch using SSH or the console port.
  2. Sign in with administrative credentials.
  3. Use the following command to specify the IP address or hostname of the syslog server (replace <syslog-server-ip> , <udp|tcp> , and <syslog-port-number> with the actual details):

     logging host <syslog-server-ip> transport <udp|tcp> port <syslog-port-number> 
    
  4. Optional: Define the minimum severity level for messages to be sent to the syslog server. For example, to log informational messages and above:

     logging level informational 
    
  5. Save the running configurationto the startup configurationto ensure changes persist across reboots:

     copy running-config startup-config 
    
  6. Save the configuration:

     write memory 
    

Supported Dell Switch sample logs

  • SYSLOG

      { 
      
     "priority" 
     : 
      
     165 
     , 
      
     "version" 
     : 
      
     1 
     , 
      
     "timestamp" 
     : 
      
     "2023-10-12T12:37:17.249566+00:00" 
     , 
      
     "hostname" 
     : 
      
     "switch-lon-01" 
     , 
      
     "app_name" 
     : 
      
     "dn_alm" 
     , 
      
     "proc_id" 
     : 
      
     "940" 
     , 
      
     "message" 
     : 
      
     "Node.1-Unit.1:PRI [event], Dell EMC (OS10) %ALM_AUTH_EVENT: Authentication event was raised MESSAGE=pam_unix(sshd:session): session opened for user service_account by (uid=0)" 
     } 
     
    
  • JSON

      { 
      
     "appname" 
     : 
      
     "SNOOP" 
     , 
      
     "facility" 
     : 
      
     23 
     , 
      
     "hostname" 
     : 
      
     "access-switch-a1" 
     , 
      
     "message" 
     : 
      
     "snooping.c(2177) 70820228 %% DBG Report from intf Gi6/0/11 ignored -- no router ports on vlan 193" 
     , 
      
     "priority" 
     : 
      
     191 
     , 
      
     "proc_id" 
     : 
      
     "snoopTask" 
     } 
     
    
  • KV / events format

     Events: 
      Eventid        = {38812} 
      Occurrencetime = {3 Sept 2024 00:06:06} 
      Eventseverity  = {Minor} 
      Jobid          = {30506} 
      Computer       = {backup-server-01} 
      Program        = {DatabaseAgent} 
      Description    = {Block Change Tracking is found DISABLED on Oracle DB [PROD_DB]. Incremental backups may run slow.} 
    
  • Audit SYSLOG

      { 
      
     "priority" 
     : 
      
     110 
     , 
      
     "version" 
     : 
      
     1 
     , 
      
     "timestamp" 
     : 
      
     "2023-12-12T00:58:26.893679+00:00" 
     , 
      
     "hostname" 
     : 
      
     "core-switch-palf" 
     , 
      
     "app_name" 
     : 
      
     ".clish" 
     , 
      
     "proc_id" 
     : 
      
     "29156" 
     , 
      
     "message" 
     : 
      
     "Node.1-Unit.1:PRI [audit], User sec_admin on /dev/pts/0 from 10.0.0.50 used cmd: 'terminal length 0' - completed" 
     } 
     
    
  • SNMP trap / TRAPMGR format

      { 
      
     "priority" 
     : 
      
     189 
     , 
      
     "version" 
     : 
      
     1 
     , 
      
     "timestamp" 
     : 
      
     "2023-12-28T23:37:27.394Z" 
     , 
      
     "hostname" 
     : 
      
     "dist-switch-01" 
     , 
      
     "app_name" 
     : 
      
     "TRAPMGR" 
     , 
      
     "proc_id" 
     : 
      
     "trapTask" 
     , 
      
     "extensions" 
     : 
      
     { 
      
     "origin_ip" 
     : 
      
     "192.168.1.1" 
     , 
      
     "software" 
     : 
      
     "N3000_Series" 
     , 
      
     "swVersion" 
     : 
      
     "6.3.2.3" 
      
     }, 
      
     "message" 
     : 
      
     "traputil.c(721) 1056839 %% Gi1/0/5 is transitioned from the Learning state to the Forwarding state" 
     } 
     
    

UDM mapping table

Log field UDM mapping Logic
acct
principal.user.userid Used as the userid if the user field is not present.
addr
principal.asset.ip , principal.ip Parsed as an IP address and used for the principal's IP and asset IP if it is a valid IP and different from the hostname.
application
principal.application Directly mapped.
asset
principal.asset.attribute.labels.value Directly mapped to the asset label value, with the key hardcoded as "Asset Name". If the asset field is empty and the message contains "Dell", the asset is set to "Dell".
auid
principal.resource.attribute.labels.value Directly mapped to a label with key auid within principal.resource.attribute.labels .
datetime
metadata.event_timestamp Parsed from various formats in the message field and converted to a timestamp.
dest_ip
target.asset.ip , target.ip Mapped to target IP and target asset IP.
enterpriseId
principal.resource.attribute.labels.value Mapped to a label with key enterpriseId within principal.resource.attribute.labels .
exe
sec_result.detection_fields.value Mapped to a detection field with key exe .
File
target.file.full_path Directly mapped.
grantors
principal.resource.attribute.labels.value Mapped to a label with key grantors within principal.resource.attribute.labels .
host
principal.hostname , principal.asset.hostname , metadata.event_type Used as principal hostname and asset hostname. If host is present, metadata.event_type is set to STATUS_UPDATE . If hostname is present but host is not, hostname is used as host.
hostname
principal.asset.ip , principal.ip , host If it is a valid IP, used for principal IP and asset IP. If host is empty, it is used as host .
ID
principal.resource.attribute.labels.value Mapped to a label with key ID within principal.resource.attribute.labels .
ip
principal.asset.ip , principal.ip Mapped to principal IP and asset IP.
is_synced
sec_result.detection_fields.value Mapped to a detection field with key is_synced .
local
target.asset.ip , target.ip , target.port Parsed to extract local IP and port, mapped to target IP, target asset IP, and target port.
local_ip
target.asset.ip , target.ip Extracted from the local field and mapped to target IP and target asset IP.
local_port
target.port Extracted from the local field and mapped to target port.
mac
principal.mac If it is a valid MAC address, mapped to principal MAC address.
msg
metadata.description Used as the event description if present. Also parsed for additional fields.
msg1
metadata.description Used as event description if msg2 is not present.
msg2
sec_result.description , metadata.event_type , extensions.auth.type Used as security result description. If it contains "opened for user", event type is set to USER_LOGIN and auth type to MACHINE . If it contains "closed for user", event type is set to USER_LOGOUT and auth type to MACHINE .
op
metadata.product_event_type Used as product event type if present.
pid
principal.process.pid Directly mapped.
port
principal.port Directly mapped.
prod_event_type
metadata.product_event_type Used as product event type if present.
res
sec_result.summary Directly mapped.
sec_description
sec_result.description , target.url , target.ip , target.asset.ip , sec_result.action_details Parsed for target URL, IP, action details, and used as security result description.
Server_ID
target.resource.product_object_id Directly mapped.
server
principal.asset.ip , principal.ip , principal.port Parsed to extract server IP and port, mapped to principal IP, principal asset IP, and principal port.
server_ip
principal.asset.ip , principal.ip Extracted from the server field and mapped to principal IP and principal asset IP.
server_port
principal.port Extracted from the server field and mapped to principal port.
ses
network.session_id Directly mapped.
severity
sec_result.severity , metadata.product_event_type Used to determine security result severity and product event type based on specific values.
software
principal.asset.software Directly mapped.
softwareName
software.name Directly mapped.
Status
sec_result.summary Used as the security result summary if res is not present.
subj
principal.resource.attribute.labels.value Mapped to a label with key subj within principal.resource.attribute.labels .
swVersion
software.version Directly mapped.
target_host
target.hostname , target.asset.hostname Directly mapped to target hostname and target asset hostname.
target_ip
target.asset.ip , target.ip Directly mapped to target IP and target asset IP.
target_url
target.url Directly mapped.
target_user_id
target.user.userid Directly mapped.
terminal
principal.resource.attribute.labels.value Mapped to a label with key terminal within principal.resource.attribute.labels .
tzknown
sec_result.detection_fields.value Mapped to a detection field with key tzknown .
uid
principal.resource.attribute.labels.value Mapped to a label with key uid within principal.resource.attribute.labels .
user
principal.user.userid , metadata.event_type Used as principal user ID. If user is present, metadata.event_type is set to USER_UNCATEGORIZED .
username
target.user.userid Directly mapped to target user ID.
N/A
metadata.vendor_name Hardcoded to "Dell".
N/A
metadata.product_name Hardcoded to "Dell Switch".
N/A
extensions.auth.type Set to MACHINE for specific login/logout events.
N/A
metadata.event_type Determined by a complex logic based on various fields and conditions, defaults to GENERIC_EVENT if not set otherwise. Can be USER_LOGIN , USER_LOGOUT , USER_UNCATEGORIZED , NETWORK_CONNECTION , NETWORK_UNCATEGORIZED , STATUS_UPDATE , or GENERIC_EVENT .

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