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    Collect VMware vCenter logs

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    This document explains how to ingest VMware vCenter logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

    VMware vCenter is a server management platform that generates JSON and syslog messages for virtual machine operations, host management, authentication, and configuration changes.

    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 VMware vCenter server
    • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
    • Privileged access to the VMware vCenter Server Management web UI

    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 Bindplane 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  
/opt/observiq-otel-collector/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/vmware_vcenter 
 : 
  
 compression 
 : 
  
 gzip 
  
 creds_file_path 
 : 
  
 '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json' 
  
 customer_id 
 : 
  
 '<customer_id>' 
  
 endpoint 
 : 
  
 malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com 
  
 log_type 
 : 
  
 VMWARE_VCENTER 
  
 raw_log_field 
 : 
  
 body 
 service 
 : 
  
 pipelines 
 : 
  
 logs/vmware_vcenter_to_chronicle 
 : 
  
 receivers 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 udplog 
  
 exporters 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 chronicle/vmware_vcenter

    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 in VMware vCenter

    1. Sign in to the vCenter Server Managementweb UI.
    2. Go to Syslog > Forwarding Configuration.
    3. Click Configureto create a new forwarding configuration.
    4. Provide the following configuration details:
      • Server address: Enter the Bindplane agent IP address.
      • Protocol: Select UDP.
      • Port: Enter the Bindplane agent port number (for example, 514 ).
    5. Click Save.
    6. Click Send Test Messageto verify the configuration.

    UDM mapping table

    Log Field UDM Mapping Logic
    Access Mask
    		principal.process.access_mask Converted to decimal from hexadecimal.
    Account Domain
    		principal.administrative_domain
    Account Name
    		principal.user.userid
    ApplicationProtocol
    		additional.fields
    Authentication Package
    		security_result.about.resource.name
    Client Address
    		principal.ip, , principal.asset.ip Parsed as IP.
    Client Port
    		principal.port Converted to integer.
    cmd
    		target.process.command_line
    date
    		timestamp Parsed as yyyy-MM-dd and merged with time as yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss to when, parsed as date.
    date_time
    		timestamp Parsed as date with RFC 3339, TIMESTAMP_ISO8601, SYSLOGTIMESTAMP formats.
    desc
    		metadata.description
    eventid
    		metadata.product_event_type Merged with task as eventid - task.
    host_name
    		principal.hostname, , principal.asset.hostname
    http_method
    		network.http.method
    ip
    		target.ip, , target.asset.ip
    kv_data1
    		Parsed as key-value pairs.
    kv_data2
    		Parsed as key-value pairs.
    kv_msg1.cipher
    		network.tls.cipher
    kv_msg1.ctladdr
    		intermediary.labels
    kv_msg1.daemon
    		security_result.about.labels
    kv_msg1.from
    		network.email.from If mail_from does not contain @ then appended with @local.
    kv_msg1.msgid
    		network.email.mail_id
    kv_msg1.proto
    		security_result.about.labels
    kv_msg1.relay
    		intermediary.hostname, , intermediary.ip Parsed as (HOSTNAME)? [IP] or HOSTNAME, if relay_domain is present then set to intermediary.hostname, if relay_ip is present then merged to intermediary.ip.
    kv_msg1.size
    		network.sent_bytes Converted to unsigned integer.
    kv_msg1.stat
    		security_result.summary
    kv_msg1.verify
    		security_result.description, , security_result.action If kv_msg1.verify is FAIL then security_result.action set to BLOCK.
    kv_msg1.version
    		network.tls.version
    labels.log_type
    		metadata.product_event_type
    labels.net.host.ip
    		principal.ip, , principal.asset.ip
    labels.net.host.port
    		principal.port
    labels.net.peer.ip
    		target.ip, , target.asset.ip
    labels.net.peer.port
    		target.port
    labels.net.transport
    		network.ip_protocol If labels.net.transport is TCP then TCP.
    level
    		security_result.severity If level is INFO/Informational/DEBUG/info/Information then INFORMATIONAL, if level is ERROR/error then ERROR, if level is WARNING then LOW.
    log.file.path
    		target.process.file.full_path
    logName
    		security_result.category_details
    Logon Account
    		principal.user.userid
    Logon Type
    		extensions.auth.mechanism If logon_type is 2/Interactive then INTERACTIVE, if logon_type is 3/8 then NETWORK, if logon_type is 4 then BATCH, if logon_type is 5 then SERVICE, if logon_type is 7 then UNLOCK, if logon_type is 9 then NEW_CREDENTIALS, if logon_type is 10 then REMOTE_INTERACTIVE, if logon_type is 11 then CACHED_INTERACTIVE, else MECHANISM_UNSPECIFIED.
    mail_from
    		network.email.from If mail_from does not contain @ then appended with @local.
    mail_to
    		network.email.to If mail_to does not contain @ then appended with @local.
    message
    		Parsed with grok patterns.
    namespace
    		principal.namespace
    port
    		target.port Converted to integer.
    process_id
    		target.process.pid
    providername
    		principal.application
    Relative Target Name
    		target.file.full_path
    resource.labels.project_id
    		src.cloud.project.id
    resource.type
    		src.labels
    response_status
    		network.http.response_code Converted to integer.
    sec_desc
    		security_result.description
    Security ID
    		target.user.windows_sid
    security_result_action_detail
    		security_result.action_details
    server_name
    		target.hostname, , target.asset.hostname
    Share Name
    		target.resource.name
    Source Network Address
    		principal.ip, , principal.asset.ip Parsed as IP.
    Source Port
    		principal.port Converted to integer.
    summary
    		security_result.summary
    target_host
    		target.hostname, , target.asset.hostname
    target_url
    		target.url
    target_userid
    		target.user.userid
    time
    		timestamp Parsed as HH:mm:ss and merged with date as yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss to when, parsed as date.
    upn_name
    		intermediary.url
    URL
    		target.url
    User ID
    		target.user.windows_sid
    user_id
    		principal.user.userid
    UserAgent
    		network.http.user_agent
    		metadata.event_type Set to STATUS_UPDATE if msg contains API_HEALTH. or JobDispatcher, set to USER_LOGIN if msg contains logged in as and target_userid is not empty, set to SCAN_HOST if msg contains Leave Validate., set to NETWORK_UNCATEGORIZED if msg contains Getting IP Address from host, set to RESOURCE_WRITTEN if msg contains Wrote vpxd health, set to NETWORK_HTTP if has_principal and has_target are true and application_protocol is not empty, set to PROCESS_LAUNCH if process_id and cmd are not empty, set to USER_UNCATEGORIZED if user_id is not empty or eventid is 4776, set to USER_LOGIN if eventid is 4624/4768/4769, set to USER_LOGOUT if eventid is 4634/4647, set to USER_RESOURCE_ACCESS if eventid is 5145, set to STATUS_UPDATE if host_name is not empty, set to GENERIC_EVENT otherwise.
    		extensions.auth.type Set to MACHINE if eventid is 4624/4768/4769.
    		metadata.log_type Set to VMWARE_VCENTER.
    		metadata.vendor_name Set to VMWARE.
    		metadata.product_name Set to VCENTER.
    		security_result.action Set to ALLOW if response_status is 200 or action is Allow.

    Need more help? Get answers from Community members and Google SecOps professionals.

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