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    Collect Cisco switch logs

    Supported in:

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

    Cisco switches generate syslog messages for port state changes, spanning tree events, ACL matches, authentication, and system operations. The parser extracts fields using grok patterns and maps them to the Unified Data Model (UDM).

    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 Cisco switch
    • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
    • Privileged access to the Cisco switch CLI

    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 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/cisco_switch 
 : 
  
 compression 
 : 
  
 gzip 
  
 creds_file_path 
 : 
  
 '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json' 
  
 customer_id 
 : 
  
 '<customer_id>' 
  
 endpoint 
 : 
  
 malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com 
  
 log_type 
 : 
  
 CISCO_SWITCH 
  
 raw_log_field 
 : 
  
 body 
 service 
 : 
  
 pipelines 
 : 
  
 logs/cisco_switch_to_chronicle 
 : 
  
 receivers 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 udplog 
  
 exporters 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 chronicle/cisco_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:

         ```bash
sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector
```

      2. Check logs for errors:

         ```bash
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 on a Cisco switch

    1. Sign in to the Cisco Switch.

    2. Escalate privileges:

       enable

    3. Switch to configuration mode:

       conf t

    4. Configure syslog:

       logging host <BINDPLANE_IP> transport <tcp/udp> port <PORT>
logging source-interface <INTERFACE>
      • Replace <BINDPLANE_IP> with the Bindplane agent IP address.
      • Replace <tcp/udp> with the configured listening protocol (for example, udp ).
      • Replace <INTERFACE> with the Cisco interface ID.

    5. Set the priority level:

       logging trap Informational
logging console Informational
logging severity Informational

    6. Set the syslog facility:

       logging facility local6

    7. Enable timestamps:

       service  
timestamps  
log  
datetime

    8. Save and exit.

    9. Save the configuration to survive restart:

       copy running-config startup-config

    UDM mapping table

    Log field UDM mapping Logic
    action
    		 security_result.action_details Value of this field is derived from the action field in the raw log.
    day
    description
    		 metadata.description Value of this field is derived from the description field in the raw log.
    description
    		 security_result.description Value of this field is derived from the description field in the raw log.
    destination_ip
    		 target.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the destination_ip field in the raw log.
    destination_ip
    		 target.ip Value of this field is derived from the destination_ip field in the raw log.
    destination_port
    		 target.port Value of this field is derived from the destination_port field in the raw log.
    device
    		 principal.asset.hostname Value of this field is derived from the device field in the raw log.
    device
    		 principal.hostname Value of this field is derived from the device field in the raw log.
    device
    		 target.asset.hostname Value of this field is derived from the device field in the raw log.
    device
    		 target.hostname Value of this field is derived from the device field in the raw log.
    device_ip
    		 principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the device_ip field in the raw log.
    device_ip
    		 principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the device_ip field in the raw log.
    device_ip
    		 target.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the device_ip field in the raw log.
    device_ip
    		 target.ip Value of this field is derived from the device_ip field in the raw log.
    facility
    		 principal.resource.type Value of this field is derived from the facility field in the raw log.
    header_data
    		 metadata.product_log_id Value of this field is derived from the header_data field in the raw log.
    header_data
    		 target.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the header_data field in the raw log.
    header_data
    		 target.ip Value of this field is derived from the header_data field in the raw log.
    hostname
    		 principal.asset.hostname Value of this field is derived from the hostname field in the raw log.
    hostname
    		 principal.hostname Value of this field is derived from the hostname field in the raw log.
    ip
    		 principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the ip field in the raw log.
    ip
    		 principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the ip field in the raw log.
    ip_address
    		 principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the ip_address field in the raw log.
    ip_address
    		 principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the ip_address field in the raw log.
    ip_protocol
    		 network.ip_protocol Value of this field is derived from the ip_protocol field in the raw log.
    mac
    		 principal.mac Value of this field is derived from the mac field in the raw log.
    mnemonic
    		 network.dhcp.opcode Value of this field is derived from the mnemonic field in the raw log.
    mnemonic
    		 metadata.product_event_type Value of this field is derived from the mnemonic field in the raw log.
    month
    p_ip
    		 principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the p_ip field in the raw log.
    p_ip
    		 principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the p_ip field in the raw log.
    port
    		 target.port Value of this field is derived from the port field in the raw log.
    priority
    protocol
    		 network.ip_protocol Value of this field is derived from the protocol field in the raw log.
    reason
    rule
    		 security_result.rule_id Value of this field is derived from the rule field in the raw log.
    sec_result_action
    		 security_result.action Value of this field is derived from the sec_result_action field in the raw log.
    severity
    source
    		 principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the source field in the raw log.
    source
    		 principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the source field in the raw log.
    source_ip
    		 network.dhcp.ciaddr Value of this field is derived from the source_ip field in the raw log.
    source_ip
    		 principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the source_ip field in the raw log.
    source_ip
    		 principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the source_ip field in the raw log.
    source_mac
    		 network.dhcp.chaddr Value of this field is derived from the source_mac field in the raw log.
    source_port
    		 principal.port Value of this field is derived from the source_port field in the raw log.
    summary
    		 security_result.summary Value of this field is derived from the summary field in the raw log.
    time
    timezone
    user
    		 principal.user.userid Value of this field is derived from the user field in the raw log.
    user
    		 target.user.userid Value of this field is derived from the user field in the raw log.
    when
    year
    		extensions.auth.type MACHINE
    		metadata.log_type CISCO_SWITCH
    		metadata.vendor_name Cisco
    		metadata.product_name Cisco Switch
    		network.application_protocol DHCP
    		network.dhcp.type REQUEST

    Change Log

    View the Change Log for this parser

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