Named Pipes (im_pipe)

This module can be used to read log messages from named pipes on UNIX-like operating systems.

Configuration

The im_pipe module accepts the following directives in addition to the common module directives.

Required directives

The following directives are required for the module to start.

Pipe

This mandatory directive specifies the name of the input pipe file. The module checks if the specified pipe file exists and creates it in case it does not. If the specified pipe file is not a named pipe, the module does not start.

File permissions

The following directives are for specifying permissions for the created socket, pipe, or, file.

Group

Use this directive to set the group ownership for the created socket, pipe, or file. By default, this is the group NXLog Agent is running as (which may be specified by the global Group directive). This directive is not currently supported on Windows.

Perms

This directive specifies the permissions to use for the created socket or pipe or file. This must be a four-digit octal value beginning with a zero. By default, OS default permissions will be set. This directive is not currently supported on Windows.

If the specified path includes non-existent directories, execute permissions (allowing directory browsing) will be added to each newly created directory along the path for the current user.

User

Use this directive to set the user ownership for the created socket, pipe, or file. By default, this is the user NXLog Agent is running as (which may be specified by the global User directive). This directive is not currently supported on Windows.

Optional directives

CreateDir

If set to TRUE, this optional boolean directive instructs the module to create the directory where the Pipe pipe file is located, if it does not already exist. The default is FALSE.

InputType

This directive specifies the input data format. The default value is LineBased. See the InputType directive in the list of common module directives.

Examples

This example provides the NXLog Agent configuration for processing messages from a named pipe on a UNIX-like operating system.

Example 1. Forwarding Logs From a Pipe to a Remote Host

With this configuration, NXLog Agent reads messages from a named pipe and forwards them via TCP. No additional processing is done.

nxlog.conf

<Input in>
    Module    im_pipe
    Pipe      "tmp/pipe"
</Input>

<Output out>
    Module    om_tcp
    Host      192.168.1.2
    Port      514
</Output>