Batched Compression (om_batchcompress)

This module uses a custom protocol to send batches of log messages to a remote NXLog Agent instance configured with the im_batchcompress module. The messages are compressed in batches to achieve better compression ratios than would be possible individually. The module serializes and sends all fields across the network so that structured data is preserved. It can be configured to send data using SSL for secure and encrypted data transfer. The protocol contains an acknowledgment to ensure that the data is received by the remote server. The batch will be resent if the server does not respond with an acknowledgment.

Configuration

The om_batchcompress module accepts the following directives in addition to the common module directives. The Host directive is required.

Required directives

The following directives are required for the module to start.

Host

The module connects to the IP address or hostname defined in this directive. If additional hosts are specified on new lines, the module works in a failover configuration. If a destination becomes unavailable, the module automatically fails over to the next one. If the last destination becomes unavailable, the module will fail over to the first destination.

The port number can be defined by appending it at the end of the hostname or IP address using a colon as a separator (host:port).

TLS/SSL directives

The following directives are for configuring secure data transfer via TLS/SSL.

AllowExpired

This boolean directive specifies whether the connection should be allowed with an expired certificate. If set to TRUE, the connection will be allowed even if the remote server presents an expired certificate. The default is FALSE: the remote server must present a certificate that is not expired. This directive is only valid if UseSSL is set to TRUE.

AllowUntrusted

This boolean directive specifies that the remote connection should be allowed regardless of the certificate verification results. If set to TRUE, the connection will be allowed with any unexpired certificate provided by a server. The default value is FALSE: the remote server must present a trusted certificate.

CADir

This directive specifies a path to a directory containing certificate authority (CA) certificates. These certificates will be used to verify the certificate presented by the remote server. The certificate files must be named using the OpenSSL hashed format, i.e. the hash of the certificate followed by .0, .1 etc. To find the hash of a certificate using OpenSSL:

$ openssl x509 -hash -noout -in ca.crt

For example, if the certificate hash is e2f14e4a, then the certificate filename should be e2f14e4a.0. If there is another certificate with the same hash then it should be named e2f14e4a.1 and so on.

A remote server’s self-signed certificate (which is not signed by a CA) can also be trusted by including a copy of the certificate in this directory.

NXLog Agent uses the operating system root certificate store if this directive is not specified. Unix-like operating systems commonly store root certificates in /etc/ssl/certs. Windows operating systems use the Windows Certificate Store, while macOS uses the Keychain Access Application as the default certificate store. See Certification Authority (CA) certificates in the NXLog Platform User Guide for more information on using this directive.

CAFile

This specifies the path of the certificate authority (CA) certificate that will be used to verify the certificate presented by the remote server. A remote server’s self-signed certificate (which is not signed by a CA) can be trusted by specifying the remote server certificate itself. In case of certificates signed by an intermediate CA, the certificate specified must contain the complete certificate chain (certificate bundle).

CAPattern

This optional directive, supported only on Windows, defines a pattern for locating a suitable CA (Certificate Authority) certificate and its thumbprint in the native Windows Certificate Storage. The pattern must follow PCRE2 rules and use the format "SUBJECT=, CN=, DN=, SAN=" where DN is "CN=, O=, OU=, L=, ST=, C=". During configuration, this directive resolves into the corresponding CAThumbprint value. If multiple matching certificates are found, the first encountered thumbprint is selected. We recommend ensuring that the used certificate storage is well-maintained for optimal performance. This feature is not dynamic; the agent must be restarted if the certificate changes. This directive is mutually exclusive with the CAThumbprint directive.

Configuration examples:

CAPattern    'Test' + ' ' + 'Root'

CAPattern    $domain

A normal log output example would look like as follows:

matching pattern [DN=CN=Client\.example\.com;.*?SAN=DNS:Client\.example\.com] to certificate [SUBJECT=US, ClientState, ClientCity, ClientCompany, ClientUnit, Client.example.com, CN=Client.example.com; DN=CN=Client.example.com, O=ClientCompany, OU=ClientUnit, L=ClientCity, ST=ClientState, C=US; SAN=DNS:Client.example.com; DNS:www.Client.example.com; IP:127.0.0.3; ]

CAThumbprint

This optional directive specifies the thumbprint of the certificate authority (CA) certificate that will be used to verify the certificate presented by the remote server. The hexadecimal fingerprint string can be copied from Windows Certificate Manager (certmgr.msc). Whitespaces are automatically removed. The certificate must be added to a Windows certificate store that is accessible by NXLog Agent. This directive is only supported on Windows and is mutually exclusive with the CADir, CAFile and CAPattern directives.

CertFile

This specifies the path of the certificate file that will be presented to the remote server during the SSL handshake.

CertKeyFile

This specifies the path of the private key file that was used to generate the certificate specified by the CertFile directive. This is used for the SSL handshake.

CertPattern

This optional directive, supported only on Windows, defines a pattern for identifying a corresponding certificate and its thumbprint within the native Windows Certificate Storage. The pattern must follow PCRE2 rules and use the format "SUBJECT=, CN=, DN=, SAN=" where DN is "CN=, O=, OU=, L=, ST=, C=". The certificate must be imported in PFX format into the Local Computer\Personal certificate store for NXLog Agent to locate it. During configuration, this directive is resolved into the corresponding CertThumbprint value. The first found thumbprint will be chosen if multiple certificates match the pattern. We recommend ensuring that the used certificate storage is well-maintained for optimal performance. This feature is not dynamic; the agent must be restarted if the certificate changes. This directive is mutually exclusive with the CertThumbprint directive.

Configuration examples:

CertPattern    $hostname + 'Cert'

CertPattern    DN=CN=Client\.example\.com;.*?SAN=DNS:Client\.example\.com

A normal log output example would look like as follows:

matching pattern [DN=CN=Client\.example\.com;.*?SAN=DNS:Client\.example\.com] to certificate [SUBJECT=US, ClientState, ClientCity, ClientCompany, ClientUnit, Client.example.com, CN=Client.example.com; DN=CN=Client.example.com, O=ClientCompany, OU=ClientUnit, L=ClientCity, ST=ClientState, C=US; SAN=DNS:Client.example.com; DNS:www.Client.example.com; IP:127.0.0.3; ]

CertThumbprint

This optional directive specifies the thumbprint of the certificate that will be presented to the remote server during the HTTPS handshake. The hexadecimal fingerprint string can be copied from Windows Certificate Manager (certmgr.msc). Whitespaces are automatically removed. The certificate must be imported to the Local Computer\Personal certificate store in PFX format for NXLog Agent to find it. Run the following command to create a PFX file from the certificate and private key using OpenSSL:

$ openssl pkcs12 -export -out server.pfx -inkey server.key -in server.pem

When the global directive UseCNGCertificates is set to FALSE the private key associated with the certificate must be exportable.

If you generate the certificate request using Windows Certificate Manager, enable the Make private key exportable option from the certificate properties.
If you import the certificate with the Windows Certificate Import Wizard, make sure that the Mark this key as exportable option is enabled.
If you migrate the certificate and associated private key from one Windows machine to another, select Yes, export the private key when exporting from the source machine.

On the contrary, when the global directive UseCNGCertificates is set to TRUE the private key associated with the certificate does not have to be exportable. In cases like TPM modules, the private key is always nonexportable.

The usage of the directive is the same in all cases:

CertThumbprint    7c2cc5a5fb59d4f46082a510e74df17da95e2152

This directive is only supported on Windows and is mutually exclusive with the CertFile and CertKeyFile directives.

CRLDir

This directive specifies a path to a directory containing certificate revocation list (CRL) files. These CRL files will be used to check for certificates that were revoked and should no longer be accepted. The files must be named using the OpenSSL hashed format, i.e. the hash of the issuer followed by .r0, .r1 etc. To find the hash of the issuer of a CRL file using OpenSSL:

$ openssl crl -hash -noout -in crl.pem

For example, if the hash is e2f14e4a, then the filename should be e2f14e4a.r0. If there is another file with the same hash then it should be named e2f14e4a.r1 and so on.

CRLFile

This specifies the path of the certificate revocation list (CRL) which will be used to check for certificates that have been revoked and should no longer be accepted. Example to generate a CRL file using OpenSSL:

$ openssl ca -gencrl -out crl.pem

DHFile

This optional directive specifies a file with dh-parameters for Diffie-Hellman key exchange. These parameters can be generated with dhparam(1ssl). If this directive is not specified, default parameters will be used. See the OpenSSL Wiki for further details.

KeyPass

This directive specifies the passphrase of the private key specified by the CertKeyFile directive. A passphrase is required when the private key is encrypted. Example to generate a private key with Triple DES encryption using OpenSSL:

$ openssl genrsa -des3 -out server.key 2048

This directive is not needed for passwordless private keys.

SearchAllCertStores

This optional boolean directive, when set to TRUE, enables the loading of all available Windows certificates into NXLog Agent, for use during remote certificate verification. Any required certificates must be added to a Windows certificate store that NXLog Agent can access. This directive is mutually exclusive with the CAThumbprint, CADir, and CAFile directives.

SSLCipher

This optional directive can be used to set the permitted cipher list for TLSv1.2 and below, overriding the default. Use the format described in the ciphers(1ssl) man page. For example specify RSA:!COMPLEMENTOFALL to include all ciphers with RSA authentication but leave out ciphers without encryption.

If RSA or DSA ciphers with Diffie-Hellman key exchange are used, DHFile can be set for specifying custom dh-parameters.

SSLCiphersuites

This optional directive can be used to set the permitted cipher list for TLSv1.3. Use the same format as in the SSLCipher directive. Refer to the OpenSSL documentation for a list of valid TLS v1.3 cipher suites. The default value is:

TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256:TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256

SSLProtocol

This directive can be used to set the allowed SSL/TLS protocol(s). It takes a comma-separated list of values which can be any of the following: SSLv2, SSLv3, TLSv1, TLSv1.1, TLSv1.2, and TLSv1.3. By default, the TLSv1.2 and TLSv1.3 protocols are allowed. Note that the OpenSSL library shipped by Linux distributions may not support SSLv2 and SSLv3, and these will not work even if enabled with this directive.

UseSSL

This boolean directive specifies that SSL transfer mode should be enabled. The default is FALSE.

Optional directives

LocalPort

This optional directive specifies the local port number of the connection. If this is not specified, a random high port number will be used, which is not always ideal in firewalled network environments.

Due to the required TIME-WAIT delay in closing connections, attempts to bind to LocalPort may fail. In such cases, the message Address already in use will be written to nxlog.log. If the situation persists, it could impede network performance.

Reconnect

This optional directive sets the reconnect interval in seconds. If it is set, the module attempts to reconnect in every defined second. If it is not set, the reconnect interval will start at 1 second and double with every attempt. If the duration of the successful connection is greater than the current reconnect interval, then the reconnect interval will be reset to 1 sec.

The Reconnect directive must be used with caution. If it is used on multiple systems, it can send reconnect requests simultaneously to the same destination, potentially overloading the destination system. It may also cause NXLog Agent to use unusually high system resources or cause NXLog Agent to become unresponsive.

Procedures

The following procedures are exported by om_batchcompress.

reconnect();

Force a reconnection. This can be used from a Schedule block to periodically reconnect to the server.

The reconnect() procedure must be used with caution. If configured, it can attempt to reconnect after every event sent, potentially overloading the destination system.

Examples

Example 1. Sending Logs With om_batchcompress

This configuration forwards logs in compressed batches to a remote NXLog Agent agent over the default port. Batches are sent at least once every two seconds, or more frequently if the buffer reaches 100 events.

nxlog.conf

<Input null>
    Module              im_null
    BatchSize           200
    BatchFlushInterval  2
</Input>

<Output batchcompress>
    Module          om_batchcompress
    Host            example.com:2514
</Output>

<Route null_to_batchcompress>
    Path  null => batchcompress
</Route>

Example 2. Sending Batch Compressed Logs with Failover

This configuration sends logs in compressed batches to a remote NXLog Agent instance in a failover configuration (multiple Hosts defined).

nxlog.conf

<Output batchcompress>
    Module  om_batchcompress
    # destination host / IP and destination port
    Host    example1:2514
    # first fail-over
    Host    example2:2514
</Output>