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syslog-ng collects log messages from configured sources, optionally filters and transforms them, then routes them to configured destinations. Its configuration connects these pieces in log paths: the path determines which messages move from a source to a destination and what processing happens along the way.
This guide focuses on syslog-ng Open Source Edition (OSE). The current OSE Administration Guide identifies itself as version 4.12.0; check the guide for your installed release because available drivers and platform behavior can vary.
How syslog-ng moves log data
A syslog-ng configuration is a pipeline made from sources, optional processing rules, and destinations. A source reads or receives messages; a log path connects that source to one or more destinations. Filters, parsers, and rewrite rules can be placed in the path to select messages or change their structure before delivery.
The official OSE Administration Guide describes the configuration model and log paths. Sources and destinations are initialized when used in a log statement, so defining a source alone does not necessarily mean it is actively feeding a destination.
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The main configuration parts
- Source: where messages enter, such as a local logging interface, network syslog input, or file.
- Processing: optional filters, parsers, and rewrite rules that control selection and message content.
- Destination: where messages are written or forwarded, such as a file, database, or supported data platform.
- Log path: the connection that specifies which source messages flow through which processing rules to which destination.
What can syslog-ng collect?
Collection depends on the source driver and operating system. The official source documentation describes Linux’s native syslog socket as /dev/log and BSD flavors as /var/run/log. Newer Linux distributions that use systemd collect messages into a journal file. These are platform-specific descriptions, not interchangeable configuration instructions; consult the source documentation for your release and verify the native logging interface on the host.
Beyond local system logs, configured sources can receive network syslog or read files and other supported inputs. The project overview describes support for RFC3164 and RFC5424-style syslog, JSON, and unstructured data. Exact source-driver availability depends on the package and build you install; verify the matching version’s documentation rather than assuming every driver is present.
How filtering and message processing work
syslog-ng can forward messages unchanged, or process them as they pass through a log path. Each processing element has a distinct role:
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Filters select messages
A filter decides which messages continue along a path. It can select using application identity or other message attributes. This lets you send only relevant events to a particular destination rather than duplicating every incoming message everywhere.
Parsers extract structure
A parser divides message content into fields, making data easier for downstream systems to query or analyze. The project overview lists built-in parser types including CSV, database, and key-value parsers. Parsing is useful when incoming text follows a recognizable format; unstructured messages may instead be passed through or handled with a suitable parser.
Rewrite rules change message content
Rewrite rules can add, replace, or remove message parts. The vendor also describes classification, normalization, enrichment from external data, and correlation or aggregation as processing capabilities. These functions depend on configuration and available components; they do not happen automatically just because syslog-ng receives a message.
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Where can syslog-ng send logs?
Destinations documented by the project and vendor span local storage and data systems. Examples include files, message queues, databases, Elasticsearch, Apache Kafka, and Hadoop/HDFS; vendor material also names SQL databases and MongoDB. Confirm that the destination driver is available in your installed build and current version before designing around a particular integration.
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Choose a destination based on how the data will be consumed. A file may suit local retention or simple downstream processing; a database or queue may fit a service that needs structured records or decoupled ingestion; an analytics platform may be appropriate when logs feed search or large-scale analysis. The destination’s expected schema and throughput matter as much as whether a connector exists.
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The OSE guide notes that syslog-ng can stop reading from sources when destinations cannot process messages that have been sent. This backpressure behavior is important: it means a slow or unavailable destination can affect collection upstream. It does not establish a blanket guarantee of lossless delivery.
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Before relying on a pipeline, determine how its configured transport, queues, and buffers behave during a slowdown or outage, and what happens if buffering capacity is exhausted or the process restarts. Those details depend on the configuration and drivers in use. Test the failure cases that matter for your service, including destination recovery and the handling of messages accumulated during an interruption.
Choose the right syslog-ng edition
syslog-ng OSE is the open-source edition covered here. The vendor distinguishes it from Premium Edition (PE), commercial log-management software, and Store Box, a log-management appliance. Product claims do not automatically transfer between these offerings.
For example, the vendor’s PE page makes Windows-support and tested-binaries claims for PE. Those are vendor and edition-specific claims, not evidence that OSE supports the same platforms or has the same support arrangements. Check the product documentation for the exact edition and release you plan to deploy.
Practical checks before deployment
- Source coverage: identify whether logs come from local system interfaces, network senders, files, or application-specific inputs, and confirm the matching drivers.
- Message handling: decide whether to pass messages through or filter, parse, normalize, classify, or enrich them.
- Destination fit: confirm driver availability, data format, schema needs, and expected ingestion volume.
- Failure behavior: review transport, buffering, backpressure, and outage recovery for each path.
- Platform and edition: verify the operating system, OSE release, package build, and enabled modules against the documentation for that exact installation.
How fast is syslog-ng?
The syslog-ng project GitHub description reports 600,000–800,000 messages per second for its simplest use case and says that classification, parsing, and filtering still produce several tens of thousands of messages per second. The project does not state a year for these figures. They are project-published statements, not independent benchmark results or a performance guarantee for a particular machine; actual throughput depends on workload, configuration, destination, and hardware.
