vlog (8)

Name

vlog - The Novell Storage Services Auditing Client Logger utility.

Synopsis

/opt/novell/vigil/bin/vlog [OPTIONS]

For information about options, see VLOG Options.

Availability

Novell Open Enterprise Server 11

Syntax

Prior to running vlog, the NSS Auditing Engine (/etc/init.d/novell-vigil) should be started. To check the status of the engine, issue the following command (as the root user) in a terminal console:

/etc/init.d/novell-vigil status

If the status is not "Running", the engine should be started by issuing the following command (as the root user) in a terminal console:

/etc/init.d/novell-vigil start

Run the NSS Auditing Client Logger (vlog) utility in a terminal console (generally as the root user).

/opt/novell/vigil/bin/vlog [OPTIONS]

Stopping vlog requires a SIGTERM signal. This can be done by issuing a Ctrl+C in the terminal where vlog is running, or by using the kill or killall command. For example, to kill all instances of vlog, enter the following in a terminal console:

killall -s SIGTERM vlog

IMPORTANT:If vlog terminates because of a SIGTERM signal, it instructs the NSS Auditing Engine (vigil) to discontinue sending auditing data records to the specific instance of vlog.

If the application is terminated without a SIGTERM signal (such as closing the window in which vlog is running), the NSS Auditing Engine does not discontinue sending auditing records to the vlog instance. Because an auditing record log entry is sent by appending it to the log file instance, the log file continues to grow. Over time, the audit log files can grow to fill all available disk space. See Troubleshooting for further details.

Description

Intercepts, parses, filters, augments, and displays auditing records received from the NSS Auditing Engine (vigil).

VLOG Options

By default, vlog sends its output to stdout in an XML record format. The following options modify vlog's default behavior:

[-a, --asciiOut]

Prints Unicode 16 (NSS paths) in \uXXXX format. Without this option, Unicode 16 is output in UTF-8 format.

[-b, --blockNssEventsOfVol] NSS-VOLUME-NAME

Blocks events (of type NSS) from the specified NSS volume from audit record stream. This option is followed by exactly one NSS volume name. This option can be specified multiple times on the command-line to specify multiple NSS volumes.

[-c, --clientKey] CLIENT-KEY

Sets the NSS Auditing client key to CLIENT-KEY. If this option is not specified, the default client key of "Zarahemla" is used. The CLIENT-KEY value is required to attach a new instance of vlog to a pre-existing NSS Auditing client data stream.

[-C, --clientName] CLIENT-NAME

Sets the NSS Auditing client name to CLIENT-NAME. The CLIENT-NAME value length is limited to 1 to 15 bytes long, and must be unique on the system.

If this option is not specified, vlog generates a unique, random NSS Auditing client name (and is not limited to the 1 to 15-byte-length limit of this option). The CLIENT-NAME value is required to attach a new instance of vlog to a pre-existing NSS Auditing client data stream.

[-d, --daemonize]

Uses daemon mode, which causes vlog to run in the background. All output directed to stdout or stderr is eliminated.

[-f, --format] [NUL, XML, CSV, SENT]

Sets the output format using the specified format as follows:

NUL

No output.

XML

(Default) Extensible Markup Language (XML) format.

CSV

Comma Separated Values (CSV) format.

SENT

Format compatible with Novell Sentinel/Log Manager products.

[-F, --filterFile] FILE-PATH

Specifies a path to a filter file that contains filter patterns to be applied to the auditing records that are received from the NSS Auditing Engine (vigil). This option can be specified multiple times on the command-line to specify multiple filter file paths. See Filtering Records for further details.

[-h, --help]

Causes vlog to display a help page, then terminate.

[-k, --keepLogFiles]

Keeps unprocessed log files upon program termination. Log files represent the auditing data stream between the NSS Auditing Engine and vlog. The vlog files are stored in directory

/var/log/audit/vlog/{clientName}/

If this option is not specified, vlog destroys this directory, along with all of its content (including the cursor file, if it is implemented), when vlog terminates.

[-K, --keepClient]

Sets the NSS Auditing client flag VIGIL_CLIENT_F_KEEP, which causes vlog to leave the NSS Auditing client data stream open upon normal termination, and creates an orphaned NSS Auditing client data stream. If this option is not specified, the VIGIL_CLIENTF_KEEP flag is not set, causing the NSS Auditing client data stream to close upon normal vlog termination.

[-l, --size] SIZE-IN-BYTES

Limits the NSS Auditing client's audit log file to the SIZE-IN-BYTES (before rolling to a new file).

Specify the maximum log file size in bytes. If the specified value is not a multiple of 4096 bytes (4 KB), it is automatically rounded up to the nearest 4-KB block. By default, the log file size is 262144 bytes (256 KB). The minimum log file size is 36864 bytes (36 KB). A SIZE-IN-BYTES value of zero [0] indicates no limit.

The rollover to a new log file occurs based on space available for writes as you approach the maximum file size. Thus, the file sizes of log files might not exactly match the expected maximum size when you view their sizes in bytes. If you view their file sizes in kilobytes, all of the files will be the same size.

[--logFilePath] FILE-PATH

Specify the vlog log file path. The default log file location is /var/log/audit. The vlog file will be created in the specified location.

[-m, --maxFileCount] maxStreamFileCount

Limit the vigil auditing client’s log files count. The default value for the maxStreamFileCount is 4096 files. After the number of stream files reaches the maxStreamFileCount value, the oldest audit streamfile is deleted to accommodate the newest data.

[-o, --outputFile] FILE-PATH

Redirects vlog output from stdout to the specified FILE-PATH.

[-O, --outputLaf]

Causes vlog to send output to the Linux Auditing Framework (LAF). This option does not cause output to stop being sent to stdout (or as redirected by the [-o, --outputFile] option). Rather, this option causes output to also be sent to LAF.

[-p, --pattern] FILTER-PATTERN

Adds a filter pattern, which filters records in the NSS Auditing data stream from vlog output. This option is followed by exactly one filter pattern. This option can be specified multiple times on the command-line to indicate multiple filter patterns. See Filtering Records for further details.

[-q, --cursorFile]

Causes vlog to implement a cursor file to track the current position in the NSS Auditing client data stream. The memory-mapped file contains both the path of the current audit log file being processed, as well as the offset of the audit record being processed in that file. If vlog unexpectedly terminates, the cursor file preserves this information, allowing a future instance of vlog to reconnect to the NSS Auditing client data stream, and continue processing records in the stream, in the same audit log file, and at the same record offset, where the prior (terminated) vlog instance had stopped. The cursor file is stored in the same directory as the audit log file(s):

/var/log/audit/vlog/{clientName}/

[-r, --recCnt] NUMBER-OF-RECORDS

Limits the NSS Auditing client's audit log file to NUMBER-OF-RECORDS records before rolling to a new file. A NUMBER-OF-RECORDS value of zero [0] indicates no limit. If this option is not specified, the default value for NUMBER-OF-RECORDS is zero [0].

[-S, --shareClient]

Causes vlog to set the NSS Auditing client flag: VIGIL_CLIENT_F_SHARE. This flag allows another instance of vlog to attach to the NSS Auditing data stream. Without this option, other instances of vlog are unable to connect the NSS Auditing data stream created by this client.

[-u, --userKey] USER-KEY

Sets the NSS Auditing client user key to USER-KEY. If this option is not specified, the default value of Teancum is used as the client user key.

[-U, --userName] USER-NAME

Sets the NSS Auditing client user name to USER-NAME. If this option is not specified, vlog generates a unique, random, NSS Auditing client user name for the vlog instance.

[-v, --incverbose]

Debugging option. Increments the vlog's (error and warning) verbose level by one, and reports the verbose level. Use the -V option to specify a verbose level. Verbose messages are sent to stderr, and to the system message log.

[-V, --setverbose] VERBOSE-LEVEL

Debugging option. Sets vlog's (error and warning) verbose level to the specified value. Verbose messages are sent to stderr, and to the system message log. Each level includes the messages of the lower levels.

Verbose Levels

Description

60 or greater

vlog debugging messages.

50 or greater

Filter-parsing notes.

40 or greater

Program-warning notes (mostly due to filter pattern issues).

30 or greater

Filter-related notes (why audit records match, or are excluded, by filters).

20 or greater

Internal modes are noted (mostly cursor-file related modes).

10 or greater

Configuration changes are noted (as per command-line options).

0 or greater

Normal (default). Only fatal errors are emitted.

Less than 0

Silent. No messages are emitted.

For example, to set the verbose level to 22, enter

/opt/novell/vigil/bin/vlog -V 22 

The verbose messages for fatal errors, configuration changes, and internal modes are sent to stderr.

[-x, --closeAuditClient]

Closes the specified auditing client data stream before opening (or re-opening) the NSS Auditing client data stream. Requires that the [-C, --clientName] and [-c, --clientKey] options be previously specified on the command line.

If this option is not specified, vlog first attempts to re-attach to a pre-existing NSS Audit data stream; and opens a new NSS Audit data stream if the attempt to attach to a pre-existing stream fails.

[-z, --exit]

Causes vlog to terminate immediately. This option is used internally by vlog when vlog calls itself recursively (as does the [-Z --libraryLinkage] option).

Debugging option. Causes vlog to display libvigil linkage information, and terminates.

--filterTest

Filter pattern debugging option. Causes vlog to validate filter patterns, and terminates. Filter patterns specified with the [-p, --pattern] and [-F, --filterFile] options are validated.

Filtering Records

Auditing records can be filtered by the NSS Auditing engine (upstream), or can be filtered by vlog (downstream).

The [-b, --blockNssEventsOfVol] option is an example of filtering by the NSS Auditing engine. The benefit of this (upstream) filtering method is that a drastic reduction of data in the client's data stream can be realized.

The vlog application supports (downstream) filtering of events, as they are received from the NSS Auditing Engine (vigil), by using filter patterns. Filter patterns are rules for filtering events. You can use either of the following methods to specify filter patterns:

  • A filter file of filter patterns (consisting of one filter pattern per line) can be specified with the [-F, --filterFile] command line option. This option must be followed by a [path/]filename.

    A filter file can contain comment lines. Comment lines begin with a pound sign (#) or a double forward slash (//).

  • Individual filter patterns can be specified with the [-p, --pattern] command line option. This option must be followed by a quoted filter pattern.

There are two kinds of patterns that can be specified from a filter file by using the [-F, --filterFile] option, or specified individually in the command by using the [-p, --pattern] option.

  • Patterns for filtering records of type VIGIL

  • Patterns for filtering records of type NSS, NCP, and CIFS

Each of these pattern types are discussed below.

Patterns for Filtering Records of Type VIGIL

Records of type VIGIL represent operations internal to the NSS Auditing Engine. By default, records of type VIGIL are not filtered from vlog's output.

Filter Syntax for Type VIGIL Records

The general pattern for filtering records of type VIGIL is:

:[+ or -]KEYWORD [[+ or -]KEYWORD]

A pattern used to filter records of type VIGIL has a colon (:) as the first character of the pattern.

The colon is followed by one or more keywords that represent records that are to be included or excluded from the vlog output. Multiple keyword entries are separated by a space. Keywords are applied in the order that they appear in the filter pattern.

The specified keyword causes specific records of type VIGIL to be included or excluded from the output. Each keyword is preceded by an exclude/include character that indicates whether the records that match the specified pattern should be excluded or included in the vlog output. A minus (-) character indicates that the records that are represented by the keyword that follows it should be excluded from the vlog output. A plus (+) character indicates that the records that are represented by the keyword that follows it should be included in the vlog output

Filter Keywords for Type VIGIL Records

The keywords for VIGIL record types are as follows:

START

Each time the vigil.ko kernel module is loaded, a "Start" record is sent to all auditing clients.

STOP

Each time the vigil.ko kernel module is unloaded, a "Stop" record is sent to all auditing clients.

NCP_START

Each time the vigil.ncp.ko kernel module is loaded, an "NCP started" record is sent to all auditing clients.

NCP_STOP

Each time the vigil.ncp.ko kernel module is unloaded, an "NCP stopped" record is sent to all auditing clients.

NSS_START

Each time the vigil.nss.ko kernel module is loaded, an "NSS started" record is sent to all auditing clients.

NSS_STOP

Each time the vigil.nss.ko kernel module is unloaded, an "NSS stopped" record is sent to all auditing clients.

CIFS_START

Each time the vigil.cifs.ko kernel module is loaded, a "CIFS started" record is sent to all auditing clients.

CIFS_STOP

Each time the vigil.cifs.ko kernel module is unloaded, a "CIFS stopped" record is sent to all auditing clients.

CLIENT_START

Each time a new Auditing Client (an internal NSS Auditing Engine construct) is activated, a "Client started" record is sent to all auditing clients.

CLIENT_STOP

Each time a new Auditing Client (an internal NSS Auditing Engine construct) is deactivated, a "Client stopped" record is sent to all auditing clients.

USER_START

Each time a new Auditing Client User (an internal NSS Auditing Engine construct) is activated, a "User started" record is sent to all auditing clients.

USER_STOP

Each time a new Auditing Client User (an internal NSS Auditing Engine construct) is deactivated, a "User stopped" record is sent to all auditing clients.

ROLL

The NSS Auditing Engine (vigil) appends auditing records to a file in a directory specified by the auditing client application. The auditing client application can also specify the maximum size of the file in which auditing records are placed, and can optionally specify that when the file maximum size has been reached, the NSS Auditing Engine creates a new file (in the specified directory) and begins appending audit records to the new file.

When the NSS Auditing Engine creates a new file (in which audit records will be placed), it generates a "Roll" audit record, and appends it (as the last record) to the previously used file. The record contains the full (Linux) path of the newly created file, where audit record processing should continue. Roll records are sent only to the specifically affected auditing client, not to all auditing clients.

ALL

Used to indicate all records of type VIGIL.

Examples for Filtering VIGIL Events

The following are examples of how records of type VIGIL might be filtered from the vlog output by specifying individual patterns at the command line prompt:

/opt/novell/vigil/bin/vlog -p":-all"

Specifies a filter pattern that excludes all records of type VIGIL from the vlog output.

/opt/novell/vigil/bin/vlog -p":-all +roll"

Specifies a filter pattern that excludes all records of type VIGIL from the vlog output, except Roll records, which are shown in the vlog output.

/opt/novell/vigil/bin/vlog -p":-roll -user_stop -user_start"

Specifies a filter pattern that excludes Roll records, User stopped records, and User started records from the vlog output.

Keywords are applied in the order that they appear in the filter pattern. For example, the following patterns are not equivalent:

/opt/novell/vigil/bin/vlog -p":-all +roll"

Specifies a filter pattern that excludes all records of type VIGIL, but then allows the Roll record. Of all the VIGIL type records, only the Roll events are output.

/opt/novell/vigil/bin/vlog -p":+roll -all"

Specifies a filter pattern that allows the Roll record, but then excludes all records of type VIGIL. No VIGIL type records (of any event type) are output.

Patterns for Filtering Records of Type NSS, NCP, and CIFS

Records of type NSS, NCP, and CIFS represent operations on files.

Filter Syntax for Type NSS, NCP, and CIFS Records

[negation_element]path_element (event [event...])

Patterns for filtering records of type NSS, NCP and CIFS consist of three elements in the following order:

  1. Negation Element: Indicates whether records that match the specified filter patterns that follow are to be included or excluded from the auditing log. The negation element, if present, is immediately followed by the path element.

  2. Path Element: A filename-matching pattern or directory-name-matching pattern that specifies directories or files to include or exclude from the audit log. The path element is delimited from the event element by a [space or tab] character.

  3. Event Element: A list of NSS file system events enclosed in parenthesis to include or exclude from the audit log.

The options for each of the elements is described below.

Negation Element Options

The negation element is a single character that is used to indicate whether the specified filter patterns are to be included or excluded from the auditing log.

The negation element is a single character that precedes the path element:

! (exclamation mark character)

Used to negate the filter patterns specified in a filter file when the command line filter file option [-F, --filterFile] is used.

- (minus character)

Used to exclude (negate) a filter pattern that is specified on the command line when the filter pattern option [-p, --pattern] is used.

+ (plus character)

Used to include (non-negate) a filter pattern that is specified on the command line when the filter pattern option [-p, --pattern] is used.

The negation element, if present, is immediately followed by the path element.

Audit records that match a negated filter pattern are excluded from the vlog output. Specifically, vlog uses the following logic to include and exclude audit records from being output:

  1. If there are no include (non-negated) filter patterns specified (either in the filter pattern [-p, --pattern] option or the filter file [-F, --filterFile] option), include all audit records in the output.

  2. If one or more filter patterns are specified, place the include pattern before the exclude pattern, such as:

    DATA:/**ProjectX/** (*)
    !DATA:/**ProjectX/**/*.tmp (*) 
    
    1. If the audit record does not match any of the include (non-negated) filter patterns, do not output the record.

    2. If the audit record matches any of the include (non-negated) filter patterns in 2a above, and if the audit record matches any of the exclude (negated) filter patterns that follow the include, do not output the record.

Path Element Options

The path element of the filter pattern is a filename-matching pattern or directory-name-matching pattern that specifies directories or files to include or exclude from the audit log.

The path element immediately follows the negation element (if present).

The path element is delimited from event element by a [space or tab] character. Thus, if a path element contains a space or tab character, you must do one of the following: Enclose the path element in quotation marks (such as "VOL1:/xyz dir/"), or escape each space or tab character within the path element by preceding it with a backslash (\) character (such as VOL1:/xyz\ dir/).The event element follows the path element delimiter (space character or tab character).

Path Element Wildcard Characters

The syntax for the filename and directory name pattern allows for the following wildcard characters:

?

Using the question mark (?) wildcard matches any single character, except for a forward slash character (/).

*

Using the single asterisk (*) wildcard matches any sequence of zero or more characters, except for a forward slash character (/).

**

Using the double asterisk (**) wildcard matches any sequence of zero or more characters, including a forward slash character (/).

[chars]

Using the [chars] wildcard matches any single character in chars. If chars contains a sequence of the form a-b, then any character between a and b (inclusive) will match. The forward slash (/) cannot be specified within chars. A leading or trailing minus character (-) simply includes the minus as one of the characters in the group.

\x

Using the backslash before a character matches the character specified, except for the forward slash character (/).

{a,b,...}

Using the list of strings matches any of the strings a, b, and so on.

NOTE:Generally, the forward slash character (/) must be matched explicitly. The only exception is in the use of a double asterisk (**).

For path element examples, see Path Element Examples.

Path Element Examples

This section provides examples of path elements and a description of how each might be applied for file path examples. If the file path does not match the path element, an explanation is provided.

/a[-e]?/joke
/a-h/joke

Match.

/adh/joke

No match. The [e-] group includes only "e" and "-", not "d".

/aeh/joke

Match.

/a[c\-e]?/joke
/a-h/joke

Match.

/ach/joke

Match.

/adh/joke

No match. The [c\-e] group does not include "d".

/aeh/joke

Match.

/a[d-f]?/joke
/aez/joke

Match.

/agf/joke

No match. Need a character from the [d-f] group.

/a[d-fs-u]?/joke
/aef/joke

Match.

/aft/joke

Match.

/a[def]?/joke
/ad/joke

No match. No character matches the "?".

/aef/joke

Match.

/agf/joke

Match.

/a[def][hij]?/joke
/afh/joke

No match. No character matches the "?".

/afhz/joke

Match.

/agfh/joke

No match. Need character from the [def] group.

/a[e-]?/joke
/a-h/joke

Match.

/aeh/joke

Match.

/afh/joke

No match. The [e-] group includes only "e" and "-", not "f".

/a*
/a/b/c/d

No match. The "*" does not match the "/" character.

/a*?/a
/a/a

No match. The "?" in the pattern does not match "/".

/ab/a

Match.

/abb/a

Match.

/a*?\/a
/ab/a

No match. An escaped "/" in the pattern cannot match "/".

/a**
/a/b/c/d/

Match.

/a**?/a
/a/a

No match. No character matches the "?".

/a/b/c/a

Match.

/a**/
/a/b/c/d

No match. Must end with the "/" character.

/a/b/c/d/

Match.

/a*/
/a/b/c/d

No match. The "*" does not match the "/" character.

/a/*/b/c/**/e/f
/a/b/b/c/d/d/d/d/e/f

Match.

/a/b/b/c/d/d/d/d/e/f/e/f/e/f

Match.

/a/b/b/c/d/d/d/e/f/

No match. Must end with the "f" character.

/a/b/c/d/e/e/e/e/f

No match. Need something between a/ and /b/c.

/a/xxx/b/d/e/e/e/e/f

No match. a/xxx/b must be followed by /c.

/a/*/b/c/**/e/f/
/a/b/b/c/d/d/d/d/e/f

No match. Must end with the "/" character.

/a/*/d/e
/a/d/e/

No match. Must end with the "e" character.

/a/def/d/e

Match.

/a/def/d/e/

No match. Must end with the "e" character.

abc,{,,,{,x,,},,,}def
abc,def

Match.

abc,}{,,,{,x,,},,,}}def
abc,}}def

Match.

abc{,,,{,x,,},,,}def
abcdef

Match.

abcxdef

Match.

abcydef

No match. Nothing after "abc" allows "y".

abc{}def
abcdef

Match.

abc*{def,xyz,hij,{a*[d-g],b*[7-9]}z}qrt*m
abcadzqrtm

Match.

abcaezqrtm

Match.

abcb6zqrtm

No match. Nothing after "abcd" would allow "6".

abcb8zqrtm

Match.

abcdefadzqrtm

Match.

abcdefdefqrtm

Match.

abcdefqrtm

Match.

abchijqrtm

Match.

abcxyqrtm

No match. Nothing after "abc" would allow "xyq".

abcxyzdefqrtm

Match.

abcxyzqrtm

Match.

For simplicity, the NSS volume name was omitted from the above examples. NSS audit records emitted by the NSS Auditing Engine (vigil) have paths that include the NSS volume name. In order to match these NSS audit records, the NSS volume name must be specified as part of the path element, similar to the following:

VOL1:/a*?/a
VOL1:/ab/a

Match.

VOL2:/a*?/a
VOL1:/abb/a

No match.

VOL2:/a**?/a
VOL2:/a/b/c/a

Match

Event Element Options

The event element consists of a list of events enclosed in parentheses. The events listed in the parentheses are delimited by a [space or tab] character.

The event element follows the path element delimiter (space character or tab character).

Event Types

Valid event options are:

  • DELETE
  • CREATE
  • OPEN
  • CLOSE
  • RENAME
  • MODIFY
  • ADDTRUSTEE
  • REMOVETRUSTEE
  • SETINHERITEDRIGHTS
  • LINK (refers to hard links to files)

IMPORTANT:NSS and NCP Server support hard links to files but not to directories. Hard links to files are supported only for paths within the same NSS volume. If you create a hard link, it is reported as a LINK event.

Because of security considerations, NCP Server intentionally does not support soft links. If you create a soft link, it is reported as a CREATE event with a file attribute of 21-IS_LINK.

The asterisk character (*) can be used to specify all events.

The exclamation mark (!) or minus (-) characters can precede an event name to exclude (negate) events of that type.

The event options can occur in any order in the parenthesis. When parsing an event list, a list of included (non-negated) events is first created, then the excluded (negated) events (that is, those with the [! or -] exclusion character in front of them) are removed from that list.

Beginning in OES 11 SP2, a delete action for a file or folder on the NSS file system from an NCP client or CIFS client triggers four events: DELETE, OPEN, MODIFY, and CLOSE. In OES 11 SP1 and earlier, a delete action triggers only a DELETE event.

Event Type Examples

The following are examples of event element pattens and a description of the results you can expect for each one:

(*)

Includes all elements.

(OPEN CLOSE RENAME)

Includes only the OPEN, CLOSE, and RENAME events.

(* !OPEN)

Includes all events except OPEN.

This list could also have been specified as (!OPEN *). All excluded (negated) events are removed after first creating a list of events that are included (non-negated).

(OPEN CLOSE !RENAME)

Includes only the OPEN and CLOSE events.

The !RENAME is not necessary here because it was never included. Typically, you add the excluded events in the list only when you use the asterisk (*) to specify all events.

(!* OPEN CLOSE)

Excludes all events. No events are included because all events were excluded.

This example illustrates that you can put the [! or -]character in front of the asterisk (*).

The OPEN and CLOSE event names have no effect because all excluded (negated) events are processed after the included (non-negated) events. In effect, this list includes the OPEN and CLOSE events, then excludes all events.

(OPEN !OPEN CLOSE)

Includes only the CLOSE event.

The OPEN and !OPEN cancel each other out.

Event Sub-Types NSS, NCP, and CIFS

Each event in the list can also specify a list of event sub-types to include or exclude. These are specified in parentheses immediately after the operation name. Event sub-types are delimited by a space or tab.

Valid event sub-types are:

  • NSS
  • NCP
  • CIFS

The asterisk (*) can be used to include all event sub-types.If no sub-types are specified, they are all included by default.

The exclamation mark (!) or minus (-) characters can precede a sub-type to exclude it.

The sub-types can occur in any order in the parentheses. When parsing a sub-type list, a list of included (non-negated) sub-types is created first, then the excluded (negated) sub-types (that is, those with the [! or -] exclusion character in front of them) are removed from that list.

Event Sub-Type Examples

This section provides examples of event element patterns and a description of how each might be applied.

(*)

Matches all events.

(OPEN)

Matches all OPEN events (including the NSS, NCP, and CIFS sub-types).

(OPEN CLOSE)

Matches only the OPEN and CLOSE events (including the NSS, NCP, and CIFS sub-types).

(OPEN(NSS) CLOSE(NSS))

Matches only the NSS OPEN and NSS CLOSE events.

(* !OPEN)

Matches all events (including the NSS, NCP, and CIFS sub-types) except the OPEN event.

(* !OPEN(NSS) !CLOSE(NSS))

Matches all events except the NSS OPEN and NSS CLOSE events.

(* !OPEN(* !NSS) !CLOSE(* !NSS))

Matches all events except the non-NSS OPEN and non-NSS CLOSE events.

Filter Pattern Examples

This section provides examples of filter patterns and a description of how each might be applied. These examples are specific to entries in the filter file (when using the [-F, --filterFile] option).

VOL1:/abc/* (*)

Include: Matches all events on any file in the VOL1:/abc directory. The events on files in subdirectories are not included.

VOL1:/abc/** (*)

Include: Matches all events on any file in the VOL1:/abc directory and any of its subdirectories.

VOL1:/abc/* (OPEN CLOSE)

Include: Matches only OPEN and CLOSE events on any file in the VOL1:/abc directory. The events on files in subdirectories are not included.

VOL1:/abc/* (* !OPEN !CLOSE)

Include: Matches all events except the OPEN and CLOSE events on any file in the VOL1:/abc directory.

VOL1:/abc/* (OPEN(NSS) CLOSE(NSS))

Include: Matches only NSS OPEN and NSS CLOSE events on any file in the VOL1:/abc directory.

VOL1:/abc/* (* !OPEN(NSS) !CLOSE(NSS))

Include: Matches all events except the NSS OPEN and NSS CLOSE events on any file in the VOL1:/abc directory.

VOL1:/abc/* (* !OPEN(* !NSS) !CLOSE(* !NSS))

Include: Matches all events except the non-NSS OPEN and non-NSS CLOSE events on any file in the VOL1:/abc directory.

!VOL1:/abc/def (*)

Exclude: Matches all events for the VOL1:/abc/def file. This exclusion causes all events on the VOL1:/abc/def file to be dropped (assuming that they had been included by an include rule).

!VOL1:/abc/def (OPEN)

Exclude: Matches OPEN events for the VOL1:/abc/def file. This exclusion effectively excludes OPEN events on the VOL1:/abc/def file.

VOL1:/abc/def (* !OPEN)

Include: Matches all events except the OPEN event on the VOL1:/abc/def file. This is another way to exclude OPEN events on the VOL1:/abc/def file.

!VOL1:/abc/def (* !OPEN)

Exclude: Matches all events except the OPEN event on the VOL1:/abc/def file. This effectively excludes all events except the OPEN event on the VOL1:/abc/def file (assuming they had been included by an include rule).

"VOL1:/xyz dir/*" (*)

Include: Matches all events on any file in the VOL1:/xyz dir directory. Quotation marks are used to enclose the pattern when the path contains spaces. Otherwise, the space in "xyz dir" is treated as a delimiter between the pattern and the events.

VOL1:/xyz\ dir/* (*)

Include: Matches all events on any file in the VOL1:/xyz dir. A backslash (\) is used to escape the space character in the directory name xyz dir. Otherwise, the space in xyz dir is treated as a delimiter between the pattern and the operations.

Troubleshooting

Orphaned Auditing Client

The NSS Auditing Engine (vigil) implements an interface that allows user-space applications (such as vlog) to establish Auditing Clients. When doing so, the user-space application (such as vlog) specifies various parameters, such as a directory in the Linux file system where the auditing record log files are placed.

After an Auditing Client has been established, the NSS Auditing Engine (vigil) architecture has been designed to store the auditing records in files in the directory specified by the auditing application (such as vlog or Novell Sentinel).

Records are stored in the files until the Auditing Engine is instructed to stop, or until the NSS Auditing Engine is stopped. If the auditing application terminates (perhaps unexpectedly), and the NSS Auditing Engine is therefore not instructed to stop sending records to the Auditing Client's directory, the NSS Auditing Engine continues to store auditing records in the Auditing Client's specified directory.

An Auditing Client that does not have a live user-space application associated with it is called an Orphaned Auditing Client. The architecture of the NSS Auditing Engine supports this mode of operation. This mode facilitates the continued collection of auditing data, even if the auditing application temporarily fails. The NSS Auditing Engine architecture assumes that the auditing application will eventually be restarted, and will then re-connect to the auditing stream.

The default configuration of the vlog application does not attempt to re-connect to an orphaned Auditing Client from a previous failed vlog session. If vlog is not properly terminated by the SIGTERM signal, an Orphaned Auditing Client is created.

IMPORTANT:If Orphaned Auditing Clients are not stopped, they continue until they fill the Linux file system partition with auditing data.

You can use one of the following methods to eliminate Orphaned Auditing Clients: Start and stop (or restart) the NSS Auditing Engine, or stop a specific instance of the Auditing Client. Each method is described below.

Method 1: Stop and Start (or Restart) the NSS Auditing Engine

To do this, enter the following commands as the root user at a terminal console prompt:

/etc/init.d/novell-vigil stop

/etc/init.d/novell-vigil start

Or you can enter the following command to restart the engine:

/etc/init.d/novell-vigil restart

This method stops all Auditing Clients, including those that were not associated with the vlog application. This might be undesirable because some auditing records of file-system events will not be logged to the various auditing applications.

Method 2: Stop a Specific Auditing Client Instance

By default, all active Auditing Clients for the NSS Auditing Engine can be listed by listing the directory content of the /sys/audit/vigil directory.

For example, enter the following command as the root user at a terminal console prompt:

ll /sys/audit/vigil

All active Auditing Clients are represented in the listing as directories named CLIENT_*. Using the [-C, --clientName] option, vlog Auditing Clients can be given a name such as JOHN, and the specific entry in the /sys/audit/vigil/ directory will be CLIENT_JOHN. If the [-C,--clientName] option is not specified, vlog generates a random Auditing Client name. Generated name entries are prefixed with "CLIENT_VLOG_", followed by the process ID that created the client, followed by a numeric value that represents the date and time that the specific Auditing Client was started.

For example, a vlog generated client name might be:

CLIENT_VLOG_31691-1264200226

In order to stop a specific instance of a vlog Orphaned Auditing Client, that client's entry in /sys/audit/vigil/ must be accurately identified. The root user can stop a specific instance of an auditing client by writing a STOP command to the client's CONTROL file (found in that client's directory). The ClientKey must also be specified as an additional credential. This limits closing an Auditing Client to a root user who knows the Auditing Client's ClientKey. The ClientKey can be specified by using vlog's [-c, --clientKey] option. If the [-c, --clientKey] option is not specified, vlog uses the default client key "Zarahemla".

For example, enter the following command as the root user at a terminal console prompt:

echo 'CLOSE ClientKey="Zarahemla"' > \
>  /sys/audit/vigil/CLIENT_VLOG_31691-1264200226/CONTROL

IMPORTANT:When an Auditing Client is closed, the client's directory is removed. You should not close an Auditing Client if the client directory is the current working directory.

Authors

Copyright 2009–2013, Novell, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.novell.com

See Also

To report problems with this software or its documentation, visit the Novell Bugzilla Web site.