ccin2p3-patterndb

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Module Description
3. Setup
   • What patterndb affects
   • Setup requirements
4. Terminology
5. Usage
6. Reference
7. Limitations
8. Upgrading
9. Development

Overview

This module handles patterndb configuration files for syslog-ng pattern parsers.

Module Description

This module will manage the pattern databases of syslog-ng by using existing files, or by generating them using key-value pairs in puppet manifests. No need to edit XML files anymore \o/. It is possible to painlessly migrate from an existing base of rulesets by using a combination of the latter. Knowledge of patterndb is required as the manifests closely match the hierarchical structure as described in detail in the syslog-ng documentation.

Setup

What patterndb affects

Depending on the top-level configuration variables $base_dir and $temp_dir, this module will manage and execute the following elements in order:

0. (OPTIONAL) Manage package syslog-ng
1. Manage $base_dir/etc/syslog-ng/patterndb.d recursively
2. Manage the contents of the above directory using existing or generated patterndb ruleset files
3. Merge the contents of the latter using pdbtool into a temporary file ${temp_dir}/syslog-ng/patterndb/${parser}.xml where $parser is the name of the patterndb (you can have as many as you want, e.g. for staged parsing.
4. (OPTIONAL) Test the resulting patterndbs
5. Deploy the temporary files into ${base_dir}/var/lib/syslog-ng/patterndb/${parser}.xml

Reloading of the syslog-ng daemon is not being taken care of, as the latter already does that on its own by polling the patterndb file for change.

Setup Requirements

This module requires the modules puppetlabs-stdlib and puppetlabs-concat. It supports RedHat and Debian osfamilies. Puppet versions from 3.x and onwards are supported up to 4.x

Terminology

Most of the concepts covered here are described in the syslog-ng documentation and reintroduced here for clarity. They follow the hierarchy of the patterndb parser model:

• A patterndb parser refers to a collection of rulesets and is materialized as an XML file. It is sometimes referred to as a patterndb or a parser. It is the top-level object that is being used by syslog-ng when defining a parser in a log statement: parser my_parser { db_parser("/var/lib/syslog-ng/patterndb/my_parser.xml"); };
• A ruleset represents a collection of rules which are common to a certain set of programs e.g. sshd (PROGRAM macro in syslog-ng). A ruleset is usually materialized by a single XML file which can be merged with others into a full patterndb parser using the syslog-ng provided tool pdbtool.
• A rule contains logic to identify, correlate and modify similar messages
• A pattern contains logic on how to match messages
• A pattern parser is a function that matches strings and optionally returns a key-value pair (macro in syslog-ng) where the value contains the matching string, and the key is user-specified. pattern parsers are enclosed in @, e.g. @ESTRING:mykey@
• An example is a sample message which should match one and only one rule. It contains the message itself, along with the values and tags the rule should extract.
• A correlation context or context refers to a collection of messages that have been matched to belong together
• An action is a new event or message that is being triggered by another message or context matching certain conditions. It contains the message itself, along with additional tags and values it should be associated with.
• A value is a key-value pair belonging to a message
• A tag is a label belonging to a message

These concepts are materialized by puppet objects by this module as follows:

• patterndb parser: patterndb::parser
• ruleset: patterndb::simple::ruleset, patterndb::raw::ruleset
• rule: patterndb::simple::rule
• example: patternd::simple::example
• action: patterndb::simple::action
• action message: patterndb::simple::action::message

Usage

The workflow to create a new patterndb parser is:

1. load the class

Using defaults ...

class { "patterndb": }

... or overriding paths

class { "patterndb":
  $base_dir => "/",
  $temp_dir => "/tmp"
}

2. define one or more parsers

patterndb::parser { 'my_parser': }

3. define rulesets for each parser

patterndb::simple::ruleset { 'myservice':
  parser   => 'my_parser',
  patterns => [ 'myservice-foo', 'myservice-bar' ],
  rules    => [
    {
    	id => 'myservice-alert',
    	patterns => [ 'ALERT: foo = @NUMBER:foo@, bar = @FLOAT:bar@' ],
    	context_id => 'myservice-${foo}-${bar}'
    }
  ]
}
patterndb::ruleset::raw { 'yourservice':
  source => 'puppet:///path/to/your/export/xml.pdb'
}

4. define additional rules for each simple ruleset

patterndb::simple::rule { 'myservice-ok':
  ruleset => 'myservice',
  patterns => [ 'OK: foo = @NUMBER:foo@, bar = @FLOAT:bar@' ],
  context_id => 'myservice-${foo}-${bar}',
  context_timeout => '60'
}

5. define actions

patterndb::simple::action { 'timeout_on_not_ok':
  rule => 'myservice-ok',
  trigger => 'timeout',
  message => {
    values => {
      'MESSAGE' => 'patterndb detected that myservice never recovered after 60 seconds'
    }
  }
}

This will create two new patterndb parsers in /var/lib/syslog-ng/patterndb/default.xml and /var/lib/syslog-ng/patterndb/my_parser.xml with one ruleset each. Note the absence of the explicit assignement of the 'default' parser which gets instanciated automatically when defining a ruleset without parser ('yourservice' in this case).

Reference

Class: patterndb

This class will manage the following resources:

• Package[$package_name] if $manage_package is set to true.
• File[$temp_dir] as a directory.
• File["${base_dir}/etc/syslog-ng/patterndb.d"] recursively, purging unknown files.
• File["${base_dir}/var/lib/syslog-ng/patterndb/${parser}.xml"] for each $parser (defaults to 'default')

Optional Parameters

• $base_dir Top level directory for storing resources. Defaults to '/'
• $temp_dir Temporary directory for various components. Defaults to '/tmp/syslog-ng'
• $package_name Name of the syslog-ng package. Defaults to the OS shipped
• $manage_package Boolean to control the management of the package. Defaults to true
• $syslogng_modules An array of syslog-ng modules to use. This will be used for other resources e.g. update. Defaults to []
• $use_hiera Boolean controlling inclusion of class patterndb::hiera
• $test_before_deploy A boolean which controls wether to test the patterndbs before deploying (see update). Defaults to true

Class: patterndb::hiera

This class will create parser, ruleset, rule, and action resources from hiera.

Optional Parameters

• $prefix The prefix of variable names in hiera. The default is patterndb which will create patterndb::simple::rule resources specified in hiera as patterndb::rule. If you use foo, it would pull foo::rule instead.

For the impatient

Here's a quick howto to generate a patterndb using yaml in puppet apply mode (don't run as root):

# get latest version
> git clone https://github.com/ccin2p3/puppet-patterndb
Cloning into 'puppet-patterndb'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 7, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (7/7), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (6/6), done.
remote: Total 910 (delta 0), reused 5 (delta 0), pack-reused 903
Receiving objects: 100% (910/910), 136.28 KiB | 0 bytes/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (510/510), done.

# build puppet module
> cd puppet-patterndb/
> puppet module build
Notice: Building /home/ccin2p3/puppet-patterndb for release
Module built: /home/ccin2p3/puppet-patterndb/pkg/ccin2p3-patterndb-3.0.0.tar.gz

# install module and its deps
> puppet module install pkg/ccin2p3-patterndb-3.0.0.tar.gz
Notice: Preparing to install into /home/ccin2p3/.puppetlabs/etc/code/modules ...
Notice: Created target directory /home/ccin2p3/.puppetlabs/etc/code/modules
Notice: Downloading from https://forgeapi.puppet.com ...
Notice: Installing -- do not interrupt ...
/home/ccin2p3/.puppetlabs/etc/code/modules
└─┬ ccin2p3-patterndb (v3.0.0)
  ├─┬ puppetlabs-concat (v5.3.0)
  │ └── puppetlabs-translate (v1.2.0)
  └── puppetlabs-stdlib (v5.2.0)

# configure hiera
> cat >~/.puppetlabs/etc/puppet/hiera.yaml
---
:merge_behavior: deeper

:backends:
  - yaml
  - eyaml

:hierarchy:
  - "default"

:yaml:
    :datadir: hieradata

:eyaml:
    :extension: 'yaml'

# the smoke directory contains an example manifest and hiera file
> cd smoke
> ls OK_hiera.pp
OK_hiera.pp
> ls hieradata/
default.yaml

# generate the patterndb from smoke/hieradata/default.yaml
> puppet apply OK_hiera.pp
Notice: Compiled catalog for node42.example.com in environment production in 0.98 seconds
Notice: /Stage[main]/Patterndb/File[/tmp/syslog-ng]/ensure: created
Notice: /Stage[main]/Patterndb/File[/tmp//etc]/ensure: created
Notice: /Stage[main]/Patterndb/File[/tmp//var]/ensure: created
Notice: /Stage[main]/Patterndb/File[/tmp//var/lib]/ensure: created
Notice: /Stage[main]/Patterndb/File[/tmp//etc/syslog-ng]/ensure: created
Notice: /Stage[main]/Patterndb/File[/tmp//var/lib/syslog-ng]/ensure: created
Notice: /Stage[main]/Patterndb/File[/tmp//var/lib/syslog-ng/patterndb]/ensure: created
Notice: /Stage[main]/Patterndb/File[/tmp//etc/syslog-ng/patterndb.d]/ensure: created
Notice: /Stage[main]/Patterndb/File[/tmp/etc/syslog-ng/patterndb.d/README]/ensure: defined content as '{md5}453a118a8bc1a39e8386245314a599a5'
Notice: /Stage[main]/Main/Patterndb::Parser[default]/File[/tmp//etc/syslog-ng/patterndb.d/default]/ensure: created
Notice: /Stage[main]/Main/Patterndb::Parser[default]/File[/tmp/syslog-ng/patterndb]/ensure: created
Notice: /Stage[main]/Main/Patterndb::Parser[default]/File[patterndb::file::default]/ensure: created
Notice: /Stage[main]/Patterndb::Hiera/Patterndb::Simple::Ruleset[kernel]/Concat[patterndb_simple_ruleset-kernel]/File[/tmp//etc/syslog-ng/patterndb.d/default/kernel.pdb]/ensure: defined content as '{md5}93a8a1e73b3cd352a221eb8aa743c7e2'
Notice: /Stage[main]/Main/Patterndb::Parser[default]/Exec[patterndb::merge::default]: Triggered 'refresh' from 2 events
Notice: /Stage[main]/Main/Patterndb::Parser[default]/Exec[patterndb::test::default]/returns: Testing message: program='kernel' message='ixgbe 0000:81:00.0 em1: NIC Link is Up 1 Gbps, Flow Control: RX/TX'
Notice: /Stage[main]/Main/Patterndb::Parser[default]/Exec[patterndb::test::default]/returns: Testing message: program='kernel' message='tg3 0000:01:00.1: eth1: Link is down'
Notice: /Stage[main]/Main/Patterndb::Parser[default]/Exec[patterndb::test::default]/returns: Testing message: program='kernel' message='ixgbe 0000:81:00.0 em1: NIC Link is Down'
Notice: /Stage[main]/Main/Patterndb::Parser[default]/Exec[patterndb::test::default]/returns: Testing message: program='kernel' message='bnx2 0000:01:00.1: eth1: NIC Copper Link is Down'
Notice: /Stage[main]/Main/Patterndb::Parser[default]/Exec[patterndb::test::default]: Triggered 'refresh' from 1events
Notice: /Stage[main]/Main/Patterndb::Parser[default]/Exec[patterndb::deploy::default]: Triggered 'refresh' from1 events
Notice: Applied catalog in 1.33 seconds

# here's the individual rulesets
> find /tmp/etc/syslog-ng/
/tmp/etc/syslog-ng/
/tmp/etc/syslog-ng/patterndb.d
/tmp/etc/syslog-ng/patterndb.d/default
/tmp/etc/syslog-ng/patterndb.d/default/kernel.pdb
/tmp/etc/syslog-ng/patterndb.d/README

# here's the resulting merged patterndb
> find /tmp/syslog-ng/
/tmp/syslog-ng/
/tmp/syslog-ng/patterndb
/tmp/syslog-ng/patterndb/default.xml

Defined Type: patterndb::parser

If using the defaults, and only one pattern parser, you probably won't need to define this resource, as it will get automatically created for you when defining a ruleset. This resource represents a patterndb parser, which is eventually materialized by a File puppet resource:

File["${base_dir}/var/lib/syslog-ng/patterndb/${name}.xml"]

This File is generated by merging all defined ruleset resources, which come in two forms: raw and simple. Merging is handled under the hood by using pdbtool merge which creates a new patterndb parser in the ${temp_dir} directory. Testing of the merged parser is optionally handled using pdbtool test. If this is a success, the merged file is then being deployed into the definitive destination at ${base_dir}/var/lib/syslog-ng/patterndb/${name}.xml.

Optional Parameters

• $syslogng_modules An array of syslog-ng modules to load. Controls the validation process of the merged patterndb parser file, e.g. syslogng_modules => [ "tfgeoip" ] will trigger a Exec["pdbtool test [...] --module tfgeoip"] resource. This is necessary in case you are using non autoloading modules in syslog-ng, otherwise testing will fail and your patterndb parser will not be deployed. Defaults to the class value.
• $test_before_deploy Boolean Controls wether merged patterndb file is tested before being deployed. Defaults to the class value. For reference, here's what happens under the hood (code is pretty self-explanatory):

if $test_before_deploy {
  File['patterndb::file'] ~> Exec['patterndb::merge'] ~> Exec['patterndb::test'] ~> Exec['patterndb::deploy']
} else {
  File['patterndb::file'] ~> Exec['patterndb::merge'] ~>                            Exec['patterndb::deploy']
}

There is intentionally no way to test individual rulesets, as this only makes sense after the merge.

Example

patterndb::parser { 'default':
  syslogng_modules => [ "tfgeoip", "tfgetent" ],
  test_before_deploy => true
}

Defined Type: patterndb::raw::ruleset

Describes a resultset using XML content. Use only if you have existing pdb files. The use of patterndb::simple::ruleset is highly encouraged otherwise. This type will define the following puppet resource:

File["${base_dir}/etc/syslog-ng/patterndb.d/${parser}/${name}.pdb"]

Parameters

All parameters are passed along to the File resource:

Mandatory Parameters

• $source The source of the patterndb. This must contain valid patterndb ruleset XML content

Optional Parameters

• $parser Name of the targeted patterndb parser. Defaults to 'default'
• $ensure Defaults to 'present'. Use 'directory' if we are to handle a bunch of pdb files.

Additional parameters if $ensure => 'directory':

• $recurse Defaults to true
• $purge Defaults to true
• $sourceselect Defaults to 'all'
• $ignore Defaults to [ '.svn', '.git' ]

Examples

Single file

patterndb::raw::ruleset { 'raw':
  source => 'puppet:///path/to/my/export/for/myraw.pdb'
}

Directory

patterndb::raw::ruleset { 'raws':
  source => 'puppet:///path/to/my/exports/for/pdb',
  ensure => 'directory',
  purge  => true,
}

Multiple patterndb parsers

patterndb::raw::ruleset { 'ruleset_for_pdb_1':
  parser => 'pdb1',
  source => 'puppet:///path/to/my/export/for/myraw_1.pdb'
}
patterndb::raw::ruleset { 'ruleset_for_pdb_2':
  parser => 'pdb2',
  source => 'puppet:///path/to/my/export/for/myraw_2.pdb'
}

Defined Type: patterndb::simple::ruleset

Describes a ruleset using puppet code. Like its sibling patterndb::raw::ruleset, this type will define the following puppet resource:

File["${base_dir}/etc/syslog-ng/patterndb.d/${parser}/${name}.pdb"]

Additional internal resources can be created, depending on the parameters:

## for each rule in rules:
Patterndb::Simple::Rule[rule[$id]]
## for each example in rule[$examples]
Patterndb::Simple::Example["rule[$id]-$i"]
## for each action in actions
Patterndb::Simple::Action["rule[$id]-$i"]
Patterndb::Simple::Action::Message["rule[$id]-$i"]

Mandatory Parameters

• $id A unique identifier for the ruleset. The use of uuid is strongly recommended
• $patterns An array of strings representing the pattern matching the name of the PROGRAM macro in syslog messages, e.g. ['sshd', 'login', 'lftpd']. Can also be a string for convenience.
• $pubdate The date the ruleset has been written in the format YYYY-mm-dd

Optional Parameters

• $parser Name of the target merged patterndb. Defaults to 'default'
• $version patterndb ruleset version. Defaults to 4
• $description a short description for the ruleset. Defaults to "generated by puppet"
• $url an url pointing to some information on the ruleset. Defaults to undef
• $rules An array of hashes describing the rules. Can also be a string for convenience. If present, the module will create one Patterndb::Simple::Rule resource using the $id parameter as its namevar per element of the array
• $order A string which will control the ruleset's order. This is currently EXPERIMENTAL as its behaviour is highly system dependant.

Examples

Minimal

patterndb::simple::ruleset { 'myruleset':
  id => '9586b525-826e-4c2d-b74f-381039cf470c',
  patterns => [ 'sshd' ],
  pubdate => '2014-03-24',
  rules => [
    {
      id => 'd69bd1ed-17ff-4667-8ea4-087170cbceeb',
      patterns => ['Successful login for user @QSTRING:user:"@ using method @QSTRING:method:"@']
    }
  ]
}

Full

patterndb::simple::ruleset { 'pam_unix':
  parser => 'default',
  id => 'd254ec8b-be96-49cb-9424-16fcb1164157',
  patterns => [ 'sshd', 'crond', 'imap', 'login', 'pam', 'su', 'sudo' ],
  pubdate => '1985-10-26',
  version => '4',
  description => 'This ruleset contains patterns for pam_unix log messages',
  url => 'http://www.openpam.org/',
  rules => [
    {
      id => 'b85dfb49-b5e5-4bca-b2ca-5dd28ab13d5e',
      patterns => [
        'pam_unix(@ESTRING:usracct.application::@@ESTRING:usracct.service:)@: session closed for user @ANYSTRING:usracct.username:@'
        'pam_unix(@ESTRING:usracct.application::@@ESTRING:usracct.service:)@: session closed'
        ],
      tags => [ 'usracct', 'secevt' ],
      values => {
        'usracct.type' => 'logout',
      },
      examples => [
      {
        program => 'sshd',
        test_message => 'pam_unix(sshd:session): session closed for user mmcfly',
        test_values => {
          'usracct.application' => 'sshd',
          'usracct.service' => 'session',
          'usracct.username' => 'mmcfly',
        }
      }
      ],
    },
  ],
}

Defined Type: patterndb::simple::rule

Describes a rule in a ruleset. Will get created automatically if rules are being embedded in a ruleset definition.

Mandatory Parameters

• $ruleset The name of the ruleset resource this rule applies to.
• $patterns An array of patterns describing a log message e.g. ['Failed @ESTRING:usracct.authmethod: @for invalid user @ESTRING:usracct.username: @from @ESTRING:usracct.device: @port @ESTRING:: @@ANYSTRING:usracct.service@']. Can also be a string for convenience.

Optional Parameters

• $id A unique identifier for the rule. The use of uuid is strongly recommended. Defaults to the resource's $name.
• $provider The provider of the rule. This is used to distinguish between who supplied the rule. Defaults to 'puppet'
• $ruleclass The class of the rule - syslog-ng assigns this class to the messages matching a pattern of this rule. Defaults to 'system'
• $values A hash of key-value pairs that are assigned to messages matching the rule. Defaults to {}
• $tags A list of keywords or tags applied to messages matching the rule. Defaults to []
• $examples An array of hashes containing sample log messages which should match any of $patterns
• $context_scope Specifies which messages belong to the same context. See the paragraph 13.5.3 of the syslog-ng online manual for this and the 2 other context options. Valid values are: process, program, host, and global
• $context_id An identifier to group related log messages when using the pattern database to correlate events
• $context_timeout The number of seconds the context is stored
• $actions An array of actions to perform when matching this rule. If given, this will create as many Patterndb::Simple::Action resources as there are elements in the array. Their name will be generated automatically using the rule's name. Actions can also be defined on their own.
• $order A string which will control the order in which the rule will appear in the final merged patterndb parser. This is sometimes necessary due to a bug in syslog-ng

Examples

patterndb::simple::rule { 'd5ebb93c-909c-45a9-8ca7-a8f13de465cd':
  ruleset => 'myruleset',
  patterns => 'the @ESTRING:subject: @is @ESTRING:object@'
  values => {
    'foo' => 'bar'
  },
  tags => [ 'baz' ]
}

Defined Type: patterndb::simple::example

Defined type describing sample messages in a rule. You should not define this resource outside of a patterndb::simple::rule, as it will be created for you by the latter.

Mandatory Parameters

• $program The PROGRAM pattern of the test message, e.g. 'sshd'
• $test_message A sample log message that should match the rule e.g. Failed password for invalid user deep_thought from 0.0.0.0 port -1 ssh42

Optional Parameters

• $test_values A hash of name-value pairs to test the results of the parsers used in the pattern, e.g. {'usracct.username' => 'deep_thought'}

Defined Type: patterndb::simple::action

Defined type describing an action in a rule.

See the paragraph 13.5.3 of the syslog-ng online manual for more details on the parameters:

Mandatory Parameters

• $rule A string containing the name of the rule this action should apply to
• $message A hash describing the message to be sent when the action is executed. A resource of type Patterndb::Simple::Action::Message will be created for you.

Optional Parameters

• $trigger Specifies when the action is executed. The trigger attribute has the following possible values: match or timeout.
• $rate Specifies maximum how many messages should be generated in the specified time period in the following format: messages/second, e.g. 1/60
• $condition The action is performed only if the message matches the filter

Example

patterndb::simple::action { 'alert_ops':
  rule => 'myservice-nok',
  message => {
  	values => {
  		'MESSAGE' = 'You should really know about this',
  		'email_to' = 'ops@mysite.mytld'
  	},
  	tags => [ 'email_alert' ]
  }
}

Defined Type: patterndb::simple::action::message

Defined type describing action message in an action. You should not define this resource outside of a patterndb::simple::ruleset, as it will be created for you by the latter.

Optional Parameters

• $values A hash containing a list of key-values describing the message, e.g. {'MESSAGE' => 'generated by syslog-ng', 'PROGRAM' => 'syslog-ng'}
• $tags A list of tags for the generated message
• $inherit_properties A boolean to toggle whether the generated message should inherit a copy of all values and tags from the triggering message. Defaults to true

Limitations

• nested defined types model has maybe better solutions
• Needs more rspec and system tests
• rule ids are unique across parsers: probably saner anyway

Upgrading

From 1.0.0 or earlier

If you're one of the few who downloaded the previous version 1.0.0, you'll notice breaking changes, see the CHANGELOG File for more information. Basically, you only have to change your manifest code in case you were explicitly loading the patterndb::update class. In that case, replace the following:

class { patterndb::update:
  ...
}

with:

patterndb::parser { 'default':
  ...
}

And you should be okay

From 2.0.0 to 2.1.0

There are no breaking changes but the fact that the module now requires puppetlabs-concat. This dependency was required for the separation of rules and rulesets.

Development

Testing

• Smoke tests: run ./smoke/test from the root directory
• For puppet-rspec tests use bundle install && bundle exec rake spec

Contributing

Send issues or PRs to http://github.com/ccin2p3/puppet-patterndb