Top 6 Open-Source Log Analysis Tools: Wazuh, Graylog & more
Below I listed top 6 open-source log analysis tools. In evaluating these tools, I focused on key factors such as log collection flexibility, real-time event detection, integration with third-party applications, scalability, and support for various log formats.
Log management features
Security and monitoring features
Pricing
Tool | Paid version: Starting price |
|---|---|
Wazuh | Free (on-prem version) |
Graylog | $1,250/mo (10GB per day) |
Elastic Stack (ELK Stack) – Logstash | $95/mo |
Fluentd | Not published |
Syslog-ng | $2,800 one time per user |
Nagios | $14,495 one time payment for suit plan |
Disclaimer: Insights (below) come from user experiences shared in Reddit1 , and G22 .
Wazuh
Log data querying and visualization in Wazuh3
Wazuh is an open-source SIEM solution. Thus, it not only collects and monitors logs from various systems and applications but also offers features like:
- real-time security event detection
- file integrity monitoring
- vulnerability detection
How log management works in Wazuh?
It includes an endpoint security agent that is deployed on monitored systems to collect logs. This data is sent to the Wazuh management server, which processes and analyzes it.
Wazuh can be fully integrated with the Elastic Stack, utilizing Elasticsearch for log storage and search.
Hosting options:
Self-hosted: The open-source platform is free to download, with optional annual support. Support pricing is based on the number of endpoints to monitor (e.g., servers, workstations, network devices).
In an on-prem self-hosted setup, the user is responsible for maintaining hardware and resources, regardless of whether support is hired.
Cloud-hosted: The cloud hosting services provide Wazuh Server and Elastic Stack maintenance. You only need to install the agents, while the hosting provider handles other operations such as monitoring, troubleshooting.
Pricing depends on hot storage (events in the Web UI) and the retention period.
Distinct features:
Flexible log collection: In comparison to other tools like Graylog or Elastic Stack (Logstash), Wazuh offers more out-of-the-box support for various log types without the need for additional configurations or plugins.
Also it can ingest logs from various sources, including Event Viewer, system messages, and JSON logs, providing full visibility into endpoint activities.
Integration with third-party applications: Wazuh supports integration with cloud services, antivirus software, and security tools such as Office365, AWS, Rapid7.
Its built-in Python library enables the creation of custom integrations. This provides an advantage over tools like Syslog-ng and Fluentd, which require additional configuration or plugins to integrate with third-party services.
API and active built-in response: Wazuh includes a RESTful API for interacting with the Wazuh Manager.
Through the API, users can automate many tasks, such as fetching log data, managing rules and decoders, querying security alerts, and interacting with agents.
Its active built-in response feature allows for real-time defensive actions, such as blocking IPs or executing scripts when certain alerts are triggered. This capability differentiates Wazuh from other tools like Elastic Stack, which lacks built-in response functionality.
Graylog
Graylog is a free and open log management platform and security information and event management (SIEM) system.
It is specifically built to collect data from a variety of sources. Graylog can perform a variety of cyber security tasks, including:
- Data aggregation
- Incident detection and response
- Threat intelligence
- User and entity behavior analytics (UEBA)
Enterprise edition: The enterprise version includes additional features, such as:
- User authentication
- Teams management
- Configurable reporting
Distinct features:
- Log extraction and parsing: Graylog offers extractors and pipelines to process and extract specific log fields for highly customizable log processing.
- User management with AD integration: Graylog integrates with Active Directory (AD) for user management, supporting authentication and some role-based access controls.
Elastic Stack (ELK Stack) – Logstash
Elastic Stack is a group of Open Source products, its main products are Elasticsearch, Kibana, and Logstash.
Logstash serves as a backend server in the Elasticsearch database. It can collect and process logs from several sources, including the Elasticsearch engine, or files.
Logstash does not include a built-in dashboard for viewing logs. However, it may be with other tools such as SigNoz to generate and share log data visualizations and dashboards.
Distinct features:
ELK Stack’s distinct feature is the ability to monitor apps built on open-source WordPress installations. In contrast to most out-of-the-box security audit log products, which only track admin and PHP logs, ELK Stack can search web server and database.
Fluentd
Fluentd is an open-source data-gathering software project that can process logs and sending them to log storage.
Fluentd receives events from several data sources and sends them to files, RDBMS, NoSQL, IaaS, SaaS, and Hadoop. Fluentd offers 500+ community-contributed plugins that connect several data sources and outputs (e.g. log management or big data management systems).
Fluentd can process logs from:
- Application logs: php, node®, RAILS, Java, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Python, PHP, Perl, Node.js, Scala.
- Network protocols: N, Microsoft, .NET, UNIX®, TCP/IP, Syslog
- loT Devices: RasperryPi
- Others: Docker, Kafka, PostgreSQL Slow Query Log, etc.
Pricing: The cost of the paid version of Fluentd comes under the Fluent Commerce plan. The price varies according to order volume and inventory update velocity. For example, a 36-month contract with Fluent Commerce could cost $300,000.
Distinct features:
- Extensive plugin ecosystem: Fluentd offers 500+ community-contributed plugins.
- Flexible data routing: Fluentd can route data to multiple destinations, such as files, RDBMS, NoSQL databases, IaaS, SaaS, and Hadoop.
- Specialized in log processing: Best for log processing and forwarding, ensuring efficient handling of large-scale log data and event flows across distributed systems.
Syslog-ng
Syslog-ng is an open-source log management program that provides a versatile solution for collecting, analyzing, and storing logs.
It enables you to collect data from several sources, then parse, classify, rewrite, and correlate the logs into a single format before storing or transferring them to other systems such as Apache Kafka or Elasticsearch.
With Syslog-ng logs can be:
- Classified and structured using built-in parsers (csv-parser).
- Stored in files, message queues (e.g. AMQP), or databases (e.g. PostgreSQL, MongoDB).
- Forwarded to big data technologies (such as Elasticsearch, Apache Kafka, or Apache Hadoop).
Distinct features:
- Automated log archiving: Syslog-ng can handle automated log archiving for 500k+ messages.
- Support for multiple message formats: It supports various log message formats, including RFC3164, RFC5424, and JSON.
Nagios
Nagios is a host/service/network monitoring application developed in C and licensed under the General Public License.
Its main product is a log server designed to streamline data gathering and make information more available to system administrators. The Nagios log server engine collects data in real-time and feeds it into a search tool.
The current version of Nagios is compatible with servers running Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Unix. A built-in setup wizard, allows you to integrate with a new endpoint or application.
Distinct features:
- Monitoring features:
- Network service monitoring: Nagios can monitor various network services such as SMTP, POP3, HTTP, and PING, which is more focused on network infrastructure monitoring.
- Host resource monitoring: Nagios allows for monitoring of host resources, including processor load, disk utilization, and more, providing insights into the health of the monitored systems.
- Log management features:
- Automated log file rotation and archiving: Nagios automates log file rotation and archiving, helping with long-term log storage management.
- Geographic filtering for log data: Nagios supports geographic log filtering, allowing you to filter log data based on its geographic origin and create maps for traffic flow analysis.
- Optional online interface: Nagios provides an optional web interface for viewing current network status, log files.
For guidance on choosing the right tool or service, check out our data-driven sources: log analysis software.
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Cem's work has been cited by leading global publications including Business Insider, Forbes, Washington Post, global firms like Deloitte, HPE and NGOs like World Economic Forum and supranational organizations like European Commission. You can see more reputable companies and resources that referenced AIMultiple.
Throughout his career, Cem served as a tech consultant, tech buyer and tech entrepreneur. He advised enterprises on their technology decisions at McKinsey & Company and Altman Solon for more than a decade. He also published a McKinsey report on digitalization.
He led technology strategy and procurement of a telco while reporting to the CEO. He has also led commercial growth of deep tech company Hypatos that reached a 7 digit annual recurring revenue and a 9 digit valuation from 0 within 2 years. Cem's work in Hypatos was covered by leading technology publications like TechCrunch and Business Insider.
Cem regularly speaks at international technology conferences. He graduated from Bogazici University as a computer engineer and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
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