syslog-ng is *NOT* writing syslog like this to a file which has no <*PRI*> 23:49:48.306587 IP 192.168.1.100.39567 > 192.168.100.100.514: [|syslog] E.....@.>..U...g..........T.2018-03-19T23:49:48+0000 alarmLog, applianceName=Branch-UC1, tenantName=DEMO-CORP, alarmType=sla-not-met, alarmKey=INTERNET, generateTime=1521503387, applianceId=1, vsnId=0, tenantId=2, alarmCause=datapathState, alarmClearable=yes, alarmClass=cleared, alarmKind=symptom, alarmEventType=equipmentAlarm, alarmSeverity=cleared, alarmOwner=tenant, alarmSeqNo=1568, alarmText="delay:9 msec", siteName=Branch-UC1 ................ syslog-ng is writing syslog like this to a file *OK * 23:50:26.930023 IP 192.168.1.100.55078 > 192.168.100.100.514: SYSLOG mail.info, length: 76 E..h.B@.>......g.....&...Tt.<22>Mar 19 23:50:26 SVL-remotehost-02 root: this is third test alarmLog................ Here is my syslog-ng config source s_udp { udp(ip(0.0.0.0) port(514)); }; destination d_alarm { file("/var/log/alarms.log"); }; filter f_alarm { match("alarmLog" value("MESSAGE")); }; log { source(s_udp); filter(f_alarm); destination(d_alarm); }; I am using syslog-ng version 3.5.6 on centos 7 Any idea why syslog-ng is writing the first log event into a file? Appreciate any help! -- Asif Iqbal PGP Key: 0xE62693C5 KeyServer: pgp.mit.edu A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?