[syslog-ng] Insider 2019-04: Tetris; Docker; Podman; python-fetcher

[Czanik, Péter]

Dear syslog-ng users,

This is the 74th issue of syslog-ng Insider, a monthly newsletter that
brings you news related to syslog-ng.

NEWS


Tetris destination
------------------

In this blog post we show you a fun way of using the Python
destination of syslog-ng. We will write a Tetris destination. We will
use the built-in Tetris implementation of Emacs. The syslog-ng Python
destination will connect to an Emacs server. The log messages will be
turned into Tetris commands inside Emacs. Using an stdin source, users
can interactively feed syslog-ng with messages that will control the
Tetris in the end.

https://www.syslog-ng.com/community/b/blog/posts/tetris-destination


A simplified guide to logging Docker to Elasticsearch in 2019 using syslog-ng
-----------------------------------

This simplified guide shows you how to send logs of containers into
Elasticsearch. Although there are several tutorials on logging Docker
to Elasticsearch, this one is entirely different, as it uses
syslog-ng. You can also visualize your Docker logs on a nice dashboard
in Kibana.

https://balagetech.com/simplified-logging-docker-elasticsearch-syslog-ng/


Replacing Docker with Podman in the syslog-ng build container
-------------------------------------------------------------

The syslog-ng source code includes a container-based build system. You
can use this build system to generate source tarballs (the official
syslog-ng release tarball is also generated this way) and to build
packages for RHEL 7 as well as different Debian and Ubuntu releases.
Although it was originally built around Docker, with the general
availability of RHEL 8 is drawing near, I wanted to know how difficult
it is to replace Docker with Podman in the syslog-ng build system.
Originally I tested this replacement on Fedora Silverblue
(Silverblue), then a week later on RHEL 8 Beta. While the syslog-ng
build scripts do not support these distributions (yet), the point was
to check Podman as a Docker replacement.

https://www.syslog-ng.com/community/b/blog/posts/replacing-docker-with-podman-in-the-syslog-ng-build-container


The syslog-ng python-fetcher(): collecting load average data
------------------------------------------------------------

Using python-fetcher() simplifies developing a source driver for
syslog-ng even further. You do not have to implement your own event
loop, since syslog-ng does it for you. You only need to focus on what
information you need and how you (or your code) can fetch it.

In this blog I will show you two examples. The first one is a dead
end: it is a project that looked simple at first but turned out to be
problematic later on. The second one is simple but still manages to
illustrate most features of the python-fetcher.

https://www.syslog-ng.com/community/b/blog/posts/the-syslog-ng-python-fetcher-collecting-load-average-data


CONFERENCES


* LOADays (https://loadays.org/):
syslog-ng featured in my sudo talk

* Red Hat Summit (https://www.redhat.com/en/summit/2019):
One Identity booth


WEBINARS


Upcoming:

* Bridge the gap between cloud and on-premises:
https://www.syslog-ng.com/event/bridge-the-gap-between-cloud-and-onpremises8138195/



You can watch our past webinars:

* Got a hungry Splunk? Feed it smartly with syslog-ng:
https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/16207/350610


Your feedback and news, or tips about the next issue are welcome. To
read this newsletter online, visit: https://syslog-ng.com/blog/

Peter Czanik (CzP) <peter.czanik at balabit.com>
Balabit (a OneIdentity company) / syslog-ng upstream
https://syslog-ng.com/community/
https://twitter.com/PCzanik