Active Directory

Ship Active Directory logs to Logstash

follow these steps to send your Active Directory logs to Logstash and begin searching your data.

Logs

Install Integration

Please click on the Install Integration button to configure your stack for this source.

Install Winlogbeat

To get started you will need to install winlogbeat. To do this you have two main options:

Choose the winlogbeat ZIP file (opens in a new tab) (Windows ZIP x86_64) or
Choose the Microsoft Software Installer MSI (opens in a new tab) file (Windows MSI x86_64 (beta))

To successfully install winlogbeat and set up the required Windows service you will need to have administrator access.

If you have chosen to download the zip file:

Extract the contents of the zip file into C:\Program Files.
Rename the extracted folder to winlogbeat
Open a PowerShell prompt as an Administrator (right-click the PowerShell icon and select Run As Administrator).
From the PowerShell prompt, run the following commands to install winlogbeat as a Windows service:

cd 'C:\Program Files\@beatname'

.\install-service-@beatname.ps1

If script execution is disabled on your system, you need to set the execution policy for the current session to allow the script to run. For example:

PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy UnRestricted -File .\install-service-@beatname.ps1

For more information about Powershell execution policies see here (opens in a new tab)

If you have chosen to download the winlogbeat.msi file:

double-click on it and the relevant files will be downloaded.

At the end of the installation process you'll be given the option to open the folder where winlogbeat has been installed.

Open a PowerShell prompt as an Administrator (right-click the PowerShell icon and select Run As Administrator).
From the PowerShell prompt, change directory to the location where winlogbeat was installed and run the following command to install winlogbeat as a Windows service:

.\install-service-@beatname.ps1

If script execution is disabled on your system, you need to set the execution policy for the current session to allow the script to run. For example:

PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy UnRestricted -File .\install-service-@beatname.ps1

For more information about Powershell execution policies see here (opens in a new tab)

Update your configuration file

The configuration file below is pre-configured to send data to your Logit.io Stack via Logstash.

Note: Please make sure the 'hosts' field in the Logstash outputs section is correctly populated. If you are logged into your Logit.io account the 'hosts' field should have been pre-populated with the correct values.

Copy the configuration file below (making the above changes as necessary) and overwrite the contents of winlogbeat.yml. (If you used the installer program to install winlogbeat the winlogbeat.yml file may not exist so you'll need to create it and add the details below).

###################### Logit.io Winlogbeat Configuration ########################
# ============================== Winlogbeat specific options ==============================
winlogbeat.event_logs:
  - name: Application
    ignore_older: 72h
 
  - name: System
 
  - name: Security
 
  - name: Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
    tags: [sysmon]
 
  - name: Windows PowerShell
    event_id: 400, 403, 600, 800
 
  - name: Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational
    event_id: 4103, 4104, 4105, 4106
 
  - name: ForwardedEvents
    tags: [forwarded]    
 
fields:
  type: wineventlog
 
fields_under_root: true  
 
# ================================== Outputs ===================================
# ------------------------------ Logstash Output -------------------------------
output.logstash:
  hosts: ["@logstash.host:@logstash.sslPort"]
  loadbalance: true
  ssl.enabled: true
 
  pipeline: "winlogbeat-%{[agent.version]}-routing"
 
# ================================= Processors =================================
processors:
  - add_host_metadata:
      when.not.contains.tags: forwarded
  - add_cloud_metadata: ~

Validate Configuration

From the PowerShell prompt, (in the directory where winlogbeat was installed) and run the following command to validate your configuration file:

.\@beatname.exe test config -c .\@beatname.yml -e

If the yml file is valid, winlogbeat will print Config OK. If there's a problem you should get an error message with details of the error.

Start winlogbeat

From the PowerShell prompt, (in the directory where winlogbeat was installed) run the following command:

Start-Service winlogbeat

Check Logit.io for your logs

Data should now have been sent to your Stack.

View My Data

If you don't see take a look at How to diagnose no data in Stack below for how to diagnose common issues.

How to diagnose no data in Stack

If you don't see data appearing in your stack after following this integration, take a look at the troubleshooting guide for steps to diagnose and resolve the problem or contact our support team and we'll be happy to assist.

Winlogbeat Installation Instructions Overview

Active Directory is a Microsoft technology that provides a centralized database for storing information about users, computers, and other resources on a network. It is widely used in enterprise environments to manage user accounts, permissions, and access to resources.

To effectively monitor and analyze security events in an Active Directory environment, it is essential to have a reliable and efficient log management solution. One way to achieve this is by using winlogbeat, an open-source log shipper that can be installed on a Windows server to collect and ship event logs to Logstash.

Winlogbeat is designed to work with the Elastic Stack, which includes Elasticsearch, Logstash, and OpenSearch. By sending event logs from Active Directory to Logstash, organizations can centralize their log data and analyze it in real-time for threat detection and response.

In summary, using winlogbeat to ship logs from a Windows server to Logstash can provide organizations with a reliable and efficient way to monitor and analyze security events in their Active Directory environment. By centralizing log data and analyzing it in real-time, organizations can detect and respond to security threats quickly and effectively.

If you need any further assistance with migrating your Active Directory logs to Logit.io we're here to help you get started. Feel free to reach out by contacting our support team by visiting our dedicated Help Centre or via live chat & we'll be happy to assist.

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