Fortigate Logging and Reporting 52
Fortigate Logging and Reporting 52
Fortigate Logging and Reporting 52
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February 8, 2018
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Change Log 6
Introduction 7
Before you begin 7
How this guide is organized 7
Logging and reporting overview 9
What is logging? 9
How the FortiGate unit records log messages 9
FortiOS features available for logging 10
Traffic 10
Sniffer 11
Other Traffic 11
Event 11
Traffic Shaping 12
Data Leak Prevention 12
NAC Quarantine 12
Media Access Control (MAC) Address 12
Application control 13
Antivirus 13
Web Filter 13
IPS (attack) 14
Packet logs 14
Email filter 14
Archives (DLP) 14
Network scan 15
Log messages 15
Explanation of a debug log message 17
Viewing log messages and archives 18
How to download log messages and view them from on a computer 21
Log files and types 21
Log database and datasets 22
Notifications about network activity 23
How to configure email notifications 24
Log devices 24
FortiGate unit’s system memory and hard disk 25
FortiAnalyzer unit 26
Syslog server 26
How to choose a log device for your network topology 26
How to create a backup solution for logging 28
Reports 28
What are FortiOS reports? 29
The parts of a FortiOS report 29
What you can do with the default FortiOS report 29
How to modify the default FortiOS report 30
Best Practices: Log management 30
Logging and reporting for small networks 32
Modifying default log device settings 32
Modifying the FortiGate unit’s system memory default settings 32
Modifying the FortiGate unit’s hard disk default settings 32
Testing sending logs to the log device 33
Configuring the backup solution 34
Configuring logging to a FortiCloud server 34
Configuring uploading logs to the FortiAnalyzer unit 34
Testing uploading logs to a FortiAnalyzer unit 35
Modifying the default FortiOS report 35
Logging and reporting for large networks 36
Modifying default log device settings 36
Modifying multiple FortiGate units’ system memory default settings 36
Modifying multiple FortiGate units’ hard disk default log settings 37
Testing the modified log settings 37
Configuring the backup solution 38
Configuring logging to multiple FortiAnalyzer units 38
Configuring logging to the FortiCloud server 39
Modifying the default FortiOS report 40
Creating datasets 40
Creating charts for the datasets 41
Uploading the corporate images 41
Adding a new report cover and page 41
Advanced logging 43
Configuring logging to multiple Syslog servers 43
Using Automatic Discovery to connect to a FortiAnalyzer unit 44
Activating a FortiCloud account for logging purposes 44
Viewing log storage space 45
Customizing and filtering log messages 45
Viewing logs from the CLI 46
Configuring NAC quarantine logging 47
Logging local-in policies 47
Tracking specific search phrases in reports 49
Reverting modified report settings to default settings 50
Troubleshooting and logging 51
Using log messages to help in troubleshooting issues 51
Using IPS packet logging in diagnostics 51
Using HA log messages to determine system status 51
Connection issues between FortiGate unit and logging devices 52
Unable to connect to a supported log device 52
FortiGate unit has stopped logging 52
Log database issues 52
SQL statement syntax errors 52
Connection problems 53
SQL database errors 53
Logging daemon (Miglogd) 54
Change Log
Change Log
Introduction
Welcome and thank you for selecting Fortinet products for your network protection. This document provides
detailed information that explains how to take advantage of your FortiGate’s ability to log and report activity,
whether you need to monitor network stability, log traffic offsite for security reasons, provide bandwidth usage
reports, or one of many other possible functions.
Logging is an integral component of the FortiGate system. Logging allows you to view the activity and status of
the traffic passing through your network, and monitor for anomalies.
If you notice problems with this document, or have suggestions for improvements, send an email about them to
Fortinet Technical Document at [email protected].
Logging and reporting overview provides general information about logging. We recommend that you begin with
this chapter as it contains information for both beginners and advanced users as well. It contains an explanation
of log messages, files, and devices, and an overview of the Reporting functions.
Logging and reporting for small networks provides an overview of setting up a small network for logging, with a
look at a possible setup with a backup solution and a customized report.
Logging and reporting for large networks provides an overview of setting up a larger, enterprise-level network,
with configuration of multiple FortiGate units, multiple FortiAnalyzer units as a backup solution, and a sample
procedure for creating a more intensive and broad report to suit the larger network.
Advanced logging provides a series of separate tutorials for possible tasks and procedures an advanced user may
want to undertake with their FortiGate-powered network. It contains explanations of advanced backup, logging,
and report solutions.
Troubleshooting and logging provides a short overview of how log messages can be used to identify and solve
problems within the network, how to identify and solve logging database issues, and how to solve connection
issues between FortiGate and FortiAnalyzer units.
Logging and reporting in FortiOS can help you in determining what is happening on your network, as well as
informing you of certain network activity, such as detection ofa virus or IPsec VPN tunnel errors. Logging and
reporting go hand in hand, and can become a valuable tool for information as well as helping to show others the
activity that is happening on the network.
This section explains logging and reporting features that are available in FortiOS, and how they can be used to
help you manage or troubleshoot issues. This includes how the FortiGate unit records logs, what a log message
is, and what the log database is.
What is logging?
Logging records the traffic passing through the FortiGate unit to your network and what action the FortiGate unit
took during its scanning process of the traffic. This recorded information is called a log message.
After a log message is recorded, it is stored within a log file which is then stored on a log device. A log device is a
central storage location for log messages. The FortiGate unit supports several log devices, such as FortiAnalyzer
units, the FortiCloud service, and Syslog servers. A FortiGate unit’s system memory and local disk can also be
configured to store logs, and because of this, are also considered log devices.
You must subscribe to FortiCloud before you will be able to configure the FortiGate
unit to send logs to a FortiCloud server.
When the recorded activity needs to be read in a more human way, the FortiGate unit can generate a Report. A
report gathers all the log information that is needed for the report, and presents it in a graphical format, with
customizable design and automatically generated charts. Reports can be used to present a graphical
representation of what is going on in the network. Reports can also be generated on a FortiAnalyzer unit; if you
want to generate reports on a FortiAnalyzer, see the FortiAnalyzer Setup and Administration Guide to help you
create and generate those reports.
2. A match is found; the DLP sensor, dlp_sensor, had a rule within it called All-HTTP with the action Exempt applied
to the rule. The sensor also has Enable Logging selected, which indicates to the FortiGate unit that the activity
should be recorded and placed in the DLP log file.
3. The FortiGate unit exempts the match, and places the recorded activity (the log message) within the DLP log file.
4. According to the log settings that were configured, logs are stored on the FortiGate unit’s local hard drive. The
FortiGate unit places the DLP log file on the local hard drive.
Logs record FortiGate activity, providing detailed information about what is happening on your network. This
recorded activity is found in log files, which are stored on a log device. However, logging FortiGate activity
requires configuring certain settings so that the FortiGate unit can record the activity. These settings are often
referred to as log settings, and are found in most security profiles, but also in Log & Report > Log Config >
Log Settings.
Log settings provide the information that the FortiGate unit needs so that it knows what activities to record. This
topic explains what activity each log file records, as well as additional information about the log file, which will
help you determine what FortiGate activity the FortiGate unit should record.
Traffic
Traffic logs record the traffic that is flowing through your FortiGate unit. Since traffic needs firewall policies to
properly flow through the unit, this type of logging is also referred to as firewall policy logging. Firewall policies
control all traffic that attempts to pass through the FortiGate unit, between FortiGate interfaces, zones and VLAN
sub-interfaces.
All security profile-related logs are now tracked within the Traffic logs, as of FortiOS 5.0, so all forward traffic can
be searched in one place, such as if you are looking to see all activity from a particular address, security feature or
traffic. Security profile logs are still tracked separately in the Security Log section, which only appears when logs
exist.
If you have enabled and configured WAN Optimization, you can enable logging of this activity in the CLI using the
config wanopt setting command. These logs contain information about WAN Optimization activity and
are found in the traffic log file. When configuring logging of this activity, you must also enable logging within the
security policy itself, so that the activity is properly recorded.
Sniffer
The Sniffer log records all traffic that passes through a particular interface that has been configured to act as a
One-Armed Sniffer, so it can be examined separately from the rest of the Traffic logs.
Other Traffic
The traffic log also records interface traffic logging, which is referred to as Other Traffic. Other Traffic is enabled
only in the CLI. When enabled, the FortiGate unit records traffic activity on interfaces as well as firewall policies.
Logging Other Traffic puts a significant system load on the FortiGate unit and should be used only when
necessary.
l firewall policy has logging enabled on it (Log Allowed Traffic) and other-traffic
l packet comes into an interface
l interface log packet is sent to the traffic log that is enabled on that particular interface
l possible log packet is sent regarding a match in the firewall policy, such as URL filter
l interface log packet is sent to the traffic log if enabled on that particular interface
l packet passes and is sent out an interface
l interface log packet is sent to traffic (if enabled) on that particular interface
Event
The event log records administration management as well as FortiGate system activity, such as when a
configuration has changed, admin login, or high availability (HA) events occur. Event logs are an important log file
to record because they record FortiGate system activity, which provides valuable information about how your
FortiGate unit is performing.
Traffic Shaping
Traffic shaping, per-IP traffic shaping and reverse direction traffic shaping settings can be applied to a firewall
policy, appearing within the traffic log messages.
By enabling this feature, you can see what traffic shaping, per-IP traffic shaping and reverse direction traffic
shaping settings are being used.
l email (SMTP, POP3 or IMAP; if SSL content SMTPS, POP3S, and IMAPS)
l HTTP
l HTTPS
l FTP
l NNTP
l IM
A DLP sensor must have log settings enabled for each DLP rule and compound rule, as well as applied to a
firewall policy so that the FortiGate unit records this type of activity. A DLP sensor can also contain archiving
options, which these logs are then archived to the log device.
NAC Quarantine
Within the DLP sensor, there is an option for enabling NAC Quarantine. The NAC Quarantine option allows the
FortiGate unit to record details of DLP operation that involve the ban and quarantine actions, and sends these to
the event log file. The NAC Quarantine option must also be enabled within the Event Log settings. When
enabling NAC quarantine within a DLP Sensor, you must enable this in the CLI because it is a CLI-only
command.
When enabled, a new log message is recorded every time a MAC address entry is added to the ARP table, and
also when a MAC address is removed as well. A MAC address log message is also recorded when MAC
addresses are connected to the local switch, or from a FortiAP or FortiSwitch unit.
Application control
Application control logs provide detailed information about the traffic that internet applications such as Skype are
generating. The application control feature controls the flow of traffic from a specific application, and the
FortiGate unit examines this traffic for signatures that the application generates.
The log messages that are recorded provide information such as the type of application being used (such as P2P
software), and what type of action the FortiGate unit took. These log messages can also help you to determine
the top ten applications that are being used on your network. This feature is called application control monitoring
and you can view the information from a widget on the Executive Summary page.
The application control list that is used must have logging enabled within the list, as well as logging enabled
within each application entry. Each application entry can also have packet logging enabled. Packet logging for
application control records the packet when an application type is identified, similar to IPS packet logging.
Logging of application control activity can only be recorded when an application control list is applied to a firewall
policy, regardless of whether or not logging is enabled within the application control list.
Antivirus
Antivirus logs are recorded when, during the antivirus scanning process, the FortiGate unit finds a match within
the antivirus profile, which includes the presence of a virus or grayware signature. Antivirus logs provide a way to
understand what viruses are trying to get in, as well as additional information about the virus itself, without having
to go to the FortiGuard Center and do a search for the detected virus. The link is provided within the log message
itself.
Web Filter
Web filter logs record HTTP traffic activity. These log messages provide valuable and detailed information about
this particular traffic activity on your network. Web filtering activity is important to log because it can inform you
about:
You must configure logging settings within the web filter profile and apply the filter to a firewall policy so that the
FortiGate unit can record the activity.
IPS (attack)
IPS logs, also referred to as attack logs, record attacks that occurred against your network. Attack logs contain
detailed information about whether the FortiGate unit protected the network using anomaly-based defense
settings or signature-based defense settings, as well as what the attack was.
The IPS or attack log file is especially useful because the log messages that are recorded contain a link to the
FortiGuard Center, where you can find more information about the attack. This is similar to antivirus logs, where
a link to the FortiGuard Center is provided as well that informs you of the virus that was detected by the FortiGate
unit.
An IPS sensor with log settings enabled must be applied to a firewall policy so that the FortiGate unit can record
the activity.
Packet logs
When you enable packet logging within an IPS signature override or filter, the FortiGate unit examines network
packets, and if a match is found, saves them to the attack log. Packet logging is designed to be used as a
diagnostic tool that can focus on a narrow scope of diagnostics, rather than a log that informs you of what is
occurring on your network.
You should use caution when enabling packet logging, especially within IPS filters. Filter configuration that
contains thousands of signatures could potentially cause a flood of saved packets, which would take up a lot of
storage space on the log device. It would also take a great deal of time to sort through all the log messages, as
well as consume considerable system resources to process.
You can archive packets, but you must enable this option on the Log Settings page. If your log configuration
includes multiple FortiAnalyzer units, packet logs are only sent to the primary (first) FortiAnalyzer unit. Sending
packet logs to the other FortiAnalyzer units is not supported.
Email filter
Email filter logs, also referred to as spam filter logs, records information regarding the content within email
messages. For example, within an email filter profile, a match is found that finds the email message to be
considered spam.
Email filter logs are recorded when the FortiGate unit finds a match within the email filter profile and logging
settings are enabled within the profile.
Archives (DLP)
Recording DLP logs for network use is called DLP archiving. The DLP engine examines email, FTP, IM, NNTP,
and web traffic. Archived logs are usually saved for historical use and can be accessed at any time. IPS packet
logs can also be archived, within the Log Settings page.
You can start with the two default DLP sensors that have been configured specifically for archiving log data,
Content_Archive and Content_Summary. They are available in Security Profiles > Data Leak Prevention.
Content_Archive provides full content archiving, while Content_Summary provides summary archiving. For more
information about how to configure DLP sensors, see the Security Features chapter of the FortiOS Handbook.
You must enable the archiving to record log archives. Logs are not archived unless enabled, regardless of
whether or not the DLP sensor for archiving is applied to the firewall policy.
Network scan
Network scan logs are recorded when a scheduled scan of the network occurs. These log messages provide
detailed information about the network’s vulnerabilities regarding software, as well as the discovery of any further
vulnerabilities.
A scheduled scan must be configured and logging enabled within the Event Log settings, for the FortiGate unit to
record these log messages.
Log messages
Log messages are recorded by the FortiGate unit, giving you detailed information about the network activity.
Each log message has a unique number that helps identify it, as well as containing fields; these fields, often
called log fields, organize the information so that it can be easily extracted for reports.
These log fields are organized in such a way that they form two groups: the first group, made up of the log fields
that come first, is called the log header. The log header contains general information, such as the unique log
identification and date and time that indicates when the activity was recorded. The log body is the second group,
and contains all the other information about the activity. There are no two log message bodies that are alike,
however, there may be fields common to most log bodies, such as the srcintf or identidix log fields.
The log header also contains information about the log priority level which is indicated in the level field. The
priority level indicates the immediacy and the possible repercussions of the logged action. For example, if the
field contains ‘alert’, you need to take immediate action with regards to what occurred. There are six log priority
levels.
The log severity level is the level at and above which the FortiGate unit records logs. The log severity level is
defined by you when configuring the logging location. The FortiGate unit will log all messages at and above the
priority level you select. For example, if you select Error, the unit will log only Error, Critical, Alert, and Emergency
level messages.
Levels Description
The Debug priority level, not shown above, is rarely used. It is the lowest log priority level and usually contains
some firmware status information that is useful when the FortiGate unit is not functioning properly.
Log header
date=(2010-08-03) The year, month and day of when the event occurred in yyyy-mm-dd
format.
The hour, minute and second of when the event occurred in the format
time=(12:55:06)
hh:mm:ss.
log_id=(2457752353) A five or ten-digit unique identification number. The number represents that
log message and is unique to that log message. This ten-digit number
helps to identify the log message.
level=(notice) The priority level of the event. See the table above.
vd=(root) The name of the virtual domain where the action/event occurred in. If no
virtual domains exist, this field always contains root.
Log body
policyid=(1) The ID number of the firewall policy that applies to the session or packet.
Any policy that is automatically added by the FortiGate will have an index
number of zero.
sessionid=(311) The serial number of the firewall session of which the event happened.
Log body
The IP network service that applies to the session or packet. The services
service=(https)
displayed correspond to the services configured in the firewall policy.
url=(/image/trees_pine_ The URL address of the web page that the user was viewing.
forest/)
rulename=(All-HTTP) The name of the DLP rule within the DLP sensor.
The action that was specified within the rule. In some rules within sensors,
action=(log-only) you can specify content archiving. If no action type is specified, this field
display log-only.
Logs from other devices, such as the FortiAnalyzer unit and Syslog server, contain a slightly different log header.
For example, when viewing FortiGate log messages on the FortiAnalyzer unit, the log header contains the
following log fields when viewed in the Raw format:
itime=1302788921 date=20110401 time=09:04:23 devname=FG50BH3G09601792 device_
id=FG50BH3G09601792 log_id=0100022901 type=event subtype=system level=notice vd=root
The log body contains the rest of the information of the log message, and this information is unique to the log
message itself.
For detailed information on all log messages, see the FortiGate Log Message Reference.
Debug log
date=(2010-01-25) The year, month and day of when the event occurred in the format yyyy-
mm-dd.
The hour, minute and second of when the event occurred in the format
time=(17:25:54)
hh:mm:ss.
logid=(93000000000) A ten-digit unique identification number. The number represents that log
message and is unique to that log message. This ten-digit number helps to
identify the log message.
The section of system where the event occurred. There are eleven log types
type=(webfilter)
in FortiOS 5.2.
subtype=(urlfilter) The subtype of the log message. This represents a policy applied to the
FortiGate feature in the firewall policy.
level=(debug) The priority level of the event. There are six priority levels to specify.
msg=(“found in cache”) Explains the activity or event that the FortiGate unit recorded.
You do not have to view log messages from only the web-based manager. You can view log messages from the
CLI as well, using the execute log display command. This command allows you to see specific log
messages that you already configured within the execute log filter command. The execute log
filter command configures what log messages you will see, how many log messages you can view at one
time (a maximum of 1000 lines of log messages), and the type of log messages you can view. For more
information about viewing log messages in the CLI, see "Viewing logs from the CLI".
There are two log viewing options in FortiOS: Format and Raw. The Raw format displays logs as they appear
within the log file. You can view log messages in the Raw format using the CLI or a text editor, such as Notepad.
Format is in a more human-readable format, and you can easily filter information when viewing log messages this
way. The Format view is what you see when viewing logs in the web-based manager.
When you download the log messages from within the log message page (for example, Log & Report > Traffic
Log > Forward Traffic), you are downloading log messages in the Raw format.
the Archive tab, which allows you to see the archived version of the log message. The Archive tab only displays
the archived log’s details if archiving is enabled and logs are being archived by the FortiGate unit, but archived
logs will also be recorded when using a FortiAnalyzer unit or the FortiCloud service.
When you are viewing traffic log messages, some of the categories (such as ‘Application Name’) have entries that
can be selected to open a dialog box containing FortiGuard information about the entry. From within the dialog
box, you can select the Reference link and go directly to the corresponding FortiGuard page, which contains
additional information.
Viewing logs in Raw format allows you to view all log fields at once, as well as have a log file available regardless
of whether you are archiving logs or not. You download the log file by selecting Download Raw Log. The log file
is named in the following format: <log_type><log_location><log_date/time>.<log_number>.log. For example,
SystemEventLog-disk-2012-09-19T12_13_46.933949.log, which is an event log. The time period is the day and
month of when the log was downloaded, not the time period of the log messages within the file itself.
Quarantine
Within the Log & Report menu, you can view detailed information about each quarantined file. The information
can either be sorted or filtered, depending on what you want to view.
You must enable quarantine settings within an antivirus profile and the destination must be configured in the CLI
using the config antivirus quarantine command. The destination can be either a FortiAnalyzer unit or
local disk.
Sort the files by file name, date, service, status, duplicate count (DC), or time to live (TTL). Filter the list to view
only quarantined files with a specific status or from a specific service.
On Log & Report > Security Log > Quarantine, the file quarantine list displays the following information
about each quarantined file.
Quarantine page
Lists all files that are considered quarantined by the unit. On this page you can filter information so that only
specific files are displayed on the page.
Sort the list. Choose from: Status, Service, File Name, Date, TTL, or
Sort by
Duplicate Count. Select Apply to complete the sort.
Filter Filter the list. Choose either Status (infected, blocked, or heuristics) or
Service (IMAP, POP3, SMTP, FTP, HTTP, MM1, MM3, MM4, MM7, IM,
or NNTP). Select Apply to complete the filtering. Heuristics mode is
configurable through the CLI only.
If your unit supports SSL content scanning and inspection Service can also
be IMAPS, POP3S, SMTPS, or HTTPS. For more information, see the
Security Features chapter of the FortiOS Handbook.
Select to apply the sorting and filtering selections to the list of quarantined
Apply
files.
Remove All Entries Removes all quarantined files from the local hard disk.
This icon only appears when the files are quarantined to the hard disk.
The file name of the quarantined file. When a file is quarantined, all spaces
are removed from the file name, and a 32-bit checksum is performed on the
file. The checksum appears in the replacement message but not in the
quarantined file. The file is stored on the FortiGate hard disk with the
following naming convention:
File Name
<32bit_CRC>.<processed_filename>
Date The date and time the file was quarantined, in the format dd/mm/yyyy
hh:mm. This value indicates the time that the first file was quarantined if
duplicates are quarantined.
The service from which the file was quarantined (HTTP, FTP, IMAP, POP3,
Service SMTP, MM1, MM3, MM4, MM7, IM, NNTP, IMAPS, POP3S, SMTPS, or
HTTPS).
Status The reason the file was quarantined: infected, heuristics, or blocked.
Specific information related to the status, for example, “File is infected with
Status Description
“W32/Klez.h”” or “File was stopped by file block pattern.”
DC Duplicate count. A count of how many duplicates of the same file were
quarantined. A rapidly increasing number can indicate a virus outbreak.
Time to live in the format hh:mm. When the TTL elapses, the FortiGate
unit labels the file as EXP under the TTL heading. In the case of duplicate
files, each duplicate found refreshes the TTL.
TTL
The TTL information is not available if the files are quarantined on a
FortiAnalyzer unit.
Upload status Y indicates the file has been uploaded to Fortinet for analysis, N indicates
the file has not been uploaded.
This option is available only if the FortiGate unit has a local hard disk.
This option is available only if the FortiGate unit has a local hard disk.
1. Select the submenu in Log & Report in which you want to customize the display of log messages, such as Log
& Report > Traffic Log > Forward Traffic.
2. Right click on the title bar at the top of any column, and uncheck a column title such as Date/Time to remove it
from the interface. Check other columns to add them to the interface. When you are finished, click outside the
menu and the page will refresh with the new column settings in place.
3. Choose a column you’d like to filter, and select the funnel icon next to the title of the column. For example, select
the funnel in the Src (Source) column. In the text field, enter the source IP address 1.1.1.1 and then select the
check box beside NOT.
This filters out the all log messages that have the 1.1.1.1 source IP address in the source IP log field, such as the
ones generated when running log tests in the CLI.
4. Select OK to save the customize settings, and then view the log messages on the page.
Log messages that originate from the 1.1.1.1 source address will no longer appear in the list.
1. In Log & Report, select the submenu that you want to download log messages from.
For example, Log & Report > Traffic Log> Forward Traffic.
2. Select the Download Raw Log option and save the log file to your computer.
The log file will be downloaded like any other file. Log file names contain their log type and date in the name, so it
is recommended to create a folder in which to archive your log messages, as they can be sorted easily.
3. Open a text editor such as Notepad, open the log file, and then scroll to view all the log messages.
You can easily search or scroll through the logs to see the information that is available.
As the log messages are being recorded, log messages are also being put into different log files. The log file
contains the log messages that belong to that log type, for example, traffic log messages are put in the traffic log
file.
When downloading the log file from within Log & Report, the file name indicates the log type and the device on
which it is stored, as well as the date, time, and a unique id for that log.
Below, each of the different log files are explained. Traffic and Event logs come in multiple types, but all contain
the base type such as ‘Event’ in the filename.
Traffic The traffic logs records all traffic to and through the FortiGate interface.
Different categories monitor different kinds of traffic, whether it be forward,
local, or sniffer.
The event logs record management and activity events within the device in
particular areas: System, Router, VPN, User, Endpoint, HA, WAN
Event Opt./Cache, and WiFi. For example, when an administrator logs in or logs
out of the web-based manager, it is logged both in System and in User
events.
Antivirus The antivirus log records virus incidents in Web, FTP, and email traffic.
The web filter log records HTTP FortiGate log rating errors including web
Web Filter
content blocking actions that the FortiGate unit performs.
Application Control The application log records application usage, monitoring or blocking as
configured in the security profiles.
The intrusion log records attacks that are detected and prevented by the
Intrusion
FortiGate unit.
Email Filter The email filter log records blocking of email address patterns and content
in SMTP, IMAP, and POP3 traffic.
Data Leak Prevention The Data Leak Prevention log records log data that is considered sensitive
and that should not be made public. This log also records data that a
company does not want entering their network.
The VoIP log records VoIP traffic and messages. It only appears if VoIP is
VoIP
enabled on the Administrator Settings page.
The log database, also known as the SQL log database, is used to store logs on FortiGate units that have a built-
in hard disk. The log database uses Structured Query Lanaguage (SQL), specifically it uses SQLite which is an
If you have disabled SQL logging and have factory defaults on the FortiGate unit, and
then you upgrade the firmware, the upgrade will automatically disable SQL logging.
When this occurs, you must re-enable SQL logging manually.
The FortiGate unit creates a database table for each log type, when log data is recorded. If the FortiGate unit is
not recording log data, it does not create log tables for that device.
The command syntax, get report database schema, allows you to view all the tables, column names
and types that are available to use when creating SQL statements for datasets.
If you want to view the size of the database, as well as the log database table entries, use the get log sql
status command. This command displays the amount of free space that is available as well as the first and last
log database entry time and date.
The output of the get log sql status command contains information similar to the following:
Database size: 294912
Free size in database: 0
Database Page Size: 8192
Entry number:
Event: 49
Traffic: 370
Attack: 2
AntiVirus: 4
WebFilter: 254
AntiSpam: 2
Netscan: 18
Total: 699
First entry time: 2012-09-10 11:41:02
Last entry time: 2012-09-13 02:59:59
The log database is not only used to store logs, but also used to extract the information for reports. Reports are
built from datasets, which are SQL statements that tell the FortiGate unit how to extract the information from the
database. You can create your own datasets; however, SQL knowledge is required. Default datasets are
available for reports.
You can send alert email messages to up to three email addresses. Alert messages are also logged and can be
viewed from the Event Log menu, in the System Event log file.
You can use the alert email feature to monitor logs for log messages, and to send email notification about a
specific activity or event logged. For example, if you require notification about administrators logging in and out,
you can configure an alert email that is sent whenever an administrator logs in and out. You can also base alert
email messages on the severity levels of the logs. The FortiGate unit does not currently support SSL/TLS
connections for SMTP servers, so you must choose an SMTP server that does not need SSL/TLS when
configuring the SMTP server settings.
Before configuring alert email, you must configure at least one DNS server if you are configuring with an Fully
Qualified Domain Server (FQDN). The FortiGate unit uses the SMTP server name to connect to the mail server,
and must look up this name on your DNS server. You can also specify an IP address.
The default minimum log severity level is Alert. If the FortiGate unit collects more than
one log message before an interval is reached, the FortiGate unit combines the
messages and sends out one alert email.
1. In System > Config > Advanced, under Email Service, configure the SMTP server.
The SMTP server settings allow the FortiGate unit to know exactly where the email will be sent from, as well as
who to send it to. The SMTP server must be a server that does not support SSL/TLS connections; if the SMTP
server does, the alert email configuration will not work. The FortiGate unit does not currently support SSL/TLS
connections for SMTP servers.
2. In Log & Report > Log Config > Alert E-mail, enter the source email in the Email From field, and up to three
target addresses in the Email To fields.
3. Below the email entry, you can configure the email responses. By default, the Send alert email for the
following is enabled. Select the check boxes beside IPsec tunnel errors, Configuration changes and
Firewall authentication failure.
These alerts will be sent to the email address specified when the trigger occurs. For example, a user attempts to
connect to the branch office of the company but cannot; the FortiGate unit detects an IPsec tunnel error, records
the event, and then sends the notice to the email address specified in the SMTP server settings.
4. Select FortiGuard license expiry time: and then enter 10 so that the email notification will be sent ten days
prior to the FortiGuard license expiration.
You can choose up to 100 days prior to when the license will expire. The default time is 15 days. By using this alert
email notification, you can easily know when to send an re-registration request long before the expiry.
Log devices
The FortiGate unit supports a variety of log devices, including the FortiCloud service and FortiAnalyzer units. This
provides greater flexibility not only when choosing a log device, but also when your logging requirements need
updating.
When you have developed a plan that meets your logging needs and requirements, you need to select the log
device that is appropriate for that plan. A log device must be able to store all the logs you need, and if you require
archiving those logs, you must consider what log devices support this option.
During this process of deciding what log device meets your needs and requirements, you must also figure out how
to provide a backup solution in the event the log device that the FortiGate unit is sending logs to has become
unavailable. A backup solution should be an important part of your log setup because it helps you to maintain all
logs and prevents lost logs, or logs that are not sent to the log device. For example, a daily backup of log files to
the FortiAnalyzer unit occurs at 5 pm.
Log devices provide a central location for storing logs recorded by the FortiGate unit. The following are log
devices that the FortiGate unit supports:
If you are formatting a disk that contains more than just logs, all information on the
disk will be lost
When the system memory is full, the FortiGate unit overwrites the oldest messages, and all log messages stored
in memory are cleared when the FortiGate unit restarts. By default, logging to memory is enabled. This means
that most of the time you will only need to modify the default settings to your network logging requirements. Real-
time logging occurs whenever memory logging is enabled, and is enabled by default. Real-time logging means
that the activity is being recorded as it happens.
All FortiGate units 100D and larger are capable of disk logging, but it is disabled by default, as it is not
recommended. For flash memory-based units, constant rewrites to flash drives can reduce the lifetime and
efficiency of the memory. For hard-disk units, it can affect performance under heavy strain. Therefore, disk
logging must be manually enabled in the CLI under config log disk setting to appear in the interface at
all.
Models without a hard disk are not recommended for disk logging. For all units, disk
logging must be enabled in the CLI. For some low-end and older models, disk logging
is unavailable. Check a product’s Feature Matrix for more information. In either case,
Fortinet recommends using either a FortiAnalyzer unit or the FortiCloud service.
When logging to the FortiGate unit’s hard disk or memory, you can also configure logging to a FortiAnalyzer unit
as well as upload logs to it at a scheduled time.
If you are registered with the FortiCloud service, your unit will log both locally and to the service by default. In
order to configure the rate and time of uploads to the service, you must register a contract account for the
FortiCloud service, which will also grant you additional space.
FortiAnalyzer unit
The FortiAnalyzer unit can log all FortiGate features, which includes log archives. You can also configure the
FortiGate unit to upload logs to the FortiAnalyzer unit at a scheduled time.
Encryption of the logs is supported by default and logs are sent using IPsec or SSL VPN. When the FortiAnalyzer
and FortiGate units have SSL encryption, both must choose a setting for the enc-algorithm command (CLI) for
encryption to take place. By default, this is enabled and the default setting is a SSL communication with high and
medium encryption algorithms. The setting that you choose must be the same for both.
FortiGate units can support logging to multiple FortiAnalyzer units. This logging solution is a backup redundancy
solution, since logs are sent to all three units and whenever one of the FortiAnalyzer units fails, the others still
carry on storing logs.
If you are using evaluation software FortiGate and FortiAnalyzer-VM images, you will only be able to use low-
level encryption.
The FortiGate unit can also connect to a FortiAnalyzer unit using Automatic Discovery. Automatic Discovery is a
method of establishing a connection to a FortiAnalyzer unit by using the FortiGate unit to find a FortiAnalyzer unit
on the network. The Fortinet Discovery Protocol (FDP) is used to located the FortiAnalyzer unit. Both the
FortiGate and FortiAnalyzer units must be on the same subnet to use FDP, and they must also be able to connect
using UDP.
When you enable automatic discovery in the CLI, the FortiGate unit uses HELLO packets to locate any
FortiAnalyzer units that are available on the network within the same subnet. When the FortiGate unit discovers a
FortiAnalyzer unit, the FortiGate unit automatically enables logging to the FortiAnalyzer unit and begins sending
log data.
Syslog server
The Syslog server is a remote computer running syslog software. Syslog is a standard for forwarding log
messages in an IP network, and can be used when considering a log backup solution for your network logging
requirements.
FortiGate units support the reliable syslog feature, which is based on RFC 3195. Reliable syslog logging uses
TCP, which ensures that connections are set up, including that packets are transmitted.
There are several profiles available for reliable syslog, but only the RAW profile is currently supported on the
FortiGate units. The RAW profile is designed to provide a high-performance, low-impact footprint using
essentially the same format as the existing UDP-based syslog service. The reliable syslog feature is available on
FortiGate units running FortiOS 4.0 MR1 and higher.
When enabling the reliable syslog (available only in the CLI), TCP is used. The feature is disabled by default, and
when enabled, the FortiGate unit automatically changes the port number to TCP 601. This is based on RFC
3195. The default port for syslog is port 514.
would be efficient. If the network topology is a large enterprise, you will need FortiAnalyzer units, a FortiCloud
contract, Syslog servers, or any combination.
2. Is archiving required?
If the network activity that is being logged needs to be archived, then, depending on your network topology, you
would choose a FortiAnalyzer unit. FortiAnalyzer units store archives in the same way that FortiGate units do, but
are able to store large amounts of logs and archives.
3. When troubleshooting, you may want to log a larger amount of traffic; how much storage space will
you need?
Logs can be configured to roll, which is similar to zipping a file; this will lower the space requirements needed to
contain them. You can also download logs from the FortiGate unit and save them on a server or on a computer to
view and access later, to prevent them from piling up and being overwritten. If you’re regularly logging large
amounts of traffic, you should consider a FortiAnalyzer or FortiCloud account .
4. Should I invest in a log device that can grow as my network grows?
All networks grow, so investing in a device that can grow with your network and that can be expanded is a good
investment. For example, if you currently have a SOHO/SMB topology, but see growth already starting, a
FortiAnalyzer unit would be best. A FortiAnalyzer unit provides ample storage space, and you can add two more
FortiAnalyzer units to access additional storage and create a redundancy log backup solution.
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1. Log in to the CLI and modify what features will be logged to the FortiAnalyzer unit as well as the settings to the
default log device, the FortiGate unit’s hard drive.
By default, the FortiGate unit logs to either the system memory or hard drive, whichever is available on the
FortiGate unit. Low-end FortiGate units may have logging disabled by default.
2. In the CLI, use the config log fortianalyzer setting command to configure logging to the
FortiAnalyzer unit.
You can only configure log settings for the FortiAnalyzer unit in the CLI. Configuring to upload logs to a
FortiAnalyzer unit can be configured in both the CLI and web-based manager.
3. In the CLI, configure the settings for the Syslog server; also enable reliable syslog as well.
Reliable syslog verifies that logs are sent to the syslog server. When you enable this setting, the default port
becomes port 601.
Reports
Reports provide a way to analyze log data without manually going through a large amount of logs to get to the
information you need. This section explains how to configure a FortiOS report and how to modify the existing
default FortiOS Security Features report. The FortiOS default Security Features report is a report that gathers
security feature activity information and compiles it into a report. This section also explains how to view these
reports.
Reports provide a clear, concise overview of what is happening on your network based on log data, without
manually going through large amounts of logs. Reports can be configured on a FortiGate unit or a FortiAnalyzer
unit. However, in this document only FortiOS reports are explained. FortiOS reports are the reports that are
generated on the FortiGate unit. FortiAnalyzer reports are configured on a FortiAnalyzer unit and for information
about those reports, see the FortiAnalyzer Administration Guide.
Disk or memory logging must be enabled for reporting to be enabled. Local Reporting can then be enabled in Log
& Report > Log Settings, in order to view and edit reports.
FortiOS reports consist of multiple parts, regardless of whether its the default FortiOS report or a report that you
have configured from scratch, and these parts are configured separately and added to the layout. These parts of
a FortiOS report are:
Themes provide a one-step style application for report layouts. Themes contain various styles, including styles for
the table of contents, headings, headers and footers, as well as the margins of the report’s pages. Themes are
applied to layouts. The styles that are applied to themes are configured separately in the CLI.
You can easily upload your company or organization’s logo to use within a report. By uploading your company or
organization’s logo and applying it to a report, you provide a personalized report that is recognizable as your
company or organization’s report. The image must be in JPEG, JPG or PNG format.
Layouts provide a way to incorporate the charts, images, and themes that are configured to create a formatted
report. A layout is used as a template by the FortiGate unit to compile and then generate the report. The layout is
also coded in the CLI.
reset the reports to their default settings, you should back up the current configuration file before doing so, in the
event you want to revert back to the reports you previously created and/or modified.
The default FortiOS report can be modified so that it meets your requirements for a report. This default report is
located in Log & Report > Report > Local. Select Customize to edit it.
The FortiOS default report contains several pages, which appear as stacked boxes in the editing interface. Each
page contains one or multiple charts (depending on the configuration of that page in the interface), and each
page in the finished report will contain information about the FortiGate unit at the top of each section.
You can select Run Now on the Local page to immediately create a report with the current layout and design.
More complex reports may take longer to generate. After generating a report, you can view it by selecting it from
the list below Run Now. Historical reports will be marked as ‘Scheduled’ if created automatically, or ‘On
Demand’ if created by selecting Run Now.
1. In Log & Report > Report > Config, modify the page by adding a new Chart, which will appear on its own page
in the final report.
2. Add an information Text field below the chart.
You should always save the changes you make by selecting Save; otherwise, the changes you just made will be
lost.
3. Modify the header to add the company’s image.
The company’s image will appear in all headers throughout the report. If you select Save now, it will appear on all
the report’s pages.
4. Add other charts to the list so they will appear within the report.
Charts marked as ‘FortiGate Security Feature Security Analysis Report’ are autogenerated and take up an entire
page or multiple pages on their own. All other charts take up half a page, so two consecutive charts will appear on
the same page in the report.
5. Modify the report settings so that the report is generated every Monday at 6 pm, and is emailed to specific
employees in the company.
Reports can be sent to others after the report has been generated, if Messaging Servers are configured.
6. Test the report’s modified settings, by selecting Run Now in the Config page; after it is generated, go to Log &
Report > Report > Local and view the report.
You can tell that it has been generated because the Bandwidth Usage page’s charts will be populated, and the
text added below each chart appears as well.
When the FortiGate unit records FortiGate activity, valuable information is collected that provides insight into
how to better protect network traffic against attacks, including misuse and abuse. There is a lot to consider before
enabling logging on a FortiGate unit, such as what FortiGate activities to enable and which log device is best
suited for your network’s logging needs. A plan can help you in deciding the FortiGate activities to log, a log
device, as well as a backup solution in the event the log device fails.
This plan should provide you with an outline, similar to the following:
l what FortiGate activities you want and/or need logged (for example, security features)
l the logging device best suited for your network structure
l if you want or require archiving of log files
l ensuring logs are not lost in the event a failure occurs.
After the plan is implemented, you need to manage the logs and be prepared to expand on your log setup when
the current logging requirements are outgrown. Good log management practices help you with these tasks.
Log management practices help you to improve and manage logging requirements. Logging is an ever-expanding
tool that can seem to be a daunting task to manage. The following management practices will help you when
issues arise, or your logging setup needs to be expanded.
1. Revisit your plan on a yearly basis to verify that your logging needs are being met by your current log setup. For
example, your company or organization may require archival logging, but not at the beginning of your network’s
lifespan. Archival logs are stored on a FortiGate unit’s local hard drive, a FortiAnalyzer unit, or a FortiCloud server,
in increasing order of size.
2. Configure an alert message that will notify you of activities that are important to be aware about. For example: if a
branch office does not have a FortiGate administrator, you will need to know at all times that the IPsec VPN tunnel
is still up and running. An alert email notification message can be configured to send only if IPsec tunnel errors
occur.
3. If your organization or company uses peer-to-peer programs such as Skype or other instant messaging software,
use the Applications FortiView dashboard, or the Executive Summary’s report widget (Top 10 Application
Bandwidth Usage Per Hour Summary) to help you monitor the usage of these types of instant messaging
software. These widgets can help you in determining how these applications are being used, including if there is
any misuse and abuse. Their information is taken from application log messages; however, application log
messages should be viewed as well since they contain the most detailed information.
4. Ensure that your backup solution is up-to-date. If you have recently expanded your log setup, you should also
review your backup solution. The backup solution provides a way to ensure that all logs are not lost in the event
that the log device fails or issues arise with the log device itself.
This section explains how to configure the FortiGate unit for logging and reporting in a small office or SOHO/SMB
network. To properly configure this type of network, you will be modifying the default log settings, as well as the
default FortiOS report.
The following procedures are examples and can be used to help you when configuring your own network’s log
topology. Since some of these settings must be modified or enabled or disabled in the CLI, it is recommended to
review the FortiGate CLI Reference for any additional information about the commands used herein, as well as
any that you would need to use in your own network’s log topology.
The default log device settings must be modified so that system performance is not compromised. The FortiGate
unit, by default, has all logging of FortiGate features enabled, except for traffic logging. The default logging
location will be either the FortiGate unit’s system memory or hard disk, depending on the model. Units with a
flash disk are not recommended for disk logging.
3. The following example command syntax modifies which FortiGate features that are enabled for logging:
config log memory filter
set forward-traffic enable
set local-traffic enable
set sniffer-traffic enable
set anomaly enable
set voip disable
set multicast-traffic enable
set dns enable
end
3. In the CLI, enter the following to disable certain event log messages that you do not want logged:
config log disk filter
set sniffer-traffic disable
set local-traffic enable
end
2. In the web-based interface, go to Log & Report > Event Log > User, and view the logs to see some of the
recently generated test log messages.
You will be able to tell the test log messages from real log messages because they do not have “real” information;
for example, the test log messages for the vulnerability scan contain the destination IP address of 1.1.1.1 or
2.2.2.2.
A backup solution provides a way to ensure logs are not lost. The following backup solution explains logging to a
FortiCloud server and uploading logs to a FortiAnalyzer unit. With this backup solution, there can be three
simultaneous storage locations for logs, the first being the FortiGate unit itself, the FortiAnalyzer unit and then
the FortiCloud server.
1. Go to System > Dashboard > Status and click Login next to FortiCloud in the License Information widget.
2. Enter your username and password, and click OK. (Or register, if you have not yet done so.)
3. Logs will automatically be uploaded to FortiCloud as long as your FortiGate is linked to your FortiCloud account.
4. To configure the upload time and interval, go to Log & Report > Log Config > Log Settings.
5. Under the Logging and Archiving header, you can select your desired upload time.
With FortiCloud you can easily store and access FortiGate logs that can give you valuable insight into the health
and security of your network.
7. To change the upload time, in the web-based manager, select Change beside the upload time period, and then
make the changes in the Upload Schedule window. Select OK.
The default FortiOS report is provided to help you quickly and easily configure and generate a report. The
following is an example of how to modify the default FortiOS report.
1. In the web-based manager, go to Log & Report > Report > Local.
2. Select Customize to open the Report Editor.
3. Change the default Fortinet image to the new image: select the Fortinet image and right-click so that Delete icon
appears, and then select Delete; drag the Image icon to the box where the Fortinet image was previous; choose
or upload a new image and then select OK.
4. Return to Log & Report > Report > Local.
5. Under Report Options, set the Generate report schedule to Daily and set a Time for the report to be compiled
every day.
6. Enable Email Generated Reports. You may have to configure an SMTP server to send the reports before this
option can be enabled. The SMTP configuration can be found in System > Config > Messaging Servers.
7. Select Apply to save the changes.
8. Select Run Now to generate a new On Demand report based on your changes.
9. Select the report from the Historical Reports list to view it.
Running On Demand reports can be a good way to compare report modifications as you configure.
This section explains how to configure the FortiGate unit for logging and reporting in a larger network, such as an
enterprise network. To set up this type of network, you are modifying the default log settings, and you are also
modifying the default report.
The following procedures are examples and can be used to help you when configuring your own network’s log
topology.
Since some of these settings must be modified or enabled or disabled in the CLI, it is recommended to review the
FortiGate CLI Reference for any additional information about the commands used herein, as well as any that you
would need to use in your own newtork’s log topology.
The default log device settings must be modified so that system performance is not compromised. The FortiGate
unit, by default, has all logging of FortiGate features enabled and well as logging to either the FortiGate unit’s
system memory or hard disk, depending on the model.
3. Enter the following command syntax to modify the FortiGate features that are enabled for logging:
config log memory filter
set forward-traffic enable
set local-traffic enable
set sniffer-traffic enable
set anomaly enable
set voip disable
set multicast-traffic enable
set dns enable
end
3. In the CLI, enter the following to disable certain event log messages that you do not want logged:
config log disk filter
set sniffer-traffic disable
set local-traffic enable
end
2. In the web-based interface, go to Log & Report > Event Log > User, and view the logs to see some of the
recently generated test log messages.
You will be able to tell the test log messages from real log messages because they do not have “real” information;
for example, the test log messages for the vulnerability scan contain the destination IP address of 1.1.1.1 or
2.2.2.2.
Even though you are logging to multiple FortiAnalyzer units, this is more of a redundancy solution rather than a
complete backup solution in this example.
The multiple FortiAnalyzer units act similar to a HA cluster, since if one FortiAnalyzer unit fails, the others
continue storing the logs they receive. In a backup solution, the logs are backed up to another secure location if
something happens to the log device.
A good alternate or redundant option is the FortiCloud service, which can provide secure online logging and
management for multiple devices.
1. In the CLI, enter the following command syntax to configure the first FortiAnalyzer unit:
config log fortianalyzer setting
set status enable
set server 172.20.120.22
set max-buffer-size 1000
set buffer-max-send 2000
set address-mode static
set conn-timeout 100
set monitor-keepalive-period 120
set monitor-failure-retry-period 2000
end
2. Disable the features that you do not want logged, using the following example command syntax. You can view the
CLI Reference to see what commands are available.
config log fortianalyzer filter
set traffic (enable | disable)
...
end
4. Disable the features that you do not want logged, using the following example command syntax.
config log fortianalyzer filter
set web (enable | disable)
...
end
6. Disable the features that you do not want logged, using the following example command syntax.
config log fortianalyzer filter
set web-filter (enable | disable)
...
end
7. Test the configuration by using the procedure, “Testing the modified log settings”.
8. On the other FortiGate units, configure steps 1 through 6, ensuring that logs are being sent to the FortiAnalyzer
units.
1. Go to System > Dashboard > Status and click Login next to FortiCloud in the License Information widget.
2. Enter your username and password, and click OK. (Or register, if you have not yet done so.)
3. Logs will automatically be uploaded to FortiCloud as long as your FortiGate is linked to your FortiCloud account.
4. To configure the upload time and interval, go to Log & Report > Log Config > Log Settings.
5. Under the Logging and Archiving header, you can select your desired upload time.
6. With FortiCloud you can easily store and access FortiGate logs that can give you valuable insight into the health
and security of your network.
The default FortiOS report is provided to help you quickly and easily configure and generate a report. Below is a
sample configuration with multiple examples of significant customizations that you can make to tailor reports for
larger networks.
Creating datasets
You need to create a new dataset for gathering information about HA, admin activity and configuration changes.
3. Create a dataset for the admin activity, that includes log ins and log outs from the three FortiGate administrators.
set query “select subtype_admin count(*) as totalnum from event_log
where timestamp >= F_TIMESTAMP (‘now’, ‘hour’, ‘-23’) and group by subtype_
admin order by totalnum desc”
next
4. Create a dataset for the configuration changes that the administrators did for the past 24 hours.
set query “select subtype_config count(*) as totalnum from event_log
where timestamp >= F_TIMESTAMP (‘now’, ‘hour’, ‘-23’) and group by subtype_
config order by totalnum desc”
next
end
You need to upload the corporate images so that they appear on the report’s pages, as well as on the cover page.
Uploading images is only available in the web-based manager.
Advanced logging
This section explains how to configure other log features within your existing log configuration. You may want to
include other log features after initially configuring the log topology because the network has either outgrown the
initial configuration, or you want to add additional features that will help your network’s logging requirements.
When configuring multiple Syslog servers (or one Syslog server), you can configure reliable delivery of log
messages from the Syslog server. Configuring of reliable delivery is available only in the CLI.
If VDOMs are enabled, you can configure multiple FortiAnalyzer units or Syslog servers for each VDOM.
Automatic Discovery can be used if the FortiAnalyzer unit is on the same network.
The FortiGate unit searches within the same subnet for a response from any available
FortiAnalyzer units.
When you subscribe to FortiCloud, you can configure to send logs to the FortiCloud server. The account
activation can be done within the web-based manager, from the License Information widget located in System
> Dashboard.
From this widget, you can easily create a new account, or log in to the existing account. From within the License
Information widget, after the account is activated, you can go directly to the FortiCloud web portal, or log out of
the service if you are already logged in.
The following assumes that you are already at System > Dashboard and that you have located the License
Information widget.
The diag sys logdisk usage command allows you to view detailed information about how much space is
currently being used for logs. This is useful when you see a high percentage, such as 92 percent for the disk’s
capacity. The FortiGate unit uses only 75 percent of the available disk capacity to avoid a high storage amount so
when there is a high percentage, it refers to the percentage of the 75 percent that is available. For example, 92
percent of the 75 percent is available.
The following is an example of what you may see when you use diag sys logdisk usage command on a
unit with no VDOMs configured:
diag sys logdisk usage
The following appears:
Total HD usage: 176MB/3011 MB
Total HD logging space: 22583MB
Total HD logging space for each vdom: 22583MB
HD logging space usage for vdom “root”: 30MB/22583MB
When viewing log messages, you may want to customize and filter the information that you are seeing in the Log
& Report menu (for example, Log & Report > Traffic Log > Forward Traffic). Filtering and customizing the display
provides a way to view specific log information without scrolling through pages of log messages to find the
information.
Customizing log messages is the process of removing or adding columns to the log display page, allowing you to
view certain desired information. The most columns represent the fields from within a log message, for example,
the user column represents the user field, as well as additional information. If you want to reset the customized
columns on the page back to their defaults, you need to select Reset All Columns within the column title right-
click menu.
Filtering information is similar to customizing, however, filtering allows you to enter specific information that
indicates what should appear on the page. For example, including only log messages that appeared on February
24, between the hours of 8:00 and 8:30 am.
The following is an example that displays all traffic log messages that originate from the source IP address
172.20.120.24, as well as displaying only the columns:
l OS Name
l OS Version
l Policy ID
l Src (Source IP)
The following assumes that you are already on the page of the log messages you want to customize and filter. In
this example, the log messages that we are customizing and filtering are in Log & Report > Traffic Log >
Forward Traffic.
1. On the Forward Traffic page, right click anywhere on a column title.
2. Right click on a column title, and mouse over Column Settings to open the list.
3. Select each checkmarked title to uncheck it and remove them all from the displayed columns.
4. Scroll down to the list of unchecked fields and select ‘OS Name’, ‘OS Version’, ‘Policy ID’, and ‘Src’ to add
checkmarks next to them.
5. Click outside the menu, and wait for the page to refresh with the new settings in place.
6. Select the funnel icon next to the word Src in the title bar of the Src column.
7. Enter the IP you want displayed (in this example, 172.20.120.24) in the text box.
8. Click Apply, and wait for the page to reload.
You can easily view log messages from within the CLI. In this example, we are viewing DLP log messages.
1. Log in to the CLI and then enter the following to configure the display of the DLP log messages.
execute log filter category 9
execute log filter start-line 1
execute log filter view-lines 20
The customized display of log messages in the CLI is similar to how you customize the display of log
messages in the web-based manager. For example, category 9 is the DLP log messages, and the
start-line is the first line in the log database table for DLP log messages, and there will be 20
lines (view-lines 20) that will display.
NAC quarantine log messages provide information about what was banned and quarantined by a Antivirus profile.
The following explains how to configure NAC quarantine logging and enable it on a policy. This procedure
assumes the Antivirus profile is already in place.
Local-in security policies are policies the control the flow of internal traffic, and can be used to broaden or restrict
an administrator’s access privileges. These local-in policies can also be configured to log traffic and activity that
the policies control.
You can enable logging of local-in policies in the CLI, with the following commands:
config system global
set gui-local-in-policy enable
end
The Local-In Policy page will then be available in Policy & Objects > Policy > Local In. You can configure
what local-in traffic to log in the CLI, or in Log & Report > Log Config > Log Settings, under Local Traffic
Logging.
When deciding what local-in policy traffic you want logged, consider the following:
Special Traffic
FortiGuard IN All push announcements of updates that are coming from the
update FortiGuard system. For example, IPS or AV updates.
annoucements
FortiGuard All updates that are checking for antivirus or IPS as well as other
OUT
update requests FortiGuard service updates.
Central
management (a
FortiGate unit
The access that a FortiManager has managing the FortiGate
being managed IN
unit.
by a
FortiManager
unit)
DHCP/DHCP
IN All DHCP and/or DHCP Relay traffic.
Relay
HA (heart beat IN/OUT For high-end platforms with a backplane heart beat port.
sync policy)
HA (Session sync This will get information from the CMDB and updated by session
IN/OUT
policy) sync daemon.
RIP IN
OSPF IN
VRRP IN
BFD IN
Any interface from a zone where the action in the policy is SSL
SSL-VPN IN
VPN.
IPSEC IN
L2TP IN
PPTP IN
It is possible to use the Web Filter to track specific search keywords and phrases and record the results for display
in the report.
You should verify that the web filter profile you are using indicates what search phrases you want to track and
monitor, so that the report includes this information.
set category 7
next
edit 3
set action block
set category 8
2. Enter the following command syntax so that logging and the keyword for the safe search will be
included in logging.
config webfilter profile
edit default
config web
set log-search enable
set keyword-match “fortinet” “easter” “easter bunny”
end
end
3. To test that the keyword search is working, go to a web browser and begin searching for the words
that were included in the webfilter profile, such as easter.
You can tell that the test works by going to Log & Report > Traffic Log > Forward Traffic and viewing the log
messages.
If you need to go back to the original default report settings, you can easily revert to those settings in the Report
menu. Reverting to default settings means that your previously modified report settings will be lost.
To revert back to default report settings, in Log & Report > Report > Local, select Customize, and then
Restore Defaults from the top navigation. This may take a minute or two. You can also use the CLI command
execute report-config reset to reset the report to defaults.
If you are having problems with report content being outdated or incorrect, especially after a firmware update, you
can recreate the report database using your current log information with the CLI command execute report
recreate-db.
This section explains how to troubleshoot logging configuration issues, as well as connection issues, that you
may have with your FortiGate unit and a log device. This section also contains information about how to use log
messages when troubleshooting issues that are about other FortiGate features, such as VPN tunnel errors.
Log messages can help when troubleshooting issues that occur, since they can provide details about what is
occurring. The uses and methods for involving logging in troubleshooting vary depending on the problem. The
following are examples of how log messages can assist when troubleshooting networking issues.
If external logging devices are not recording the log information properly or at all, the problem will likely be due to
one of two situations: no data is being received because the log device cannot be reached, or no data is being
sent because the FortiGate unit is no longer logging properly.
1. Verify that the information you entered is correct; it could be a simple mistake within the IP address or you may
have not selected Apply on the Log Settings page after changing them, which would prevent them from taking
effect.
2. Use execute ping to see if you can ping to the log device.
3. If you are unable to ping to the log device, check to see if the log device itself working and that it is on the network
and assigned an appropriate address.
The FortiGate unit may also have a corrupted log database. When you log into the web-based manager and you
see an SQL database error message, it is because the SQL database has become corrupted. View "SQL
database errors” in the next section before taking any further actions, to avoid losing your current logs.
If attempting to troubleshoot issues with the SQL log database, use the following to help guide you to solving
issues that occur.
or
ERROR: syntax error at or near... (local/PostgreSQL)
l Verify that the SQL keywords are spelled correctly, and that the query is well-formed.
l Table and column names are demarked by grave accent (`) characters. Single (') and double (") quotation marks will
cause an error.
No data is covered.
l The query is correctly formed, but no data has been logged for the log type. Verify that you have configured the
FortiGate unit to save that log type. On the Log Settings page, make sure that the log type is checked.
Connection problems
If well-formed SQL queries do not produce results, and logging is turned on for the log type, there may be a
database configuration problem with the remote database.
Ensure that:
The error message indicates that the SQL database is corrupted and cannot be updated with the SQL schemas
any more. When you see this error message, you can do one of the following:
l select Cancel and back up all log files; then select Rebuild to blank and rebuild the database.
l select Rebuild immediately, which will blank the database and previous logs will be lost.
Until the database is rebuilt, no information will be logged by the FortiGate unit regardless of the log settings that
are configured on the unit. When you select Rebuild, all logs are lost because the SQL database is erased and
then rebuilt again. Logging resumes automatically according to your settings after the SQL database is rebuilt.
To view the status of the database, use the diagnose debug sqldb-error status command in the CLI.
This command will inform you whether the database has errors present.
If you want to view the database’s errors, use the diagnose debug sqldb-error read command in the
CLI. This command indicates exactly what errors occurred, and what tables contain those errors.
Log files are backed up using the execute backup {disk | memory } {alllogs | logs} command
in the CLI. You must use the text variable when backing up log files because the text variable allows you to view
the log files outside the FortiGate unit. When you back up log files, you are really just copying the log files from
the database to a specified location, such as a TFTP server.
The number of logging daemon child processes has been made available for editing. A higher number can affect
performance, and a lower number can affect log processing time, although no logs will be dropped or lost if the
number is decreased.
If you are suffering from performance issues, you can alter the number of logging daemon child processes, from 0
to 15, using the following syntax. The default is 8.