MonitorWare Knowledge Base

Hi all,

we are very interested in what needs SyslogAppliance really solves. Of course, we have the vision that a ready-to-run logging system is useful for those folks that would like to have a solution fast, and also is useful for those that want to trial the components (phpLogCon in specific). But ... is that really what you like? ... what you need?

In order to craft the best possible appliance, it would be very valuable to know about the user base. Please let us know why you use SyslogAppliance. What made you try it out? Do you intend to use it on a regular basis? Also, we would be most interested in as much information about the use case that you are able (and willing ) to provide. What is important to you? What not? What is missing?

Your feedback is extremely valuable to push the project into the right direction, the direction that you really need. So we would be grateful if you take a moment and let us know. Even a short sentence with your primary motivation is useful!

Thanks,
Rainer Gerhards

Hi

I like the appliance because I can quickly get it to run and don't have to bother with long install procedures.

Gabrie

Thanks for the feedback, it is helpful and much appreciated. All others please keep the thoughts flowing

In my opinion there are lots of great open source softwares but the problem is that often are not simple to configure (above all for non expert people).
The main advantage of an appliance is that it is created by expert people (often the developer of the software) so you are not forced to read tons of documentation,forum,mailing-lists etc...in the attempt to have a good configuration (In Italy we say: "bestemmiare come un turco"....to swear like a trooper)...just download and use it.
Another example:
I tried to configure nagios integrated with mysql,rrd,webinject. Ok...in my opinion it simply impossible for non UNIX-GURU; you have to spend some weeks if you want to have them perfectly integrated and when you have a problem you must search in their respective forum causing a waste of time. Please note: I mean time spent for the installation!!! NOT time spent for studying the software because I know that every big software require must research. So...I dowloaded groundwork appliance and after 1 days I had some servers under monitoring and now I'm using it from 1 years with satisfaction.

I love appliance!

bye

Well, for me it's all about simplicity. I have basic requirements - get syslog messages from routers and email when certain events occur. I previously ran the great Kiwi Syslog on a Windows machine, but I've now (very happily) switched to Macs. I needed something to replace Kiwi. I realise I could probably use available software on Leopard, but with this appliance I can just start it in a VM without having to learn too much. I've customised the config to send an email when my ADSL link comes up, but need to learn a bit more about how to make emails retry if they can't get through. Certainly like to be able to email based on other things, like a fast message arrival rate and an indication of average number of messages an hour, which I believe can give a good initial indication that you're being attacked or that there is something else amiss. Haven't seen a way to do this yet. It would also be good if the appliance already had vmware tools installed.

Overall, I've found the appliance extremely useful and I'm looking forward to watching it progress!