Log management (ELK/OpenSearch)
We set up the collection, processing and search of logs for infrastructure and applications so that so that events are traceable and incidents can be resolved quickly and consistently.
What we typically deal with
- collection and delivery of logs (agents, pipeline, delivery reliability)
- parsing, normalization and uniform search fields
- retention and index strategy with regard to costs
- basic detections from logs (alerts) and "saved searches" for triage
Why is it important?
Logs contain a detailed record of what happened in the system. Without them, it is difficult to deal with incidents, security audit and understand why the application fails.
Examples: detecting a security incident (who logged in and when?), debugging an application error (what happened before the crash?) or compliance audit (do we have proof?).
What it involves
- Ingestion: collecting logs from servers, applications and the network
- Indexing: processing and saving in a clear format
- Search: quick finding of relevant logs (Elasticsearch, OpenSearch)
- Visualization: dashboards and alerting on log patterns
- Retention: how long we keep the logs and who has access to them
Typical problems without log management
- Lost logos: without centralization, the search for important data is slow and uncertain
- Without context: logs exist, but are unreadable or without correlation IDs
- No audit option: who changed the configuration and when? Without centralized logos, this is difficult to prove
- Compliance: audit asks where the logs are — and without them it's a problem
Frequently asked questions
How long should we keep logs?
It depends on compliance and purpose. Typically 30 to 90 days online for quick search and 1 to 2 years in archive.
ELK vs OpenSearch vs Splunk?
ELK and OpenSearch are flexible and often more cost-effective. Splunk tends to be more expensive, but powerful in larger enterprise scenarios. The choice depends on the budget and complexity.
How to parse logs without format?
The first step is to establish a clear log format — ideally JSON. Only then does parsing and further structuring make sense.
How we work
Assessment: we'll find out how your log management works — or if it even exists.
Proposal: architecture, retention, alerting and compliance requirements.
Setup & integration: ELK/OpenSearch deployment, log ingestion, dashboards and alerting.
Contact
If you want to set up a centralized log management or improve an existing one, get in touch with us.