syslog-ng Reviews

Name: syslog-ng
Brand: One Identity
Rating: 4.4 (6 reviews)

4.4 out of 5

6 reviews
100% willing to recommend

What is syslog-ng?

Optimizing SIEM
syslog-ng is the log management solution that improves the performance of your SIEM solution by reducing the amount and improving the quality of data feeding your SIEM.

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syslog-ng is the #17 ranked solution in Log Management Software. PeerSpot users give syslog-ng an average rating of 8.8 out of 10. syslog-ng is most commonly compared to Wazuh: syslog-ng vs Wazuh. syslog-ng is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 58% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a government, accounting for 13% of all views.

Buyer's Guide

Log Management

July 2025

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Featured syslog-ng reviews

RyanVargas

Senior Director and Senior Systems Engineer (Dual Role), IT Infrastructure and Security at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

I rate syslog-ng 10 out of 10. It's free and easy to use. It has built-in tools that help us index the various logs sent to it. It's a solid log product. If you're looking for a SIEM solution, syslog-ng will work as a stopgap measure at beginning of the project. It can also work as an injector for a true SIEM solution. You can send all the logs to syslog-ng and forward all the data to the SIEM solution after you've cleaned up the data and got the pertinent information. It's a good front end for a commercial SIEM solution, which becomes more expensive as you load more data into it. I would highly recommend syslog-ng for that use case. However, if you lack the expertise, you might need to go with a cloud-based SIEM instead. You need some in-house expertise or an outside consultant to manage it and set it up.

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FlavioSantos

Data center analyst at Atvos

We use it for compliance issues, like law enforcement for the Brazilian government For us, the most valuable feature is the use of compound search for searching logs at a specific time, by a specific user, or specific behavior. There is room for improvement in terms of observability.…

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Anton Kaiukov

Senior Software Engineer at Five9

What I appreciate most about syslog-ng is its configuration; its C-style config is much easier to understand, read, and write than other popular solutions such as syslog or rsyslog. It has numerous features and is very performant. This is why I chose syslog-ng, and this is why I am using it. Syslog-ng is easy to use. By looking at some examples, users can understand right away what it is for. The config is straightforward; it has sources, destinations, and filters between them, and it's self-explanatory. If additional features are needed, the documentation is clear and accessible. Syslog-ng is highly performant, and I needed to process enormous quantities of logs. I implemented a three-server setup. One server was a storage network with extensive storage running syslog-ng to store the logs, and two servers functioned as syslog proxies. They gathered logs and served as entry points for logs from all hosts in different formats. They would then normalize logs to one format and send them to the storage server. Though not a straightforward setup, with syslog-ng it was quite easy to configure.

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syslog-ng mindshare

As of August 2025, the mindshare of syslog-ng in the Log Management category stands at 2.5%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Log Management

Key learnings from peers

Last updated Jul 29, 2025

Valuable Features

Syslog-ng offers built-in features for creating alerts, extracting, and storing logs. It integrates with multiple solutions for real-time monitoring. Users value its easy access to logs, clear C-style configuration, and high performance. They find it straightforward, self-explanatory, and appreciate its compound search capability. It handles large volumes of logs efficiently, providing a seamless way to track incidents and support managerial reporting needs.

"For us, the most valuable feature is the use of compound search for searching logs at a specific time, by a specific user, or specific behavior."
"The ability to extract and store the logs is the most valuable feature of syslog-ng."
"Syslog-ng provides easy access to all my logs. It helps me show managers and other clients precisely where an incident occurred. I also like it because you can integrate syslog-ng with multiple solutions to allow real-time monitoring."

Room for Improvement

Syslog-ng needs better filtering, additional integration and protocol extensions, and improved observability. Expertise is required for SIEM use cases due to configuration challenges. Increased Kafka integration could be a beneficial feature. Users expressed difficulties related to knowledge scarcity among professionals. While it performs effectively for some, there is a desire for enhancements to logging and cost management over time, as licensing expenses create budgetary constraints for large-scale implementations.

"There is room for improvement in terms of observability."
"There is always the potential for additional integration and protocol extensions."
"It's hard to find people who know how to use syslog-ng. I often find problems with configurations, and solutions aren't integrated correctly with syslog-ng. For example, there might be data with extra decimals, or the collector agents are incorrectly named. It isn't a problem with the solution; it's a lack of professionals."

Pricing

syslog-ng is open-source and free.

"Syslog-ng is open-source."
"Syslog-ng is a free open-source solution."

Popular Use Cases

Syslog-ng is utilized primarily for aggregating and filtering logs, serving as a temporary SIEM. Users employ it for automation batches, scripts, enterprise security audits, compliance with data regulations like GDPR, and law enforcement in Brazil. It's also used for log processing across various compliance-related tasks.

Service and Support

Syslog-ng is praised for ease of use, eliminating the need for support for many users. Installation is straightforward, and in-house staff can manage it without external help. For those who contacted the support team, feedback is positive, highlighting quick responses, though some desire immediate troubleshooting access. Users rate their experience highly, with one user giving it an eight out of 10 and another a nine and a half. Overall, support is considered responsive and competent.

Deployment

Syslog-ng's initial setup is consistently described as easy and straightforward. Many rate it highly for ease of installation. It typically requires installation from a repository and works immediately with a default configuration. Users suggest bundling necessary dependent packages together to simplify installation. Although the infrastructure network team is sometimes needed for prerequisites, the setup process itself is uncomplicated and documentation supports it well. Some encounter challenges with network configurations and permissions in large organizations.

Stability

Syslog-ng demonstrates high stability. Users report no crashes or issues, consistently showcasing robust performance. Even under significant data loads, it handles tasks effectively without memory or processing concerns. Occasionally, a buffer workflow issue arises, linked to storage rather than syslog-ng itself. Ratings indicate a high level of reliability, often described as extremely stable, supporting uninterrupted operations without outages.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

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Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

University

Educational Organization

Energy/Utilities Company

Comms Service Provider

Media Company

Healthcare Company

Insurance Company

Retailer

Hospitality Company

Construction Company

Transportation Company

Wholesaler/Distributor

Non Profit

Outsourcing Company

Performing Arts

Marketing Services Firm

Real Estate/Law Firm

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Aerospace/Defense Firm

Pharma/Biotech Company

Legal Firm

Consumer Goods Company

Logistics Company

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Learn more about syslog-ng

Rapid search and troubleshooting
With syslog-ng Store Box, you can find the answer. Search billions of logs in seconds using full text queries with Boolean operators to pinpoint critical logs.

Meeting compliance requirements
syslog-ng Store Box provides secure, tamper-proof storage and custom reporting to demonstrate compliance.

Big data ingestion
syslog-ng can deliver data from a wide variety of sources to Hadoop, Elasticsearch, MongoDB, and Kafka as well as many others.

Universal log collection and routing
syslog-ng flexibly routes log data from X sources to Y destinations. Instead of deploying multiple agents on hosts, organizations can unify their log data collection and management.

Secure data archive
syslog-ng Store Box provides automated archiving, tamper-proof encrypted storage, granular access controls to protect log data. The largest appliance can store up to 10TB of raw logs.