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ArcSight Logger vs syslog-ng comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

ArcSight Logger
Ranking in Log Management
26th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
syslog-ng
Ranking in Log Management
17th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
2.1
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of ArcSight Logger is 0.7%, down from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of syslog-ng is 2.4%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
syslog-ng2.4%
ArcSight Logger0.7%
Other96.9%
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

Nagendra Nekkala. - PeerSpot reviewer
A scalable and stable solution that enables users to see all the event logs in one place
The technical support team is very slow. The support persons do not take prompt action. They take too much time to implement new changes. Even if we tell them that we are not able to get critical logs, they take almost three to four days to provide a resolution. The support is not good.
RyanVargas - PeerSpot reviewer
It's a user-friendly open-source solution that can replace or augment a commercial product in some cases
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.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the search capability, which is simple to use."
"It's a brilliant log collection tool, and it can handle hundreds of thousands of servers in a single shot to ingest the data."
"It provides in-depth information on business activities once we log into the system."
"In our country we are a little bit private in terms of solutions, so we are just starting to use the basic data capture. Now some users can start to use additional features that come with Micro Focus ArcSight like user behavior analytics for investigating."
"We haven't had any crashes or bugs. It is stable."
"It is one of the best products available in the market."
"The ESM use cases are the most valuable. It enables us to use the big data collection inside our company. We are able to create use cases for whatever it suits and I find that the most interesting part of any SIEM solution."
"The solution provides information about the risk factors."
"The ability to extract and store the logs is the most valuable feature of syslog-ng."
"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."
"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."
"Syslog-ng has a separate config file in addition to the core configuration."
"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."
 

Cons

"We have had problems with archiving."
"The solution could be improved in maintenance settings."
"They are migrating to Splunk because ArcSight Logger doesn't have those features for user or customer behavior analysis."
"The speed of Logger indexing and searching for certain bugs for some queries that we provide could be improved. It can handle a huge number of logs but it can be improved."
"I would like to see better scheduling in the next release of this solution."
"In the next release, I want to see more intelligence."
"The initial setup was a little bit complex."
"You have limited reporting capabilities and I wouldn't choose ArcSight Logger for this purpose."
"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."
"There is always the potential for additional integration and protocol extensions."
"There is room for improvement in terms of observability."
"The filtering has room for improvement."
"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a lifetime license, so we don't pay a monthly fee."
"ArcSight Logger is very expensive compared to their competitors, but when we talk to the customer and explain what the features are and how we can scale, they understand. Still, ArcSight is more expensive than the competition."
"It's not cheap at all as it's a big product and has been in the market for quite some time now."
"I would rate the product a seven out of ten since it's an enterprise product."
"ArcSight is an expensive solution."
"The pricing is quite harsh."
"I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is inexpensive, and ten is expensive."
"Pricing is reasonable compared to similar tools on the market. They offer perpetual licenses."
"Syslog-ng is a free open-source solution."
"Syslog-ng is open-source."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise16
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ArcSight Logger?
We have a trigger. So, Logger automatically blocks these IP addresses. We could have Logger put them on a blacklist.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ArcSight Logger?
The pricing isn't the problem. We have a lifetime license, so we don't pay a monthly fee.
What needs improvement with ArcSight Logger?
This decision is made by higher management as they don't want to have multiple solutions for one solution. ArcSight Logger themselves don't provide good support, but companies such as ours provide ...
What do you like most about syslog-ng?
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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for syslog-ng?
The pricing is in the middle. I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with one being expensive and ten being cheap.
What needs improvement with syslog-ng?
Something could potentially be improved, though it works effectively for me. In the early stages, over 10 years ago, syslog-ng was lacking some features, so I created a patch for it. I used a patch...
 

Also Known As

Micro Focus Arcsight Logger, HPE Arcsight Logger
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

China Merchants Bank, Bank AlJazira, Banca Intesa
Tecnocom, University of Victoria, University of Exeter, Datapath
Find out what your peers are saying about ArcSight Logger vs. syslog-ng and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
866,857 professionals have used our research since 2012.