VMware Aria Operations for Logs vs syslog-ng comparison

One Identity and VMware are both solutions in the Log Management category. One Identity is ranked #17 with an average rating of 10.0, while VMware is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.2. One Identity holds a 2.4% mindshare in Log Management, compared to VMware’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of One Identity users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of VMware users who would recommend it.

syslog-ng

Read 7 syslog-ng reviews

4,107 Views
4,107 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

VMware Aria Operations for ...

Read 28 VMware Aria Operations for Logs reviews

2,061 Views
2,040 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

syslog-ng

VMware Aria Operations for ...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

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VMware Aria Operations for Logs and syslog-ng are leading tools in log management and analysis. VMware becomes more favorable in VMware-centric environments due to integration, while syslog-ng's adaptability across platforms gives it an edge in varied IT ecosystems.

Features: VMware Aria Operations for Logs offers comprehensive integration with VMware products, centralized visibility, and automation potential appealing to enterprises. syslog-ng stands out for its versatility, supporting numerous input and output formats and protocols, making it highly adaptable across various platforms.

Room for Improvement: VMware users suggest enhancements in customizability and real-time data processing, highlighting the need for increased flexibility. syslog-ng users often find a steep learning curve and recommend better documentation, emphasizing a need for improved usability and clearer instructions.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: VMware Aria Operations for Logs offers streamlined deployment in VMware-centric environments, though users report slow customer support. syslog-ng may require more deployment effort due to configuration complexity but benefits from strong community support and flexibility in installation.

Pricing and ROI: VMware Aria Operations for Logs involves a higher initial setup cost with ROI more reliant on existing VMware infrastructure, leading to a higher total cost of ownership. syslog-ng provides better ROI due to open-source options and scalability, highlighting cost-efficiency and benefits from lower costs.

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To learn more, read our detailed VMware Aria Operations for Logs vs. syslog-ng Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

VMware Aria Operations for Logs vs. syslog-ng

September 2025

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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

syslog-ng

Ranking in Log Management

17th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

3.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

VMware Aria Operations for ...

Ranking in Log Management

13th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of syslog-ng is 2.4%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Aria Operations for Logs is 1.3%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Log Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
VMware Aria Operations for Logs	1.3%
syslog-ng	2.4%
Other	96.3%

Log Management

Featured Reviews

RyanVargas

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

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.

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LarsChristensen

Advisory Solution Consultant at ServiceNow

Efficient troubleshooting with precise log filtering and an easy setup

The tool could benefit from improved filter settings and dashboarding. While there are dashboards available, they are often created by community members and may not work after updates. It would be beneficial to have a roadmap for these dashboards to ensure consistent functionality. It would also be advantageous if the tool could process even large amounts of data faster, though this may be more related to data movement challenges rather than the software itself.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

"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."

"Syslog-ng has a separate config file in addition to the core configuration."

"The ability to extract and store the logs is the most valuable feature of 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."

"We chose syslog-ng because it is easy to install, easy to maintain, easy to update, and due to the fact that all data arrive in raw format, we can manipulate it as we want."

"The setup and installation are very easy."

"The interface of the solution is good."

"The events are notably more descriptive, aiding in security and event analysis. We've also integrated Sky Collector, providing valuable insights and solutions for troubleshooting."

"One of the things I like about it is its interface. When it comes to generating reports on VMs and stuff, it's very quick. This is very handy for the technical team, who need to generate reports quickly. So that's really good."

"It is a highly stable solution...It is a highly scalable solution."

"Our current costs are too high, and this tool will help us to better optimize our infrastructure."

"The solution's simplicity, flexibility, and extensibility are valuable features as we can integrate everything in vRealize."

"VMware Aria Operations for Logs is a very stable product."

More VMware Aria Operations for Logs pros

Cons

"The filtering has room for improvement."

"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."

"In syslog-ng, I think a GUI would be beneficial. I am unsure if the premium module has a GUI to administer it."

"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."

"There is always the potential for additional integration and protocol extensions."

"There is room for improvement in terms of observability."

"The solution is a very good tool, but it has a lot of limitations. One of the main issues is around how you define your retention policy, for instance, in Log Insight. It doesn't have it. You can't define a log retention policy. You also can't define the destination or location for your logs. All of the logs are in one index or one bucket."

"Log retention should have more options for user control."

"Documentation is lacking, including some guide as to how to use the expressions. It is not clear how to look for a log, for example. Some examples in the documentation might be helpful. I think that VMware had good documentation, but it's no longer hosted. The documentation is not as easy to understand as it was before."

"I think that it should be able to integrate with other third-party backup and recovery solutions, more that it does now."

"The tool could be cheaper."

"They should improve their web interface to make it more user-friendly."

"If data migration occurs during a search, it alters performance, causing delays."

"It's great for VMware, but it would be good if they had third-party logins."

More VMware Aria Operations for Logs cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Syslog-ng is open-source."

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

"I think it is a reasonably priced product."

"I am not sure what the exact cost is. However, I believe the vRealize suite costs $2,500.00 per year."

"It is not cheap. But it is worth it."

"The pricing has been updated recently."

"The product's price is reasonable, but when it comes to SQL licensing, it's a bit expensive."

"Pricing could always be lower. If it were free, I would be more satisfied."

"I rate the product's price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."

"The licensing cost for vRealize Log Insight is a little higher, so in terms of cost, it all depends upon what kind of environment you have. If you have a complete virtualized environment, or at least you're using a ninety-five percent virtualized environment, then vRealize Log Insight will play a very good role because it is a VMware component, so it has very tight integration with other VMware components and systems. This means you don't have to procure any other monitoring and management tool, and you don't need a separate automation tool. vRealize Log Insight will have an upper hand if your environment is purely virtualized on VMware. If you're using a mix of physical and virtual components, for example, a 50:50 ratio, then you need to have a third-party component to manage overall monitoring."

More VMware Aria Operations for Logs pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	12

Questions from the Community

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about vRealize Log Insight?

The events are notably more descriptive, aiding in security and event analysis. We've also integrated Sky Collector, providing valuable insights and solutions for troubleshooting.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vRealize Log Insight?

The cost of using VMware Aria Operations for Logs was very high, around two to three million dollars, although the exact figure is uncertain. The price was proving to be too much, especially with t...

See all answers

What needs improvement with vRealize Log Insight?

VMware Aria Operations for Logs is not a cost-effective tool. Changing any telemetry requires creating a new template, such as changes to the VM disk size. Always having to create a new template ma...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Log Management

August 2025

Download syslog-ng product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware Aria Operations for Logs

August 2025

Download VMware Aria Operations for Logs product report

Also Known As

No data available

vRealize Log Insight

Overview

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.

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.

One Identity

Manage data at scale with centralized log management, deep operational visibility and intelligent analytics for troubleshooting and auditing across private, hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

VMware

Sample Customers

Tecnocom, University of Victoria, University of Exeter, Datapath

Wildlands Adventure Zoo, Medic Mobile, IBM, Seventy Seven Energy, Baystate Health, Osis, Oxford University, Columbia University, Siemens, Cardinal Health, Ashdod Port, Vasakronan, Sydney Adventist Hospital, University of Derby

Buyer's Guide

VMware Aria Operations for Logs vs. syslog-ng

September 2025

Free Report: VMware Aria Operations for Logs vs. syslog-ng

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