Modern organizations track and record data from virtually every business process, which is why web server log analysis tools are essential for effectively using this information to get a clear picture of your network state. . Event logs, security logs, transactions, web server uptime, and CDN traffic are just a few of the types of logs you will collect.
Why do i need a web server log analyzer?
So why do you need a web server log analyzer? All of this data can quickly become overwhelming. To maximize data usage, you need to be able to easily find and analyze log files from a central location. Web log analysis tools allow you to filter logs, perform real-time searches, and query specific log data. These tools also present this data in a centralized view accessible from anywhere.
In some cases, analysis tools will also provide log management capabilities. Instead of inspecting data after it is saved, log management deals with how you manage that data. This can mean creating policies on how you generate and store logs or automating when logs are archived after a certain amount of time.
Pros and Cons of the 4 Best Web Log Analysis Tools
We’ve compiled a list of four web log analysis tools to help you start your research and get the most out of your log file data.
SolarWinds Loggly
SolarWinds Loggly is a SaaS log analytics and management provider focused on simplifying the log management process to alleviate some of the burden on system administrators and DevOps. Loggly can be used with Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, hybrid cloud environments, IoT systems, and microservices.
Advantages: Loggly’s dynamic field explorer, combined with its full-text searches, ranges, and Booleans, makes it easy to analyze large amounts of data and find the information you need. It also provides robust graphs and reports so that you can identify trends and identify unique network activity and root causes of issues.
The inconvenients: The basic plan is reasonably priced, but some great features, such as the LiveTail feature, are only available at an additional cost. So, the overall price may increase quickly depending on the number of features you need.
Graylog
Graylog is an open source tool designed to simplify data mining, compliance, and threat hunting. There is also a business version of Graylog, the price of which is based on the number of licenses on a server. Its flexible tool includes a REST API.
Advantages: This tool is popular for its seamless scalability, so it can grow exponentially with web properties. It has load balancing capabilities and can handle several terabytes of data per day. Its built-in fault tolerance allows multithreaded searches to analyze and correlate multiple potential threats simultaneously. This allows IT teams to quickly diagnose the root cause of problems.
The inconvenients: What Graylog lacks is its dashboard. Users find its visualizations and graphics limited.
Splunk
Splunk is a veteran in the field of newspaper management and analysis, since 2003. Its offerings are specifically tailored to large companies.
Advantages: Splunk makes delivering real-time data a priority. Not only can you search the logs in real time, but you can also configure thresholds and trigger conditions to send alerts in real time to reduce event resolution time. This tool also includes in-depth analyzes to support fast ad-hoc queries. Beyond log analysis, its log management capabilities shine among the competition. It includes powerful ways to determine how you will collect, store, index, and view log files.
The inconvenients: Splunk is expensive because it’s built for the business, but its biggest flaw is its ease of use. It’s a robust tool with a lot of advanced features, so there can be a steep learning curve.
Sumo Logic
Sumo Logic is a SaaS offering that takes log analytics technology into the future by implementing machine learning capabilities into its solution. The cloud-native solution analyzes over 100 petabytes of data every day.
Advantages: Sumo Logic’s machine learning technology unifies logs and metrics to provide real-time insight into business models to identify issues that need to be addressed and reveal new opportunities for improvement. You can also create predefined metric filters to identify anomalies in the network. Sumo Logic includes an intuitive dashboard to display graphical representations of anomalies and other system activity, and offers the ability to thoroughly filter logs.
The inconvenients: A constant problem with Sumo Logic is that searching the interface can be slow.
The benefits of log analysis tools
Efficient use of web log analysis tools can offer multiple benefits to make your job easier and keep your network efficient. Some of the benefits of log analysis tools include:
- You can identify key trends and anomalies to gain a clear understanding of the health of your network and areas for improvement.
- You can correlate event data with downtime on your network to identify the root cause of problems and resolve them quickly.
- Use these logs to identify unauthorized user access or suspicious activity to prevent data breaches and locate entry points.
- With all of your log files in one location, you’ll reduce the time you spend switching between different log locations to find the information most relevant to the task at hand.
How to Choose the Right Log Analysis Tool
When determining how to choose the right log analytics tool for your organization, focus on the specific features that will best address the issues you face.
Unique search features: Are you primarily focused on being able to find the log files you are looking for as quickly as possible? Then look for a tool with the most unique and robust search capabilities. These may include:
- Filter logs by server, application, or custom settings
- Search for individual queries
- Perform granular searches
- Perform real-time searches
Dashboard: Do you want to have an overview of the state of your system at a glance? Some web log analysis tools make it a priority to provide a clear, easy-to-use dashboard so that you can easily switch between views to determine the health, safety, and efficiency of your business. system.
Log management: If you want to reduce your budget or the number of tools in your technology stack, look for analytics tools with built-in log management functionality to avoid implementing another stand-alone product.
Advanced technology: Do you want to make sure that your web log analytics tool is ready for the problems of the future? This can be of particular concern if safety is a priority. Some tools now integrate machine learning capabilities into their solutions to make your job even easier and keep your system efficient.