Log management

Log management is the process of generating, transmitting, storing, accessing, and disposing of log data. Log data (or logs) is composed of entries (records), and each entry contains information related to a specific event that occurred within an organization's computing assets, including physical and virtual platforms, networks, services, and cloud environments. Logging events and logging transactions can help form an audit trail.

The process of log management generally breaks down into:

• Log collection - a process of capturing actual data from log files, application standard output stream (stdout), network socket and other sources.
• Log aggregation (centralization) - a process of putting all the log data together in a single place for the sake of further analysis or/and retention.
• Log storage and retention - a process of handling large volumes of log data according to corporate or regulatory policies (compliance).
• Log monitoring and log analysis - a process that helps operations and security team to handle system performance issues and security incidents