6. Your First Remote Log Server#

Set up rsyslog to receive logs from another machine over UDP. Use a dedicated ruleset so only remote messages go into /var/log/remote.log.

6.1. Goal#

Create a basic remote log receiver. You will configure rsyslog to listen on UDP/514 and process incoming messages with a separate ruleset, ensuring local logs remain unaffected.

Important

This tutorial requires two systems (or two containers/VMs). One acts as the server (receiver), the other as the client (sender). Without a second machine, forwarding may appear “stuck” because rsyslog retries.

6.2. Steps#

6.2.1. 1) Configure the server (receiver)#

On the receiving system, create /etc/rsyslog.d/10-receiver.conf:

# Load UDP input
module(load="imudp")

# A ruleset just for messages received via this UDP listener
ruleset(name="rs-from-udp") {
    action(type="omfile" file="/var/log/remote.log")
    # This ruleset is used only for the UDP input below.
    # Local system logs continue to use the default distro config.
}

# Assign the UDP input to the ruleset above
input(type="imudp" port="514" ruleset="rs-from-udp")

Restart rsyslog:

sudo systemctl restart rsyslog
systemctl status rsyslog --no-pager

6.2.2. 2) Configure the client (sender)#

On the sending system, create /etc/rsyslog.d/10-forward.conf:

# Forward all messages via UDP to the server
action(
    type="omfwd"
    target="server.example.com"   # replace with server hostname or IP
    port="514"
    protocol="udp"
)

Restart rsyslog on the client:

sudo systemctl restart rsyslog

6.2.3. 3) Test the setup#

From the client, send a test message:

logger -t tut06 "hello from the client"

On the server, check the remote log file:

sudo tail -n 20 /var/log/remote.log

You should see the test message. Only messages from the client appear here, because the UDP input uses its own ruleset.

6.3. If it’s not working…#

No messages arrive
- Verify the server is listening on UDP/514:
```
sudo ss -ulpn | grep ':514'
```
- Check firewall rules (ufw or firewalld) to allow UDP/514.
- Ensure the client’s target= hostname/IP is correct (try an IP to rule out DNS).
Messages appear only on the client
- Test network reachability:
```
ping server.example.com
```
- If ICMP/ping is blocked, check with traceroute or review firewall/NAT.
Permission denied on /var/log/remote.log
- Ensure rsyslog has permission to write under /var/log/.
- For testing, root-owned files in /var/log/ are fine.
Service won’t start
- Validate configuration on both systems:
```
sudo rsyslogd -N1
```

6.4. Verification checkpoint#

By the end of this tutorial you should be able to:

Restart rsyslog cleanly on both client and server.
Send a message with logger on the client.
See the message arrive in /var/log/remote.log on the server, without local logs mixed in.

6.5. See also / Next steps#

The Log Pipeline: Inputs → Rulesets → Actions – how inputs, rulesets, and actions fit together.
Forwarding Logs – more on forwarding (UDP vs TCP) and queues.
Reference: imudp: UDP Syslog Input Module
Reference: omfwd: syslog Forwarding Output Module

Note

Forwarding requires a reachable server. Without a valid target (and without an action queue), rsyslog may retry and appear “stuck” for a while.

Tip

🎬 Video idea (3–4 min): show two terminals (client/server), run logger on the client, and tail /var/log/remote.log on the server. Then point out the dedicated ruleset in the config that keeps local logs separate.

Support: rsyslog Assistant | GitHub Discussions | GitHub Issues: rsyslog source project

Contributing: Source & docs: rsyslog source project