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VMware Aria Operations for Logs vs syslog-ng comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

syslog-ng
Ranking in Log Management
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware Aria Operations for ...
Ranking in Log Management
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of syslog-ng is 3.0%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Aria Operations for Logs is 1.1%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

RyanVargas - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 13, 2023
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.
DineshKumar3 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 8, 2022
Gives a clear forecast about existing machines, and has an automation feature that helps in reducing a lot of ambiguities and managing operational efficiencies
What I'd like to improve in vRealize Log Insight is the licensing model. VMware provides vRealize Log Insight along with the VMware Cloud Foundation, but customers who would like to go for the native VMware would have to procure vRealize Log Insight separately. Today, vRealize Log Insight is offered on two different licenses, one is based on the number of VMs, and the other is based on the number of physical codes on the machine. If VMware can provide a bundle offer for customers who procure more than ten licenses, where you can have an option to run, for example, three hundred machines on vRealize Log Insight with no extra cost, this would encourage more people to adopt the solution. What I'd like to see in the next release of vRealize Log Insight is for a cloud option to be available, which would be a pay-as-you-go licensing model that would allow me to pick and choose what I'll monitor. For example, I have one thousand and three hundred critical servers, and the seven hundred servers for basic development, I don't want to monitor on vRealize Log Insight today, so I should be able to pick what I need to monitor on the solution and only pay for that specific instance. If VMware can apply these changes, it would help VMware customers to procure more or adopt more of vRealize Log Insight even in smaller projects.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"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."
"The trace log is the solution's most valuable feature. It's very helpful in troubleshooting problems."
"It gives the customer a quick overview, so they don't have to dig. There's a clear dashboard with many sensors in a single space. He gets a helicopter view of his environment, but he can investigate further if there are serious issues. It's pretty user-friendly."
"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."
"The tool helps my company deal with security and log analysis, which are very important areas for us...It is a scalable solution."
"The system's management and its alerts are the most valuable aspects of the solution."
"Log Insight correlates with the VMware product log. It can assemble the logs you want, making it easier to find the output, incident, or keyword you want to search."
"One of the most valuable features of vRealize Log Insight is that it gives you a clear forecast about your existing machines, for example, how long your machines could be supported and how long the remaining capacity is to host your machines. This is one of the best options available within vRealize Log Insight. Another valuable feature of the solution is automation. My company deploys a lot of automation when required in a very, very short period, and in a very uniform manner, and even if the automation is being deployed for different processes and departments, it's pretty much the same across the environment, so vRealize Log Insight helps reduce a lot of ambiguities and helps my company manage operational efficiencies well."
"What I like is that you can have different storage locations for different applications."
 

Cons

"There is always the potential for additional integration and protocol extensions."
"There is room for improvement in terms of observability."
"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."
"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."
"The filtering has room for improvement."
"In the VMware environment, one area for improvement is the handling of VM failovers due to host failures, such as unexpected shutdowns from hardware issues. Currently, High Availability (HA) doesn't seem to recognize whether the VMs are online during failover, treating them as offline or unavailable."
"The pricing of the solution could be improved."
"It's great for VMware, but it would be good if they had third-party logins."
"Log Insight should be better at dealing with audits and security logs. We use another product called QRadar for that."
"The solution isn't user-friendly for admins."
"The solution should be more user-friendly. The user interface and dashboard could be simplified."
"The dashboard needs to be improved because this is what I need to monitor my infrastructure."
"Paid or free does not matter, but it is complex to find good training material for vRealize Log Insight."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Syslog-ng is a free open-source solution."
"Syslog-ng is open-source."
"I think it is a reasonably priced product."
"It is not cheap. But it is worth it."
"I am not sure what the exact cost is. However, I believe the vRealize suite costs $2,500.00 per year."
"The pricing has been updated recently."
"I rate the product's price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"The product's price is reasonable, but when it comes to SQL licensing, it's a bit expensive."
"Pricing is good because it is part of the suite package. It comes in a bundle for us."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
14%
Financial Services Firm
8%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
14%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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.
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?
There is room for improvement in terms of observability. Additionally, a possible new feature could be Kafka integration.
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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vRealize Log Insight?
The product's price is reasonable, but when it comes to SQL licensing, it's a bit expensive. So, it's expensive, not extremely expensive. I would rate the pricing a two out of ten, with ten being v...
What needs improvement with vRealize Log Insight?
In terms of vOps, we use templates for optimization to monitor heavy hitters on storage and CPU resources. In the VMware environment, one area for improvement is the handling of VM failovers due to...
 

Also Known As

No data available
vRealize Log Insight
 

Learn More

Video not available
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about VMware Aria Operations for Logs vs. syslog-ng and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.