Collect F5 VPN logs

Supported in:

Google secops SIEM

This document explains how to ingest F5 VPN logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is a VPN and access management solution that generates syslog messages for user authentication, session management, policy evaluation, tunnel establishment, and network access events. The parser extracts fields from syslog-formatted logs and maps them to the Unified Data Model (UDM).

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

A Google SecOps instance
Windows Server 2016 or later, or Linux host with systemd
Network connectivity between the Bindplane agent and the F5 BIG-IP appliance
If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
Privileged access to F5 BIG-IP tmsh (version 11.x or later)

Get Google SecOps ingestion authentication file

Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
Go to SIEM Settings > Collection Agents.
Download the Ingestion Authentication File.
Save the file securely on the system where the Bindplane agent will be installed.

Note: This JSON file contains credentials for authenticating the Bindplane agent to Google SecOps.

Get Google SecOps customer ID

Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
Go to SIEM Settings > Profile.
Copy and save the Customer ID from the Organization Details section.

Note: The customer ID is required for configuring the Bindplane agent exporter.

Install the Bindplane agent

Install the Bindplane agent on your Windows or Linux operating system according to the following instructions.

Windows installation

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as an administrator.

Run the following command:

msiexec /i "https://github.com/observIQ/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/observiq-otel-collector.msi" /quiet

Wait for the installation to complete.
Verify the installation by running:
```
sc query observiq-otel-collector
```
The service should show as RUNNING.

Linux installation

Open a terminal with root or sudo privileges.

Run the following command:

sudo sh -c "$(curl -fsSlL https://github.com/observiq/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/install_unix.sh)" install_unix.sh

Wait for the installation to complete.
Verify the installation by running:
```
sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector
```
The service should show as active (running).

Additional installation resources

For additional installation options and troubleshooting, see the Bindplane agent installation guide.

Configure the Bindplane agent to ingest syslog and send to Google SecOps

Locate the configuration file

Linux:

sudo nano /etc/bindplane-agent/config.yaml

Windows:

notepad "C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\config.yaml"

Edit the configuration file

Replace the entire contents of config.yaml with the following configuration:

receivers:
    udplog:
        listen_address: "0.0.0.0:514"

exporters:
    chronicle/f5_vpn:
        compression: gzip
        creds_file_path: '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json'
        customer_id: '<customer_id>'
        endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
        log_type: F5_VPN
        raw_log_field: body

service:
    pipelines:
        logs/f5_vpn_to_chronicle:
            receivers:
                - udplog
            exporters:
                - chronicle/f5_vpn

Configuration parameters

Replace the following placeholders:

Receiver configuration:
- listen_address: IP address and port to listen on:
  - 0.0.0.0 to listen on all interfaces (recommended)
  - Port 514 is the standard syslog port (requires root on Linux; use 1514 for non-root)
Exporter configuration:
- creds_file_path: Full path to ingestion authentication file:
  - Linux: /etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json
  - Windows: C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json
- customer_id: Customer ID copied from the Google SecOps console
- endpoint: Regional endpoint URL:
  - US: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
  - Europe: europe-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
  - Asia: asia-southeast1-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
  - See Regional Endpoints for complete list

Save the configuration file

After editing, save the file:
- Linux: Press Ctrl+O, then Enter, then Ctrl+X
- Windows: Click File > Save

Restart the Bindplane agent to apply the changes

To restart the Bindplane agent in Linux, run the following command:

sudo systemctl restart observiq-otel-collector

Verify the service is running:

sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector

Check logs for errors:

sudo journalctl -u observiq-otel-collector -f

To restart the Bindplane agent in Windows, choose one of the following options:
- Command Prompt or PowerShell as administrator:
```
net stop observiq-otel-collector && net start observiq-otel-collector
```
- Services console:
  1. Press Win+R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
  2. Locate observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector.
  3. Right-click and select Restart.
  4. Verify the service is running:
```
sc query observiq-otel-collector
```
  5. Check logs for errors:
```
type "C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\log\collector.log"
```

Configure syslog forwarding on F5 BIG-IP APM

Connect to the F5 BIG-IP command line.
Open the tmsh shell:
```
tmsh
```
Configure a remote syslog server by running the following command:
```
modify sys syslog remote-servers add { <Name> { host <bindplane-ip> remote-port <bindplane-port> } }
```
Replace the following:
- <Name>: A unique name for this syslog destination (for example, bindplane_server).
- <bindplane-ip>: The IP address of the Bindplane agent host.
- <bindplane-port>: The port configured in the Bindplane agent receiver (default: 514).
Save the configuration:
```
save sys config partitions all
```

UDM mapping table

Log field	UDM mapping	Logic
`cmd_data`	`principal.process.command_line`	The value is extracted from the msg field
`errdefs_msgno`	`additional.fields.errdefs_msgno.string_value`	The value is extracted from the msg field
`event_time`	`metadata.event_timestamp`	The value is parsed and converted to a timestamp
`hostname`	`principal.hostname,`, `observer.hostname,`, `principal.asset.hostname,`, `observer.asset.hostname,`	The value is extracted from the message field and used to populate the hostname fields in the UDM. Also used to populate the hostip field
`msg`	`security_result.description`	The value is extracted from the message field and used to populate the description field in the security_result object
`prin_ip`	`principal.ip,`, `principal.asset.ip`	The value is extracted from the message field and used to populate the IP address fields in the UDM
	`additional.fields.Canonical_Info.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.IDP.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.Plugin_Support.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.SMB`, `Stage.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.SP.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.Timezone.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.Tunnel`, `Type.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.UI_Mode.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.Version.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.from_rule_item.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.policy_result.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.ppp_id.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.resource.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.rule.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.server_vip_ip.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.server_vip_name.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.to_rule_item.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`additional.fields.tunnel_resource.string_value`	The value is derived from the log message
	`metadata.description`	The value is derived from the log message
	`metadata.event_type`	The value is hardcoded in the parser code for some events and is derived from the log message for others
	`metadata.log_type`	The value is set to the batch type
	`metadata.product_event_type`	The value is derived from the log message
	`metadata.product_name`	The value is hardcoded in the parser code
	`metadata.vendor_name`	The value is hardcoded in the parser code
	`network.application_protocol`	The value is derived from the log message
	`network.direction`	The value is derived from the log message
	`network.http.method`	The value is derived from the log message
	`network.http.parsed_user_agent`	The value is derived from the network.http.user_agent field
	`network.http.referral_url`	The value is derived from the log message
	`network.http.response_code`	The value is derived from the log message
	`network.http.user_agent`	The value is derived from the log message
	`network.ip_protocol`	The value is derived from the log message
	`network.received_bytes`	The value is derived from the log message
	`network.sent_bytes`	The value is derived from the log message
	`network.session_id`	The value is derived from the log message
	`network.tls.cipher`	The value is derived from the log message
	`network.tls.version`	The value is derived from the log message
	`observer.asset.hostname`	The value is set to the hostname field
	`observer.asset.ip`	The value is set to the hostip field
	`observer.hostname`	The value is set to the hostname field
	`observer.ip`	The value is set to the hostip field
	`principal.application`	The value is derived from the log message
	`principal.asset.hostname`	The value is set to the hostname field
	`principal.asset.ip`	The value is set to the hostip field or prin_ip field if it exists
	`principal.asset.product_object_id`	The value is derived from the log message
	`principal.hostname`	The value is set to the hostname field
	`principal.ip`	The value is set to the hostip field or prin_ip field if it exists
	`principal.location.country_or_region`	The value is derived from the log message
	`principal.platform`	The value is derived from the log message
	`principal.port`	The value is derived from the log message
	`principal.process.command_line`	The value is derived from the log message
	`principal.process.pid`	The value is derived from the log message
	`principal.resource.name`	The value is derived from the log message
	`principal.resource.type`	The value is hardcoded in the parser code for some events and is derived from the log message for others
	`principal.user.email_addresses`	The value is derived from the log message
	`principal.user.userid`	The value is derived from the log message
	`security_result.action`	The value is derived from the log message
	`security_result.description`	The value is derived from the log message
	`security_result.rule_name`	The value is derived from the log message
	`security_result.severity`	The value is derived from the log message
	`security_result.severity_details`	The value is derived from the log message
	`security_result.summary`	The value is derived from the log message
	`src.ip`	The value is derived from the log message
	`src.location.country_or_region`	The value is derived from the log message
	`src.port`	The value is derived from the log message
	`target.asset.hostname`	The value is derived from the log message
	`target.asset.ip`	The value is derived from the log message
	`target.hostname`	The value is derived from the log message
	`target.ip`	The value is derived from the log message
	`target.port`	The value is derived from the log message
	`target.process.command_line`	The value is derived from the log message
	`target.process.pid`	The value is derived from the log message
	`target.resource.id`	The value is derived from the log message
	`target.url`	The value is derived from the log message
	`target.user.userid`	The value is derived from the log message

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