Collect VMware Tanzu logs

Supported in:

This document explains how to ingest VMware Tanzu logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

VMware Tanzu is a Kubernetes platform that generates JSON and syslog-formatted audit logs for Kubernetes API server events, resource access, authentication decisions, and configuration changes. The parser extracts fields from JSON-formatted audit 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 Tanzu Operations Manager
  • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
  • Privileged access to VMware Tanzu

Get Google SecOps ingestion authentication file

  1. Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
  2. Go to SIEM Settings > Collection Agents.
  3. Download the Ingestion Authentication File.

  4. Save the file securely on the system where Bindplane will be installed.

Get Google SecOps customer ID

  1. Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
  2. Go to SIEM Settings > Profile.

  3. Copy and save the Customer ID from the Organization Details section.

Install the Bindplane agent

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

Windows installation

  1. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as an administrator.

  2. Run the following command:

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

  3. Wait for the installation to complete.

  4. Verify the installation by running:

    sc query observiq-otel-collector

    The service should show as RUNNING.

Linux installation

  1. Open a terminal with root or sudo privileges.

  2. Run the following command:

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

  3. Wait for the installation to complete.

  4. 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 /opt/observiq-otel-collector/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/vmware_tanzu:
        compression: gzip
        creds_file_path: '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json'
        customer_id: '<customer_id>'
        endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
        log_type: VMWARE_TANZU
        raw_log_field: body

service:
    pipelines:
        logs/vmware_tanzu_to_chronicle:
            receivers:
                - udplog
            exporters:
                - chronicle/vmware_tanzu

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

    1. Verify the service is running:

      sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector

    2. 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 for VMware Tanzu

  1. Sign in to the Tanzu Operations Manager web UI.
  2. Select your User name and then click Settings.
  3. Select Syslog.
  4. Click Yes to send system logs to a remote server.
  5. Provide the following configuration details:
    • Address: Enter the Bindplane agent IP address.
    • Port: Enter the Bindplane agent port number.
    • Transport Protocol: Select UDP or TCP, depending on your Bindplane agent configuration.
  6. Click Save.

UDM mapping table

Log Field UDM Mapping Logic
annotations.authorization.k8s.io/decision security_result.action If the annotation authorization.k8s.io/decision exists, its value is converted to uppercase. If the uppercase value is "ALLOW", the UDM field is set to ALLOW. Otherwise, it's set to BLOCK.
annotations.authorization.k8s.io/reason security_result.description If the annotation authorization.k8s.io/reason exists, its value (with double quotes removed) is used.
apiVersion metadata.product_version Directly mapped.
auditID metadata.product_log_id Directly mapped.
kind metadata.product_event_type Directly mapped.
objectRef.name target.resource.name Directly mapped.
objectRef.namespace target.resource.attribute.labels.key, target.resource.attribute.labels.value The key is set to "namespace", and the value is taken from objectRef.namespace.
objectRef.resource target.resource.resource_subtype Directly mapped.
objectRef.resourceVersion target.resource.attribute.labels.key, target.resource.attribute.labels.value The key is set to "resourceVersion", and the value is taken from objectRef.resourceVersion.
objectRef.uid target.resource.product_object_id Directly mapped.
requestReceivedTimestamp / timestamp metadata.event_timestamp The parser tries to parse requestReceivedTimestamp first. If it's not present, it uses the timestamp field extracted from the syslog prefix.
requestURI target.url Directly mapped.
responseStatus.code network.http.response_code Directly mapped after being converted to an integer.
sourceIPs principal.ip All IP addresses in the sourceIPs array are added to the principal.ip array.
stage metadata.description Directly mapped.
stageTimestamp metadata.collected_timestamp Directly mapped.
user.groups principal.user.group_identifiers All groups in the user.groups array are added to the principal.user.group_identifiers array.
user.uid principal.user.userid Directly mapped.
user.username principal.user.user_display_name Directly mapped.
verb network.http.method Directly mapped after being converted to uppercase. Determined by the verb field. If verb is "CREATE", the event type is USER_RESOURCE_CREATION. If verb is "PATCH" or "UPDATE", the event type is USER_RESOURCE_UPDATE_CONTENT. If verb is "DELETE", the event type is USER_RESOURCE_DELETION. Otherwise, if verb is not empty, the event type is USER_RESOURCE_ACCESS. If none of these conditions are met, the event type is set to GENERIC_EVENT. Hardcoded to "VMWARE_TANZU". Hardcoded to "VMWARE". Hardcoded to "VMWARE_TANZU". Hardcoded to "CLUSTER".

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