Dell Switch Log Monitoring and Analysis with Log360

Overview

Log360 integrates with Dell switches to collect and analyze syslog messages in real time, offering deep visibility into switch-level events and security related activity. By centralizing logs from Dell switches, Log360 enables security teams and network administrators to monitor logon activity, track interface and port status changes, detect configuration anomalies, and investigate system-level issues with ease. This integration supports proactive network security and helps organizations meet compliance and auditing requirements.

How Log360 collects and analyzes Dell switch logs

Log360 collects logs from Dell switches using the standard syslog protocol. The switches can be configured to forward their syslog messages to the Log360 server over UDP, TCP, or TLS, depending on your network security requirements. Upon receipt, Log360 applies parsing rules to extract key event details such as port ID, interface name, status codes, user accounts, severity levels, and event types. The data is then normalized and structured into categorized reports for streamlined analysis.

Monitoring and analytics capabilities

Once Dell switch logs are ingested, Log360 delivers the following monitoring and analytical functions:

• Real-time event detection: Monitors for anomalies like unauthorized logins, port shutdowns, or configuration changes, triggering alerts immediately.
• Interface and port analytics: Tracks physical and logical interface state changes, port up/down events, and unauthorized port modifications.
• Logon monitoring: Identifies valid and failed authentication attempts to the switch CLI or management console, including time, IP, and user info.
• System and device health reporting: Detects reboots, system errors, firmware issues, and other operational events affecting the switch.

Critical Dell switch events monitored

• Logon events

  Capture successful and failed login attempts to the switch, identifying the user, access method, and originating IP.

• Interface state changes

  Monitor physical link up/down status on interfaces to detect disconnections, hardware faults, or physical tampering.

• Port configuration actions

  Track administrative port enable/disable commands and monitor for unauthorized reassignments or policy violations.

• System level activity

  Log switch reboots, shutdowns, and hardware warnings such as high CPU usage, fan failures, or temperature alerts.

• Protocol related updates

  Detect events related to STP, VLANs, and routing protocols to identify potential misconfigurations or network topology shifts.

• Severity based notifications

  Classify events using syslog severity levels to filter critical alerts from routine informational messages.

• Configuration changes

  Audit CLI command activity and configuration save operations to detect and investigate unauthorized modifications.

Key benefits

• Centralized switch visibility: Aggregate and analyze logs from all Dell switches in your environment through a single pane of glass.
• Proactive network defense: Detect unusual port behavior, unauthorized changes, and failed logins in real time to stop threats early.
• Track changes: Track who made what changes, when, and on which port or VLAN to enable accountability.
• Audit readiness: Generate compliance-friendly reports covering user activity, port state history, and system alerts.
• Cross environment correlation: Link Dell switch logs with logs from firewalls, endpoints, and authentication systems to investigate full attack paths.

Addressing key Dell switch security challenges