Overview

Windows log collection is a critical part of security and compliance monitoring. Logs from Windows systems help in detecting anomalies, investigating incidents, and auditing user and system activities.

Log360 supports two modes of log collection from Windows devices:

• Agent-based collection: In this method, a lightweight agent is installed on the target device to collect and forward logs to the Log360 server. Agent-based collection is particularly useful when collecting logs across WANs, through firewalls, or from devices in restricted network zones such as DMZs, where direct connectivity may not be feasible. It’s also ideal in environments without a stable network connection. Additionally, using agents helps reduce the CPU load on the Log360 server and offers better control over the events per second (EPS) rate.
• Agentless collection: By default, EventLog Analyzer uses agent-less log collection when a device is added. In this method, the server remotely connects to Windows devices and collects logs using WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) or similar protocols. This approach does not require installing a separate agent on each device. Instead, the EventLog Analyzer server itself handles the collection of Windows event logs and syslog messages. This minimizes overhead on the monitored devices and simplifies deployment, although it does require administrative credentials and proper network configuration.