Native Integrations

DHCP server log monitoring with Log360

Overview

ManageEngine Log360 collects, parses, stores, analyzes, correlates, and archives DHCP server logs—from both Windows and Linux environments—for effective log management, real-time network monitoring, and rapid threat detection and investigation.

How Log360 collects and analyzes DHCP logs

Log360 offers a multifaceted approach to collecting DHCP server logs, accommodating various network configurations and administrative preferences through intelligent processing:

Collection methods:

Agentless collection:

From Windows servers: Log360 can directly and securely collect DHCP audit logs from Windows Event Logs, providing a straightforward method for monitoring Microsoft DHCP servers.
Syslog forwarding: For Linux-based DHCP servers (like ISC DHCP), Log360 can act as a syslog server, receiving DHCP logs via the standard syslog protocol—a popular method for its simplicity and native support.

Agent-based collection:

Lightweight agent deployment: For complex network topologies or when enhanced security and managed collection is preferred, a lightweight agent installed on the DHCP servers securely forwards log data to the central Log360 server.

Log360's intelligent parsing automatically identifies DHCP log formats from both Windows and Linux and extracts relevant fields regardless of the collection method. This allows organizations to choose the strategy that best aligns with their infrastructure and security policies.

Monitoring capabilities

Log360 collects and analyzes DHCP server logs from various sources:

Windows DHCP audit logs: Events related to IP lease assignments, denials, and server status.
Linux DHCP logs (via syslog): Detailed operational data including lease requests, offers, and acknowledgements.

Critical DHCP events monitored

Log360 tracks essential DHCP server and network events including:

IP lease events (Offer, Request, Acknowledgment, Decline, Release)
Detection of new or unauthorized MAC addresses on the network
IP address pool exhaustion warnings and errors
Negative Acknowledgement (NAK) events indicating network misconfigurations
Potential rogue DHCP server activity
Failed or denied lease requests
DHCP server configuration changes and service status (startup/shutdown)

Key benefits

Centralized DHCP visibility: Monitor all Windows and Linux DHCP servers from a single console, providing a complete view of your network's IP address management.
Real-time threat detection: Instantly identify rogue DHCP servers, unauthorized device connections, and other network threats as they occur.
Network troubleshooting & forensics: Drastically reduce the time to resolve network issues by providing a searchable, time-stamped audit trail of all IP address assignments and DHCP server activity.
Security analytics: Leverage advanced analytics to detect anomalous patterns, track device history, and investigate security incidents related to network access.

Address key DHCP security challenges with Log360

The following table details common challenges and the solutions offered by Log360:

Challenges	Solution offered by Log360
Rogue DHCP server detection	Identifies and alerts on unauthorized devices acting as DHCP servers on the network, preventing IP conflicts and manipulator-in-the-middle attacks.
IP address pool management	Monitors the utilization of DHCP scopes and address pools, providing alerts when they are nearing exhaustion to prevent service disruption for legitimate devices.
Network device tracking	Provides a complete audit trail of IP address assignments (leases), mapping MAC addresses to IP addresses and hostnames over time for forensic investigations and device tracking.
Identifying network configuration issues	Detects DHCP-related errors, such as negative acknowledgements (NAKs) and request failures, helping administrators quickly diagnose and resolve network misconfigurations.
Insider threat & unauthorized devices	Tracks all IP lease activity, helping to detect suspicious connections and enforce network access policies by alerting on new or unknown devices joining the network.