Collect IBM Tivoli logs

Supported in:

Google SecOps SIEM

This document explains how to ingest IBM Tivoli Monitoring logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

IBM Tivoli Monitoring is an enterprise IT infrastructure monitoring and management suite that generates logs for system monitoring events, resource thresholds, workload automation, and security audit events. The system produces event logs in syslog and key-value formats that capture HTTP activity, SSH sessions, user authentication, and network connections. The Event Integration Facility (EIF) can forward situation events to a syslog receiver.

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 IBM Tivoli Monitoring server
If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
Privileged access to the IBM Tivoli Monitoring environment (TEMS) with administrator permissions

Get Google SecOps credentials for the Bindplane agent

To authenticate the Bindplane agent to Google SecOps, choose one of the following methods:

New deployments: Use the Chronicle API (Option 1).
Legacy deployments: Continue using the ingestion authentication file (Option 2) until the Ingestion API is discontinued on July 20, 2027.

Option 1: Create a service account for the Chronicle API (recommended)

Sign in to the Google Cloud console and select the Google Cloud project that is linked to your Google SecOps instance.
Go to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.
Click Create service account.
Provide the following configuration details:
- Service account name: Enter a name for the account (for example, bindplane-ingest).
- Service account description: Enter a description (for example, Bindplane agent log ingestion).
Click Create and continue.
In the Grant this service account access to project section, click Select a role and select Chronicle Editor.
Click Continue, and then click Done.
Click the service account you created, and then go to the Keys tab.
Click Add key > Create new key.
Select JSON and click Create. The key file is downloaded to your computer.
Save the key file as ingestion-auth.json in the Bindplane collector directory (/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json on Linux or C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json on Windows), or update creds_file_path in config.yaml to match the path where you save it.
Go to IAM & Admin > Settings and copy the Project number. You'll need it for the exporter configuration.

Option 2: Download the ingestion authentication file (legacy)

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.

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 /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/ibm_tivoli:
    protocol: https
    # Region of your instance, for example us, europe, asia-southeast1
    location: <LOCATION>
    # Project number of the Google Cloud project linked to the instance
    project: '<PROJECT_NUMBER>'
    compression: gzip
    creds_file_path: '/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json'
    customer_id: '<customer_id>'
    endpoint: chronicle.googleapis.com
    log_type: IBM_TIVOLI
    raw_log_field: body
    ingestion_labels:
      env: production

service:
  pipelines:
    logs/tivoli_to_chronicle:
      receivers:
        - udplog
      exporters:
        - chronicle/ibm_tivoli

Configuration parameters

Replace the following placeholders:

Receiver configuration:
- udplog: The receiver type based on protocol:
  - udplog for UDP syslog
  - tcplog for TCP syslog
- 0.0.0.0: IP address to listen on:
  - 0.0.0.0 to listen on all interfaces (recommended)
  - Specific IP address to listen on one interface
- 514: Port number to listen on (for example, 514, 1514, 6514)
Exporter configuration:
- ibm_tivoli: Descriptive name for the exporter
- creds_file_path: Full path to the service account JSON key file (Option 1):
  - Linux: /opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json
  - Windows: C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json
- <customer_id>: Customer ID from the previous step
- location: Replace <LOCATION> with the region of your Google SecOps instance (for example, us, europe, or asia-southeast1). The exporter prefixes chronicle.googleapis.com with this value. See Regional Endpoints for the complete list.
- project: Replace <PROJECT_NUMBER> with the project number from IAM & Admin > Settings.
- endpoint: Keep set to chronicle.googleapis.com.
- IBM_TIVOLI: Log type exactly as it appears in Chronicle
- ingestion_labels: Optional labels in YAML format (for example, env: production)
Pipeline configuration:
- tivoli_to_chronicle: Descriptive name for the pipeline

Legacy ingestion API exporter

If you use the ingestion authentication file from Option 2, replace the exporters block with the following. Set creds_file_path to the path to the ingestion authentication file, and if your instance is outside the US, replace malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com with your regional endpoint (for example, europe-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com).

exporters:
  chronicle/ibm_tivoli:
    compression: gzip
    creds_file_path: '/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json'
    customer_id: '<customer_id>'
    endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
    log_type: IBM_TIVOLI
    raw_log_field: body
    ingestion_labels:
      env: production

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 IBM Tivoli Monitoring syslog forwarding

Sign in to the IBM Tivoli Monitoring server with administrator credentials.
Open the Tivoli Enterprise Monitoring Server (TEMS) environment configuration file:
```
/opt/IBM/ITM/config/<hostname>_ms_<instance>.config
```
Configure the Event Integration Facility (EIF) to forward situation events to the Bindplane agent. Add or modify the EIF configuration with the following parameters:

Setting Value

ServerLocation IP address of the Bindplane agent host (for example, 192.168.1.100)

ServerPort 514 (must match the Bindplane agent receiver port)

EventFormat SYSLOG

Setting	Value
ServerLocation	IP address of the Bindplane agent host (for example, `192.168.1.100`)
ServerPort	`514` (must match the Bindplane agent receiver port)
EventFormat	`SYSLOG`

Restart the TEMS service to apply the changes:

/opt/IBM/ITM/bin/itmcmd server stop <instance>
/opt/IBM/ITM/bin/itmcmd server start <instance>

Verify that syslog messages are being received by checking the Bindplane agent logs.

Note: IBM Tivoli Monitoring stores log files under /opt/IBM/ITM/logs/ on Linux/UNIX and C:\IBM\ITM\logs\` on Windows. Individual agent logs are stored in subdirectories by agent type (for example,lzfor Linux OS agent,uxfor UNIX OS agent). The Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server (TEPS) audit log records user login/logout, configuration changes, and situation events at/opt/IBM/ITM/logs/_cq_audit.log`.

UDM mapping table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
mechanism	extensions.auth.mechanism	Value copied directly
	metadata.event_type	Set to "NETWORK_HTTP" if target_hostname or target_ip set, "USER_UNCATEGORIZED" if username set in sshd or flag_type in extension, "USER_LOGIN" for sshd Accepted password, "NETWORK_CONNECTION" for sshd Received disconnect or console with product_log_id, "USER_LOGOUT" for sshd Disconnected, "STATUS_UPDATE" if has_principal true, "GENERIC_EVENT" else
product_event_type	metadata.product_event_type	Value copied directly
product_log_id, action_code	metadata.product_log_id	Value from product_log_id if not empty, else action_code
protocol, proto, msg1	network.application_protocol	Set to "HTTP" if protocol matches HTTP or msg1 matches POST, "SSH" if proto matches ssh or ssh2
method, msg1	network.http.method	Value from method if not empty, else "POST" if msg1 matches POST
url	network.http.referral_url	Value copied directly if not "/"
response_code	network.http.response_code	Converted to integer
agent	network.http.user_agent	Value copied directly
agent	network.http.parsed_user_agent	Converted using parseduseragent
msg1	network.ip_protocol	Set to "TCP" if msg1 matches TCP/IP
session_id	network.session_id	Value copied directly
hashing_algo	network.tls.client.supported_ciphers	Value copied directly
tls_version	network.tls.version	Value copied directly
ServerName, hostname, dvc, host	principal.asset.hostname	Value from ServerName if not empty, else hostname, else dvc, else host
SourceAddress, src_ip, srcIp	principal.asset.ip	Value from SourceAddress if not empty, else src_ip, else srcIp
ServerName, hostname, host	principal.hostname	Value from ServerName if not empty, else hostname, else host
SourceAddress, src_ip, srcIp	principal.ip	Value from SourceAddress if not empty, else src_ip, else srcIp
srcPort	principal.port	Converted to integer
source_file	principal.process.file.full_path	Value copied directly
SourceModuleName	principal.resource.name	Value copied directly
role_user	principal.user.attribute.roles	Merged as array with name from role_user
UserCN	principal.user.group_identifiers	Value copied directly
role_user	principal.user.role_name	Value copied directly
username, flag_type	principal.user.userid	Value from flag_type if not empty and not "Session", else from username
ConnectionID	security_result.about.labels	Merged as label with key "ConnectionID" and value from ConnectionID
Outcome, response_code	security_result.action	Set to "ALLOW" if Outcome == "Success" or response_code in 100-399, "BLOCK" if Outcome == "Invalid credentials" or response_code not in 100-399
desc, action, reason, msg1, extension, msg2	security_result.description	Set to desc + ": " + action + " - " + reason if desc and reason, else action if no desc and no reason, else action + " - " + reason, or from msg1, or from extension, or from msg2 depending on context
rule_name	security_result.rule_name	Value copied directly
summary	security_result.summary	Value copied directly
process	target.application	Value copied directly (for sshd)
dvc, target_hostname, host	target.asset.hostname	Value from dvc if not empty, else target_hostname, else host
target_ip	target.asset.ip	Value copied directly
dvc, target_hostname, host	target.hostname	Value from dvc if not empty, else target_hostname, else host
target_ip	target.ip	Value copied directly
pid	target.process.pid	Value copied directly
uid, username	target.user.userid	Value from uid extracted from Message, or from username for sshd Accepted password
	metadata.product_name	Set to "IBM_TIVOLI"
	metadata.vendor_name	Set to "IBM"

Change Log

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