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Peter Czanik
15 May 2024

Last year, I received many requests about syslog-ng for Amazon Linux 2023, but I could not find an easy way to create syslog-ng packages. Recently, however, I found that Fedora Copr supports building packages for Amazon Linux 2023. So, with a little bit of experimentation, I got a cut down version of syslog-ng compiled.

Installation

Installation is easy, even though enabling Copr repositories using the related dnf command does not seem to work. So, first download the repo file from https://copr.fedorainfracloud.org/coprs/czanik/syslog-ng-amazon23/repo/amazonlinux-2023/czanik-syslog-ng-amazon23-amazonlinux-2023.repo and save it under /etc/yum.repos.d/:

cd /etc/yum.repos.d/
wget https://copr.fedorainfracloud.org/coprs/czanik/syslog-ng-amazon23/repo/amazonlinux-2023/czanik-syslog-ng-amazon23-amazonlinux-2023.repo

Update: using dnf also works, as long as you also add the repository name at the end as an extra parameter:

dnf copr enable czanik/syslog-ng-amazon23 amazonlinux-2023-aarch64

Without it, you will receive an error message:

[root@ip-172-31-39-6 ec2-user]# dnf copr enable czanik/syslog-ng-amazon23 
Enabling a Copr repository. Please note that this repository is not part
of the main distribution, and quality may vary.

The Fedora Project does not exercise any power over the contents of
this repository beyond the rules outlined in the Copr FAQ at
<https://docs.pagure.org/copr.copr/user_documentation.html#what-i-can-build-in-copr>,
and packages are not held to any quality or security level.

Please do not file bug reports about these packages in Fedora
Bugzilla. In case of problems, contact the owner of this repository.

Do you really want to enable copr.fedorainfracloud.org/czanik/syslog-ng-amazon23? [y/N]: y
Error: It wasn't possible to enable this project.
Repository 'epel-2023-x86_64' does not exist in project 'czanik/syslog-ng-amazon23'.
Available repositories: 'amazonlinux-2023-aarch64', 'amazonlinux-2023-x86_64'

If you want to enable a non-default repository, use the following command:
 'dnf copr enable czanik/syslog-ng-amazon23 <repository>'
But note that the installed repo file will likely need a manual modification.

Once the repo file is at the correct location, you can install syslog-ng:

dnf install syslog-ng

You can search for available syslog-ng modules (sub-packages from the rpm point of view):

dnf search syslog-ng

The list is a lot shorter than on Fedora, but there are still some useful modules there, such as syslog-ng-http, which allows you to send logs to Elasticsearch and various cloud services, like Slack.

Apart from the smaller number of modules, the package works like any other Fedora or RHEL syslog-ng package. The configuration steps are the same, and you can enable and start it using systemd commands.

We need your feedback!

As the title says, these packages are experimental. They are built from a git snapshot and a handcrafted RPM spec file, separate from my Fedora / RHEL spec files. They are good enough for testing, but not recommended for use in production environments.

The main aim of these packages is to gain feedback. Preparing these experimental packages took just a few hours. However, doing it properly and adding more sub-packages would take a lot more effort. Before that, we need to know if there is enough interest in syslog-ng on Amazon Linux 2023, and if any of the currently missing dependencies are mission-critical for you.

You can share your feedback in the following syslog-ng GitHub discussion: https://github.com/syslog-ng/syslog-ng/discussions/4965 or on the syslog-ng mailing list: https://lists.balabit.hu/mailman/listinfo/syslog-ng

You can also reach out to me directly at:

-

If you have questions or comments related to syslog-ng, do not hesitate to contact us. You can reach us by email or even chat with us. For a list of possibilities, check our GitHub page under the “Community” section at https://github.com/syslog-ng/syslog-ng. On Twitter, I am available as @PCzanik, on Mastodon as @Pczanik@fosstodon.org.

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