How to send MetaDefender Core logs to NAS ( Network Attached Storage ) Path?

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This article applies to all MetaDefender Core V4 and V5 releases deployed on Windows and Linux systems.

Creating a Network Attached Storage

In our example, we will use a Windows Machine to create a remote shared directory where we will store the logs of MetaDefender Core from a different machine.

Step 1: Open the File Explorer and create a folder that is going to be shared.


Step 2: Right click the created folder, open Properties and under Sharing tab click button Share…


Step 3: A Network Access tab will pop-up. Here you can add any users and set the permissions as needed


The folder is now accessible over the network:


Now let’s configure MetaDefender Core to send the logs to this storage.

Linux:

Step 1: We will need a tool to allow us to mount the Network Attached Storage. Run the following commands to install cifs-utils:

sudo apt-get install cifs-utils

Step 2: Create a directory where you want to mount the storage, along with the log file:

sudo mkdir /core_logs

sudo touch /core_logs/core.log

Step 3: Mount the Windows Share, considering the minimum permissions ometascan service user will need:


sudo mount -t cifs //windows_server_ip/Shared_Storage /core_logs -o username=windows_user,password=windows_password,domain=windows_domain,dir_mode=0777,file_mode=0777

Step 4: Modify /etc/ometascan/ometascan.conf file to send the logs to the desired directory.

a. Open the file:

sudo vim /etc/ometascan/ometascan.conf

b. Change the logfile path to the configured one:

logfile=/core_logs/core.log

Step 5: Restart the MD Core Service:

service ometascan restart


Core will now send all the logs to the Network Attached Storage:


Windows:

Step 1: In order to save logs to a mapped drive, the mapped drive must first be created under the SYSTEM account.

To do this, please follow the instructions below:

  • Download the psexec.exe.zip file from Microsoft’s Sysinternals Security Utilities suite by visiting this Webpage, then extract it and delete the original zip file.

  • Now, place the psexec.exe tool on the machine where you want the mapped drive to be created (e.g. C:\PSTools\psexec.exe).

  • Open the command prompt, right click and select: Run as Administrator.


  • In the command prompt, navigate to the directory where psexec.exe was copied (e.g. cd C:\pstools, as illustrated in the screenshot below).


  • Enter the following command psexec.exe -i -s cmd.exe, as illustrated in the screenshot below:


  • If the Sysinternals pop-up appears, click Agree, as illustrated in the screenshot below.


  • An elevated command prompt window will open.

  • Enter the command: whoami to confirm that the new command prompt is running as: nt


  • Enter the following command to mount the mapped drive: use <desired drive letter> <UNC path to map the drive to> (e.g. net use Z: \file-server-1\share).


Step 2: Now that we have mapped the Shared_Storage, we have created a new core_logs folder under which we have created core.log file, where we are going to send the logs.


Step 3: Open Registry Editor and navigate to the following path:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\OPSWAT\Metascan\logger

Here you will need to change the logfile value to the path we have just configured:


Step 4: Open Services and restart OPSWAT MetaDefender Core service for the changes to take place:


MetaDefender Core will now send the logs to the configured NAS ( Network Attached Storage Path ):


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