Suricata and Dynatrace Integration

Input and output integration overview

This plugin reports internal performance counters of the Suricata IDS/IPS engine and processes the incoming data to fit Telegraf’s format.

The Dynatrace plugin allows users to send metrics collected by Telegraf directly to Dynatrace for monitoring and analysis. This integration enhances the observability of systems and applications, providing valuable insights into performance and operational health.

Integration details

Suricata

The Suricata plugin captures and reports internal performance metrics from the Suricata IDS/IPS engine, which includes a wide range of statistics such as traffic volume, memory usage, uptime, and counters for flows and alerts. This plugin listens for JSON-formatted log outputs from Suricata, allowing it to parse and format the data for integration with Telegraf. It operates as a service input plugin, meaning it actively waits for metrics or events from Suricata rather than collecting metrics at predefined intervals. The plugin supports configurations for different metrics versions allowing for enhanced flexibility and detailed data gathering.

Dynatrace

The Dynatrace plugin for Telegraf facilitates the transmission of metrics to the Dynatrace platform via the Dynatrace Metrics API V2. This plugin can function in two modes: it can run alongside the Dynatrace OneAgent, which automates authentication, or it can operate in a standalone configuration that requires manual specification of the URL and API token for environments without a OneAgent. The plugin primarily reports metrics as gauges unless explicitly configured to treat certain metrics as delta counters using the available config options. This feature empowers users to customize the behavior of metrics sent to Dynatrace, harnessing the robust capabilities of the platform for comprehensive performance monitoring and observability. It’s crucial for users to ensure compliance with version requirements for both Dynatrace and Telegraf, thereby optimizing compatibility and performance when integrating with the Dynatrace ecosystem.

Configuration

Suricata

[[inputs.suricata]]
  ## Source
  ## Data sink for Suricata stats log. This is expected to be a filename of a
  ## unix socket to be created for listening.
  # source = "/var/run/suricata-stats.sock"

  ## Delimiter
  ## Used for flattening field keys, e.g. subitem "alert" of "detect" becomes
  ## "detect_alert" when delimiter is "_".
  # delimiter = "_"

  ## Metric version
  ## Version 1 only collects stats and optionally will look for alerts if
  ## the configuration setting alerts is set to true.
  ## Version 2 parses any event type message by default and produced metrics
  ## under a single metric name using a tag to differentiate between event
  ## types. The timestamp for the message is applied to the generated metric.
  ## Additional tags and fields are included as well.
  # version = "1"

  ## Alerts
  ## In metric version 1, only status is captured by default, alerts must be
  ## turned on with this configuration option. This option does not apply for
  ## metric version 2.
  # alerts = false

Dynatrace

[[outputs.dynatrace]]
  ## For usage with the Dynatrace OneAgent you can omit any configuration,
  ## the only requirement is that the OneAgent is running on the same host.
  ## Only setup environment url and token if you want to monitor a Host without the OneAgent present.
  ##
  ## Your Dynatrace environment URL.
  ## For Dynatrace OneAgent you can leave this empty or set it to "http://127.0.0.1:14499/metrics/ingest" (default)
  ## For Dynatrace SaaS environments the URL scheme is "https://{your-environment-id}.live.dynatrace.com/api/v2/metrics/ingest"
  ## For Dynatrace Managed environments the URL scheme is "https://{your-domain}/e/{your-environment-id}/api/v2/metrics/ingest"
  url = ""

  ## Your Dynatrace API token.
  ## Create an API token within your Dynatrace environment, by navigating to Settings > Integration > Dynatrace API
  ## The API token needs data ingest scope permission. When using OneAgent, no API token is required.
  api_token = ""

  ## Optional prefix for metric names (e.g.: "telegraf")
  prefix = "telegraf"

  ## Optional TLS Config
  # tls_ca = "/etc/telegraf/ca.pem"
  # tls_cert = "/etc/telegraf/cert.pem"
  # tls_key = "/etc/telegraf/key.pem"
  ## Optional flag for ignoring tls certificate check
  # insecure_skip_verify = false

  ## Connection timeout, defaults to "5s" if not set.
  timeout = "5s"

  ## If you want metrics to be treated and reported as delta counters, add the metric names here
  additional_counters = [ ]

  ## In addition or as an alternative to additional_counters, if you want metrics to be treated and
  ## reported as delta counters using regular expression pattern matching
  additional_counters_patterns = [ ]

  ## NOTE: Due to the way TOML is parsed, tables must be at the END of the
  ## plugin definition, otherwise additional config options are read as part of the
  ## table

  ## Optional dimensions to be added to every metric
  # [outputs.dynatrace.default_dimensions]
  # default_key = "default value"

Input and output integration examples

Suricata

1. Network Traffic Analysis: Utilize the Suricata plugin to track detailed metrics about network intrusion attempts and performance, aiding in real-time threat detection and response. By visualizing captured alerts and flow statistics, security teams can quickly pinpoint vulnerabilities and mitigate risks.

2. Performance Monitoring Dashboard: Create a dashboard using the Suricata Telegraf plugin metrics to monitor the health and performance of the IDS/IPS engine. This use case provides an overview of memory usage, captured packets, and alert statistics, allowing teams to maintain optimal operating conditions.

3. Automated Security Reporting: Leverage the plugin to generate regular reports on alert statistics and traffic patterns, helping security analysts to identify long-term trends and prepare strategic defense initiatives. Automated reports also ensure that the security posture of the network is continually assessed.

4. Real-time Alert Handling: Integrate Suricata’s alert metrics within a broader incident response automation framework. By incorporating the inputs from the Suricata plugin, organizations can develop smart triggers for alerting and automated response workflows that enhance reaction times to potential threats.

Dynatrace

1. Cloud Infrastructure Monitoring: Utilize the Dynatrace plugin to monitor a cloud infrastructure setup, feeding real-time metrics from Telegraf into Dynatrace. This integration provides a holistic view of resource utilization, application performance, and system health, enabling proactive responses to performance issues across various cloud environments.

2. Custom Application Performance Metrics: Implement custom application-specific metrics by configuring the Dynatrace output plugin to send tailored metrics from Telegraf. By leveraging additional counters and dimension options, development teams can gain insights that are precisely aligned with their application’s operational requirements, allowing for targeted optimization efforts.

3. Multi-Environment Metrics Management: For organizations running multiple Dynatrace environments (e.g., production, staging, and development), use this plugin to manage metrics for all environments from a single Telegraf instance. With proper configuration of endpoints and API tokens, teams can maintain consistent monitoring practices throughout the SDLC, ensuring that performance anomalies are detected early in the development process.

4. Automated Alerting Based on Metrics Changes: Integrate the Dynatrace output plugin with an alerting mechanism that triggers notifications when specific metrics exceed defined thresholds. This scenario involves configuring additional counters to monitor crucial application performance indicators, enabling swift remediation actions to maintain service availability and user satisfaction.

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