FortiGate Logs can be sent to syslog servers in Common Event Format (CEF) (300128)

You can configure FortiOS to send log messages to remote syslog servers in CEF format. CEF is an open log management standard that provides interoperability of security-related information between different network devices and applications. CEF data can be collected and aggregated for analysis by enterprise management or Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems such as FortiSIEM.

FortiOS supports logging to up to four remote syslog servers. Each server can now be configured separately to send log messages in CEF or CSV format. Previously only CSV format was supported.

Use the following command to configure syslog3 to use CEF format:

config log syslog3 setting set format cef

end

All other syslog settings can be configured as required independently of the log message format including the server address and transport (UDP or TCP). You can also configure filtering for both CEF and CSV formatted log messages.