Microsoft NPS through NXLog

When you configure your Microsoft Network Policy Server (NPS) to send log data to USM Appliance, you can use the Microsoft Network Policy Server plugin to translate raw log data into normalized events for analysis. The table below provides some basic information for the plugin.

Plugin Information
Device Details
Vendor Microsoft
Device Type Network Policy Server
Connection Type Syslog
Data Source Name nps-nxlog
Data Source ID 1951

Integrating Microsoft NPS and NXLog

Before you configure Microsoft  NPS to send logs to USM Appliance, you must first configure NPS log file properties following the Microsoft documentation. When doing so, you must

  • For log file directory, use the default location, %systemroot%\System32\LogFiles. The USM Appliance plugin checks the log files in that directory.
  • For log file format, choose either ODBC (Legacy) or IAS (Legacy). This is because the USM Appliance plugin only understands database-compatible log formats.

Next, you need the IP address of the USM Appliance Sensor to complete the steps below.

Configure NXLog on Windows

Important: You need to have the NXLog Enterprise Edition installed because the plugin uses the xm_nps module, which is only available in the NXLog Enterprise Edition.

To send log data through NXLog to USM Appliance

  1. If not done already, download nxlog.conf, and then place it in the conf directory of your NXLog installation. Depending on which version you use, the directory can be C:\Program Files (x86)\nxlog\conf\ for the 32-bit version or C:\Program Files\nxlog\conf\ for the 64-bit version.

    Note: This step overwrites the default nxlog.conf file. You may want to back up the original copy before placing the one provided by LevelBlue.

  2. Open the nxlog.conf file in a text editor.

  3. Update the root path of your NXLog installation.

    1. Locate the following lines:

      #define ROOT C:\Program Files\nxlog

      #define ROOT C:\Program Files (x86)\nxlog

    2. Uncomment the path that matches the NXLog installation on your Windows machine.

  4. Enter the USM Appliance Sensor IP address.

    1. Locate the following line:

      define OUTPUT_DESTINATION_ADDRESS <USM-Appliance-Sensor-IP>

    2. Replace <USM-Appliance-Sensor-IP> with the IP address of the USM Appliance All-in-One or USM Appliance Sensor that will receive the Windows events.

  5. Uncomment the section between NPS-NXLOG and /NPS-NXLOG.

    Important: Only remove the first # symbol in each line when uncommenting the sections. The remaining # symbol indicates that the line is either a comment or optional.

  6. Save the file.
  7. Start or restart the NXLog service.

Plugin Enablement

For plugin enablement information, see Enable Plugins.

If enabling the plugin on assets, you will find it listed as Microsoft : Network Policy Server : - .

Enabling the nps-nxlog plugin from asset

Additional Resources and Troubleshooting

For troubleshooting, refer to the vendor documentation:

NXLog User Guide