I get a lot of questions about Log Insight interoperability so I thought I would blog about it. Read on to learn more!
What is Interoperability?
VMware actually does not define the term so it is left up to interpretation. In the broadest sense, interoperability can be defined as communication exchange between services. Using this definition, Log Insight would have interoperability with every VMware product as all VMware products support syslog and so does Log Insight. While stating Log Insight has interoperability with every product would be nice, there is more to interoperability then just sending syslog traffic in my opinion. Let me provide my definition for interoperability:
Communication exchange between services beyond RFC defined methods — some times referred to as “integration”
With this more specific definition, syslog does not count.
What Interoperability does Log Insight have?
Log Insight integrates with two products today:
You can see from the above links, the integrates means more than send events over syslog.
What about other products?
Again, Log Insight supports syslog so every product that supports syslog will work with Log Insight. No other VMware products provide integration beyond sending syslog so they are not listed in the interoperability matrix though they are supported from a syslog standpoint.
What about content packs?
Content packs are different in at least two ways:
- Content packs do not facilitate communication exchange between services — they provide dashboards, queries, alerts, and extracted fields for events ingested. Now some content packs include agent groups which do facilitate communication exchange, but this exchange is between the Log Insight agent and the Log Insight server.
- They are released out of GA cycles and their dependencies may change over time.
To address these differences, content packs are note listed on the interoperability matrix either. Instead, a compatibility guide is available on VMware Solution Exchange which lists what versions are supported by which content packs.
Summary
Log Insight defines interoperability outside of RFC defined methods. This means will all VMware products that support syslog will work and will be supported by Log Insight, only vSphere and vR Ops have integrations that warrant listing on the interoperability matrix. Note that content pack have their own compatibility matrix on Solution Exchange.
© 2016, Steve Flanders. All rights reserved.
