Read audit logs using REST

Description

Estimated time to complete: 30 minutes

In this use case, you examine audit logs to investigate user behavior, and you use debug logs to investigate system behavior.

Goals

After completing this use case, you will know how to do the following:

Retrieve logs
Filter log results
Tail logs
View logs for a specific request

Prerequisites

Before you start work on this use case, ensure that you have these prerequisites:

A basic understanding of Advanced Identity Cloud logging sources
Access to your Advanced Identity Cloud development environment as a tenant administrator
General understanding of how to run commands from the terminal window
The curl command installed on your system

Tasks

Task 1: Create an API key and secret, and retrieve log sources

In this task, you create an API key and an API secret in the Advanced Identity Cloud admin console; you’ll need these values to call the /logs endpoint. Then, you call the /logs/sources endpoint to retrieve log sources.

Get an API key and an API secret:
1. Log in to the Advanced Identity Cloud admin console as an administrator.
2. In the Advanced Identity Cloud admin console, access the Tenant menu (upper right).
3. Select Tenant Settings.
4. Click Global Settings.
5. On the Global Settings tab, click Log API Keys.
6. Click + New Log API Key
7. Provide a name for the key.
8. Click Create key.
  
  The UI displays a dialog box containing the new keys:
9. Copy the api_key_id and api_key_secret values from the dialog box and save them using a text editor. You’ll need to access these two values whenever you make an API call in this use case.
  
  Store the values in a safe place, and do not share them with anyone else. The API key and API secret values provide access to administrative endpoints in Advanced Identity Cloud.
10. After you’ve saved the api_key_id and api_key_secret values, click Done.
  
  You won’t be able to view the api_key_secret value again after you click Done. If you didn’t save this value, you’ll need to repeat the preceding steps to create another API key and secret.
Get your tenant FQDN.

In the Advanced Identity Cloud admin console, go to Tenant Settings > Details.

Your tenant FQDN is labeled Tenant Name.
Advanced Identity Cloud makes browsing the logs easier by storing them in various sources. Learn more about logging sources in Log sources.

List the logging sources available in Advanced Identity Cloud:
1. Open a terminal window.
2. Run a curl command^[1] to list the log sources.
  
  Specify variables in the curl command as follows:
  <api-key> — The api_key_id value from step 1
  
  <api-secret> — The api_key_secret value from step 1
  
  <tenant-env-fqdn> — Your Advanced Identity Cloud tenant FQDN from step 2
  $ curl --get \ --header 'x-api-key: <api-key>' \ --header 'x-api-secret: <api-secret>' \ 'https://<tenant-env-fqdn>/monitoring/logs/sources'
  The terminal displays output similar to this:
  {"result":["am-access","am-activity","am-authentication","am-config","am-core","am-everything","idm-access","idm-activity","idm-authentication","idm-config","idm-core","idm-everything","idm-recon","idm-sync"],"resultCount":14,"pagedResultsCookie":null,"totalPagedResultsPolicy":"NONE","totalPagedResults":1,"remainingPagedResults":0}

Rerun the curl command to list the log sources, but this time, filter the command’s JSON output through the json_pp command^[2] to make the output easier to read:

$ curl --get \
--header 'x-api-key: <api-key>' \
--header 'x-api-secret: <api-secret>' \
'https://<tenant-env-fqdn>/monitoring/logs/sources' | json_pp
{
   "pagedResultsCookie" : null,
   "remainingPagedResults" : 0,
   "result" : [
      "am-access",
      "am-activity",
      "am-authentication",
      "am-config",
      "am-core",
      "am-everything",
      "idm-access",
      "idm-activity",
      "idm-authentication",
      "idm-config",
      "idm-core",
      "idm-everything",
      "idm-recon",
      "idm-sync"
   ],
   "resultCount" : 14,
   "totalPagedResults" : 1,
   "totalPagedResultsPolicy" : "NONE"
}

Task 2: Get logs

In this task, you retrieve all available log entries from a log source by calling the logs endpoint. Then you retrieve the tail end of a log source by calling the logs/tail endpoint.

Run a curl command to retrieve the am-authentication log source.

Specify variables in the curl command as follows:
- <api-key> — The api_key_id value you got in Task 1
- <api-secret> — The api_key_secret value you got in Task 1
- <tenant-env-fqdn> — Your Advanced Identity Cloud tenant FQDN
```
$ curl --get \
--header 'x-api-key: <api-key>' \
--header 'x-api-secret: <api-secret>' \
--data 'source=am-authentication' \
'https://<tenant-env-fqdn>/monitoring/logs'
```
The curl command displays all available log entries in the am-authentication log source. A query like this one, which usually displays a large amount of log data, is not particularly useful as it is difficult to work with the output without a log analysis tool.
Retrieve the am-authentication log source using the logs/tail endpoint.

Run a similar curl call, but instead of calling the logs endpoint, call the logs/tail endpoint and filter the output through the json_pp command:
```
$ curl --get \
--header 'x-api-key: <api-key>' \
--header 'x-api-secret: <api-secret>' \
--data 'source=am-authentication' \
'https://<tenant-env-fqdn>/monitoring/logs/tail' | json_pp
```
A smaller amount of output displays. Your call may not return any log entries at all if there hasn’t been any recent authentication activity.

When you call the /logs/tail endpoint without specifying any parameters other than the log source, the call returns log entries from the last 15 seconds of Advanced Identity Cloud activity.

If the call to the /logs/tail endpoint didn’t return any log entries, log in to the Advanced Identity Cloud admin console, wait a few seconds for Advanced Identity Cloud to write log entries, and call the /logs/tail endpoint again; several log entries should display.
Call the logs/tail endpoint repeatedly to see changes to a log source since the last time you called the endpoint.

When you specify the _pagedResultsCookie parameter when calling the logs/tail endpoint, it returns only the changes that have been made to the log source since the last time you called the endpoint.

In this step, you’ll use the am-everything log source; more entries are written to this log source than to the am-authentication log source:
1. Retrieve the am-everything log source using the logs/tail endpoint:
  $ curl --get \ --header 'x-api-key: <api-key>' \ --header 'x-api-secret: <api-secret>' \ --data 'source=am-everything' \ 'https://<tenant-env-fqdn>/monitoring/logs/tail' | json_pp
2. Review the start of the output from the call to the logs/tail endpoint. You’ll see a value for the pagedResultsCookie key:
  "pagedResultsCookie" : "eyJfc29ydEtleXM...", "remainingPagedResults" : -1, "result" : [], "resultCount" : 0, "totalPagedResults" : -1, "totalPagedResultsPolicy" : "NONE" }
3. Save the pagedResultsCookie key’s value using a text editor. You’ll need this value for subsequent calls to the /logs/tail endpoint.
4. Retrieve the am-everything log source again using the logs/tail endpoint. This time, specify the _pagedResultsCookie parameter in your curl call so that only the log entries written to the log source since your previous call to the /logs/tail endpoint are displayed:
  $ curl --get \ --header 'x-api-key: <api-key>' \ --header 'x-api-secret: <api-secret>' \ --data 'source=am-everything' \ --data '_pagedResultsCookie=<paged-results-cookie>' \ 'https://<tenant-env-fqdn>/monitoring/logs/tail' | json_pp
5. Run the same curl command several times to see the log entries written to the am-everything log source since the call from which you saved the pagedResultsCookie value.
  
  Additional log entries should be displayed for each call, but the output depends on the level of activity in your Advanced Identity Cloud tenant.

Task 3: Filter log results

In this task, you’ll filter log data using the _queryFilter parameter so that you get a limited amount of log entries from queries. You’ll run a variety of queries to gain experience with filtering.

To formulate query filters, you first need to understand the structure of a log query result so that you can construct a query filter expression:

Run the same query to retrieve the am-authentication log source you ran in Task 2:
```
$ curl --get \
--header 'x-api-key: <api-key>' \
--header 'x-api-secret: <api-secret>' \
--data 'source=am-authentication' \
'https://<tenant-env-fqdn>/monitoring/logs' | json_pp
```
If you don’t get any results from your query, log in to the Advanced Identity Cloud admin console, wait a few seconds for Advanced Identity Cloud to write log entries, and then rerun your curl call. You should get results after doing this.

Examine the value of one of the payload keys the curl command returned. The JSON output should be similar to if not exactly the same as the following; different types of log entries have different JSON objects:

     {
         "payload" : {
            "_id" : "d6741f27-47b2-4047-8c61-09fe846b7d93-70338",
            "component" : "Authentication",
            "entries" : [
               {
                  "info" : {
                     "authLevel" : "0",
                     "displayName" : "MFA Required?",
                     "nodeId" : "6ed9e2ac-bc5a-49b0-ac81-3e33c4ccfa1d",
                     "nodeOutcome" : "Optional",
                     "nodeType" : "ScriptedDecisionNode",
                     "treeName" : "FRSecondFactor"
                  }
               }
            ],
            "eventName" : "AM-NODE-LOGIN-COMPLETED",
            "level" : "INFO",
            "principal" : [
               "pat@example.com"
            ],
            "realm" : "/",
            "source" : "audit",
            "timestamp" : "2023-09-11T18:16:33.923Z",
            "topic" : "authentication",
            "trackingIds" : [
               "d6741f27-47b2-4047-8c61-09fe846b7d93-70286"
            ],
            "transactionId" : "4cbed6e6-6b10-4a06-b978-b95d25b7c254-request-2/0"
         },
         "source" : "am-authentication",
         "timestamp" : "2023-09-11T18:16:33.92361169Z",
         "type" : "application/json"
      }

You specify JSON keys in log query filter expressions, using a syntax where objects in the JSON hierarchy are separated by forward slashes. In the example JSON output above:

The payload object has a nested object named eventName; a query filter to retrieve log entries for a specific log event would compare /payload/eventName to the log event name.
The payload object has a nested object named principal; a query filter to retrieve log entries for a specific user (also known as a principal) would compare /payload/principal to the user’s name.

Learn more about query filter syntax in Filter expressions.

For examples of query filters, refer to the table in Filter log results.

Run a curl command to retrieve log entries for your authentication activity.

Specify variables in the curl command as follows:
- <api-key> — The api_key_id value you got in Task 1
- <api-secret> — The api_key_secret value you got in Task 1
- <your-user-id> — The user ID you use to log into Advanced Identity Cloud
- <tenant-env-fqdn> — Your Advanced Identity Cloud tenant FQDN
```
$ curl --get \
--header 'x-api-key: <api-key>' \
--header 'x-api-secret: <api-secret>' \
--data 'source=am-authentication' \
--data-urlencode '_queryFilter=/payload/principal eq "<your-user-id>"' \
'https://<tenant-env-fqdn>/monitoring/logs'
```
If you don’t get any results from your query, log in to the Advanced Identity Cloud admin console, wait a few seconds for Advanced Identity Cloud to write log entries, and then rerun your curl call. You should get results after doing this.
Run a curl command to retrieve log entries that indicate you have completed an authentication journey.

Specify variables in the curl command as follows:
- <api-key> — The api_key_id value you got in Task 1
- <api-secret> — The api_key_secret value you got in Task 1
- <your-user-id> — The user ID you use to log into Advanced Identity Cloud
- <tenant-env-fqdn> — Your Advanced Identity Cloud tenant FQDN
```
$ curl --get \
--header 'x-api-key: <api-key>' \
--header 'x-api-secret: <api-secret>' \
--data 'source=am-authentication' \
--data-urlencode '_queryFilter=/payload/principal eq "<your-user-id>" and /payload/eventName eq "AM-TREE-LOGIN-COMPLETED"' \
'https://<tenant-env-fqdn>/monitoring/logs'
```
If you don’t get any results from your query, log in to the Advanced Identity Cloud admin console, wait a few seconds for Advanced Identity Cloud to write log entries, and then rerun your curl call. You should get results after doing this.

Validation

Now that you’ve had some practice writing API calls to retrieve log entries, you’re ready to validate your skills by retrieving all the log entries for a request to Advanced Identity Cloud.

All log events for an external request to Advanced Identity Cloud, such as authentication, are assigned the same unique transaction ID. Reviewing multiple log entries that a single request generates can be valuable when troubleshooting system behavior.

Steps

In this validation, demonstrate the ability to get a set of log entries for an external request to Advanced Identity Cloud. First, authenticate to the Advanced Identity Cloud admin console. Then, call the log API to obtain the transaction ID. Finally, run filtered queries to retrieve all the log entries for your authentication.

Log in to the Advanced Identity Cloud admin console.
Run a curl command to retrieve log entries from the am-authentication log source.
Find one of the log entries for your authentication attempt in the curl command output.
Find the transaction ID in this log record. The key-value pair to locate is similar to this example:
```
"transactionId" : "4cbed6e6-6b10-4a06-b978-b95d25b7c254-request-2/0"
```
Run another curl command to retrieve all the log entries for your transaction from the am-authentication log source.

You should retrieve multiple log entries.

Tips:
- If you use the logs/tail endpoint, you may not get any log entries back. Remember, the logs/tail endpoint retrieves log entries from the only last 15 seconds of Advanced Identity Cloud activity.
- When constructing your curl command, use /payload/transactionId as the JSON key for your query filter.
Run another curl command to retrieve all the log entries for your transaction from all the log sources.

Tips:
- Use the am-everything log source in your curl command.
- Expect a large number of log entries to be returned in the command output.

Explore further

Reference material

Reference Learning Asset Description

Reference	Learning Asset	Description
Getting started with the ForgeRock Identity Cloud REST API: Part 8 - Auditing and monitoring	Community	Examples of running Advanced Identity Cloud auditing and monitoring requests using both Postman and `curl` commands.
Stream logs to an external monitoring tool	Documentation	Monitor log events in real time using your preferred SIEM or event monitoring solution, such as Splunk or an OpenTelemetry-compatible SIEM like Grafana Cloud, Datadog, or New Relic.

Getting started with the ForgeRock Identity Cloud REST API: Part 8 - Auditing and monitoring

Community

Examples of running Advanced Identity Cloud auditing and monitoring requests using both Postman and curl commands.

Stream logs to an external monitoring tool

Documentation

Monitor log events in real time using your preferred SIEM or event monitoring solution, such as Splunk or an OpenTelemetry-compatible SIEM like Grafana Cloud, Datadog, or New Relic.

1. All the example commands in this use case are written using Z shell syntax. You may need to adjust your command syntax slightly if you are using a different shell.

2. If you’re running on Microsoft Windows, you’ll need to use an alternative command such as the jq command for JSON formatting.

PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud