Syslog message displays UnknownGateway instead of the hostname of the Gateway

Products

• STARTER PACK-7
• CA Rapid App Security
• CA API Gateway

Issue/Introduction

Solution

Background

The CA API Gateway is capable of transmitting log entries and audit logs to external Syslog recipients. This will allow an administrator to direct logs to a centralized site for storage and analysis. This implementation should allow an administrator to correlate log messages to particular hosts at particular times. A Gateway appliance may not correctly report its own hostname in the Syslog message?under certain circumstances. This article will describe that circumstance and how to resolve the issue.

Presentation

The following log entry may be received by the Syslog recipient with applicable error emphasized in bold:
Oct 17 09:48:50 UnknownGateway SSG[10] Test Message 1

The presence of?UnknownGateway?in the Syslog message is anomalous. This string should reflect the actual DHCP hostname?of the system for identification purposes under normal operating parameters

Resolution

The simplest method to resolve this issue is to add a full hosts file definition?for the host. Do the following in order to add that defintion:

1. Log in to the Gateway appliance as the?ssgconfig?user
2. Select Option #3: Use a privileged shell (root)
3. Open /etc/hosts for editing
4. Add the following information:?8.8.8.8?? ?host.domain.com?? ?host

The values above should be substituted for the IP address, fully qualfied domain name, and DHCP hostname, respectively. A full Gateway appliance restart is recommended.?This issue can also be resolved by ensuring that there is a DNS entry for the applicable system as well as a valid DNS server configured in the Gateway appliance.

Environment

Release:
Component: APIGTW