NGFW 6.9 Online Help

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Monitoring
You can use the SMC to monitor system components and third-party devices. You can also view and filter logs, and create Reports from them.
Viewing and exporting logged data
You can view log, alert, and audit entries through the log browsing views. You can view data from SMC servers, all types of engines, and from third-party components that are configured to send data to the SMC.
Changing how log entries are displayed
There are various ways in which you can customize how entries in the Log view are displayed.

About this Help
This online help was created for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall (Forcepoint NGFW), version 6.9.0.
Introduction to the Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall solution
Before setting up Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall (Forcepoint NGFW), it is useful to know what the different components do and what engine roles are available.
Deployment
Before you can set up the system and start configuring elements, you must consider how the different SMC components should be positioned and deployed.
Setting up
After deploying the SMC components, you are ready to start using the Management Client and carrying out some of the first configuration tasks.
Monitoring
You can use the SMC to monitor system components and third-party devices. You can also view and filter logs, and create Reports from them.
- Monitoring Forcepoint NGFW components
  You can monitor Forcepoint NGFW components and view system summaries in the Management Client.
- Monitoring third-party devices
  The SMC can be configured to log and monitor other manufacturers’ devices in much the same way as SMC components are monitored.
- Viewing and exporting logged data
  You can view log, alert, and audit entries through the log browsing views. You can view data from SMC servers, all types of engines, and from third-party components that are configured to send data to the SMC.
  - Getting started with the Logs view
    The Logs view displays all log, alert, and audit entries for the SMC.
  - Browsing log data
    You can browse, filter, and search for log data in the Logs view.
  - Changing how log entries are displayed
    There are various ways in which you can customize how entries in the Log view are displayed.
    - Increase or decrease text size in log entries
      You can increase, decrease, and reset the text size in the Logs view.
    - Selecting the time zone for log browsing
      The SMC and engines use universal time (UTC) internally. The times in the Logs view are changed to your selected time zone as they are displayed.
    - Select columns in the log entry table
      You can select which columns are shown in the Logs view and customize how the columns are shown. You can add and remove columns and change the order and width of columns.
    - Tools for customizing the Logs view
      To make logs easier to read, you can customize how the data is displayed in the Logs view.
  - Exporting data from the Logs view
    You can export log entries in various ways and formats.
  - Save data in PDF or HTML format
    You can save lists of elements, logged data, reports, statistics, and diagrams in PDF format or as HTML. You can customize the format of the PDF files.
  - Create rules from log entries
    You can use log entry details to generate new rules.
  - Forwarding log data to an Elasticsearch cluster
    Elasticsearch is an open-source search engine that runs on an external Elasticsearch server cluster. You can forward log data from Log Servers and Management Servers to an Elasticsearch cluster to improve the performance of browsing and searching for log entries, report generation, and other log-related features.
- Reports
  Reports are summaries of logs and statistics that allow you to combine large amounts of data into an easily viewable form.
- Filtering data
  Filters allow you to select data based on values that it contains. Most frequently, you use filters when viewing logs, but filters can also be used for other tasks, such as exporting logs and selecting data for reports.
- Working with Diagram elements
  Diagrams allow you to visualize your network security environment.
- Incident Case elements
  When suspicious activity is detected, it is important to collect information about the incident and act quickly. The Incident Case element is a tool for investigating incidents of suspicious activity.
Controlling NGFW Engines
You can command and set options for engines through the Management Client or on the engine command line. You can also stop traffic manually.
SMC configuration
Security Management Center (SMC) configuration allows you to customize how the SMC components work.
NGFW Engine configuration
You can create and modify Firewalls, IPS engines, Layer 2 Firewalls, Master NGFW Engines and Virtual NGFW Engines. You can configure the NGFW Engine properties, activate optional features, and configure advanced NGFW Engine settings.
Routing
Use the Management Client to configure static or dynamic routing, and use a Multi-Link configuration to manage and distribute inbound and outbound connections.
Traffic inspection policies
Policies are key elements that contain rules for allowing or blocking network traffic and inspecting the content of traffic.
Users and authentication
User accounts are stored in internal databases or external directory servers. You can use Forcepoint NGFW in the Firewall/VPN role or external authentication servers to authenticate users.
Virtual private networks
Forcepoint NGFW supports both policy-based and route-based VPN (virtual private network) tunnels between VPN gateways. For full remote access, Forcepoint NGFW supports both IPsec and SSL VPN tunnels for VPN clients.
Maintenance and upgrades
Maintenance includes procedures that you do not typically need to do frequently.
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting helps you resolve common problems in the Forcepoint NGFW and SMC.
Appendices

Changing how log entries are displayed

There are various ways in which you can customize how entries in the Log view are displayed.

Increase or decrease text size in log entries
You can increase, decrease, and reset the text size in the Logs view.
Selecting the time zone for log browsing
The SMC and engines use universal time (UTC) internally. The times in the Logs view are changed to your selected time zone as they are displayed.
Select columns in the log entry table
You can select which columns are shown in the Logs view and customize how the columns are shown. You can add and remove columns and change the order and width of columns.
Tools for customizing the Logs view
To make logs easier to read, you can customize how the data is displayed in the Logs view.

Related concepts

Selecting the time zone for log browsing

Exporting data from the Logs view

Related tasks

Increase or decrease text size in log entries

Select columns in the log entry table

© 2020 Forcepoint
Published 8 December 2020