Logging Configuration

Logging Configuration

Version Info

RouterOS 7.16 | Min: v6.0+ | :clock1: 10 minutes | :green_circle: Beginner

Tested on: 7.16 7.14

Version-specific notes

• v7.20: Added /system logging action clear command to clear memory buffers
• v7.19: Added VRF support for remote logging
• v7.18: Added CEF (Common Event Format) support and millisecond timestamps
• v6.x: Core logging features available but lacks CEF, VRF, and buffer clearing

TL;DR (Quick Start)

For the impatient: send logs to a remote syslog server.

/system logging action set [find name=remote] remote=192.168.1.100
/system logging add action=remote topics=info
/system logging add action=remote topics=warning
/system logging add action=remote topics=error

Verify with:

/log print follow

Overview

What this does: RouterOS logging captures system events and status information for monitoring, troubleshooting, and auditing. Logs can be stored in memory (RAM), written to disk files, displayed on console, sent via email, or transmitted to remote syslog servers.

When to use this:

• Real-time monitoring of router events
• Troubleshooting connectivity or configuration issues
• Security auditing (login attempts, firewall matches)
• Centralized log collection from multiple routers
• Compliance and forensic analysis via SIEM integration

Prerequisites:

• Network connectivity to syslog server (for remote logging)
• Email server configuration (for email alerts)
• Sufficient storage space (for disk logging)

Configuration Steps

Step 1: View Current Logs

Before configuring logging, check the existing log entries stored in memory.

/log print

To monitor logs in real-time:

/log print follow

Press Ctrl+C to stop following.

Step 2: Review Default Configuration

RouterOS includes five default logging actions that cannot be deleted.

/system logging action print

Expected output:

Flags: * - default
 #   NAME    TARGET  REMOTE
 0 * memory  memory
 1 * disk    disk
 2 * echo    echo
 3 * remote  remote  0.0.0.0
 4 * email   email

View the default logging rules:

/system logging print

Step 3: Configure Remote Syslog

Set the syslog server address on the default remote action.

/system logging action set [find name=remote] remote=192.168.1.100

Important: Create separate rules for each severity level. Topics are ANDed together, so topics=info,warning,error will match nothing (no log entry has all three severities simultaneously).

/system logging add action=remote topics=info
/system logging add action=remote topics=warning
/system logging add action=remote topics=error
/system logging add action=remote topics=critical

Step 4: Verify Configuration

Confirm the logging rules are active.

/system logging print

Expected output:

Flags: X - disabled, * - default
 #   TOPICS   ACTION   PREFIX
 0 * info     memory
 1 * error    memory
 2 * warning  memory
 3 * critical echo
 4   info     remote
 5   warning  remote
 6   error    remote
 7   critical remote

Common Scenarios

Scenario: Send Specific Topics to Syslog

Route only firewall and authentication events to the syslog server.

/system logging add action=remote topics=firewall
/system logging add action=remote topics=account
/system logging add action=remote topics=ssh

Scenario: Custom Syslog Action with BSD Format

Create a dedicated syslog action with custom facility for filtering.

/system logging action add name=syslog target=remote \
    remote=192.168.1.100 remote-port=514 \
    syslog-facility=local0 syslog-severity=auto \
    syslog-time-format=bsd-syslog

/system logging add action=syslog topics=info
/system logging add action=syslog topics=error

Scenario: CEF Format for SIEM Integration (v7.18+)

Send logs in Common Event Format for SIEM systems.

/system logging action add name=siem target=remote \
    remote=10.0.0.50 remote-port=514 remote-protocol=tcp \
    remote-log-format=cef cef-event-delimiter="\r\n"

/system logging add action=siem topics=info
/system logging add action=siem topics=firewall

Scenario: Disk Logging for Persistent Storage

Store logs to disk for retention after reboot.

/system logging action add name=disk-log target=disk \
    disk-file-name=log disk-lines-per-file=1000 disk-file-count=5

/system logging add action=disk-log topics=firewall

View disk log files:

/file print where name~"log"

Scenario: USB/External Storage Logging

Avoid NAND wear by logging to external USB storage.

/system logging action add name=usb-log target=disk \
    disk-file-name=usb1/router-log disk-lines-per-file=5000 disk-file-count=10

/system logging add action=usb-log topics=firewall
/system logging add action=usb-log topics=web-proxy

Scenario: Email Alerts for Critical Events

Receive email notifications for critical system events.

First, configure the email server:

/tool e-mail set server=smtp.example.com port=587 \
    start-tls=yes user=alerts@example.com password=yourpassword

Then create the email logging action:

/system logging action add name=email-alerts target=email \
    email-to=admin@example.com email-start-tls=yes

/system logging add action=email-alerts topics=critical
/system logging add action=email-alerts topics=account

Scenario: Separate Memory Buffer for Debugging

Create isolated buffers for specific topics to simplify troubleshooting.

/system logging action add name=dhcp-debug target=memory memory-lines=500
/system logging add action=dhcp-debug topics=dhcp

/log print where buffer=dhcp-debug

Scenario: Firewall Logging with Prefix

Track specific firewall rule matches using prefixes.

First, add firewall rules with logging:

/ip firewall filter add chain=input action=drop log=yes log-prefix="DROP_INPUT:" \
    connection-state=invalid

Then create a logging rule (note: prefix adds text to messages, does not filter by prefix):

/system logging action add name=fw-drops target=memory memory-lines=2000
/system logging add action=fw-drops topics=firewall

Scenario: VRF-Aware Remote Logging (v7.19+)

Send logs through a specific VRF.

/system logging action add name=mgmt-syslog target=remote \
    remote=10.99.0.10 vrf=management

Scenario: Multi-Router Centralized Logging

Assign different syslog facilities to each router for server-side filtering.

# Router 1
/system logging action set remote syslog-facility=local0

# Router 2
/system logging action set remote syslog-facility=local1

# Router 3
/system logging action set remote syslog-facility=local2

Verification

Confirm your logging configuration is working.

Check 1: Verify Remote Syslog Action

/system logging action print where target=remote

Expected: Remote address shows your syslog server IP.

Check 2: Verify Logging Rules

/system logging print

Expected: Rules showing your topics mapped to appropriate actions.

Check 3: Test Remote Logging with Packet Capture

/tool sniffer quick host=192.168.1.100 port=514

Expected: UDP packets to syslog server when log events occur.

Check 4: Generate a Test Log Entry

:log info "Test message from RouterOS"

Then verify it appears:

/log print where message~"Test message"

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Solution
Remote syslog not receiving logs	Firewall blocking UDP 514	Check outbound firewall rules; allow UDP 514
Remote syslog not receiving logs	Topics combined incorrectly	Create separate rules for each severity (info, warning, error, critical)
Remote syslog not receiving logs	Wrong syslog server IP	Verify with /system logging action print
Topics missing in syslog messages	BSD syslog format limitation	Use log prefix or different facilities per topic
Cannot clear memory logs	RouterOS version too old	Upgrade to v7.20+ or reduce memory-lines temporarily
Disk logs wearing out NAND	High-frequency logging	Use USB storage or remote syslog instead
Email alerts not sending	Email not configured	Configure /tool e-mail first
Reboot messages not in remote syslog	Network unavailable during boot	Use disk logging for system topic

Common Mistakes

• Don’t combine multiple severity levels in one rule - topics=info,warning,error matches nothing because topics are ANDed. Each log entry has only ONE severity level.
• Don’t confuse prefix behavior - The prefix property adds text to messages, it does NOT filter by prefix.
• Don’t log high-frequency topics to internal NAND - Firewall and web-proxy topics can cause flash wear. Use external storage or remote syslog.
• Don’t expect immediate remote logs during reboot - Network isn’t available during early boot/late shutdown. Boot messages only go to memory/disk.
• Cannot delete default actions - The five default actions (memory, disk, echo, remote, email) cannot be deleted or renamed. Create new actions instead.

Community Tips

BSD Syslog Topic Workaround: Since BSD format doesn’t include MikroTik topics, use different syslog facilities to identify message sources:

/system logging action add name=dhcp-syslog target=remote remote=192.168.1.100 syslog-facility=local1
/system logging action add name=fw-syslog target=remote remote=192.168.1.100 syslog-facility=local2
/system logging add action=dhcp-syslog topics=dhcp
/system logging add action=fw-syslog topics=firewall

Clear Memory Buffer (v7.20+):

/system logging action clear action=memory

For older versions, the memory-lines trick may work but is unreliable:

/system logging action set memory memory-lines=1
/system logging action set memory memory-lines=1000

Separate Troubleshooting Buffers: Create topic-specific buffers to isolate debug output:

/system logging action add name=vpn-debug target=memory memory-lines=500
/system logging add action=vpn-debug topics=ipsec,debug
/log print where buffer=vpn-debug

Server Compatibility: If your syslog server (Kiwi, Graylog) isn’t receiving logs, try different format combinations:

• remote-log-format=syslog vs remote-log-format=default
• syslog-time-format=bsd-syslog vs syslog-time-format=iso8601
• TCP vs UDP protocol

Log Topics Reference

Severity Topics (one per log entry)

Topic	Description
critical	Critical system events
error	Error conditions
warning	Warning conditions
info	Informational messages
debug	Debug-level messages
packet	Packet-level details
raw	Raw packet data

Common Facility Topics

Topic	Description
account	User login/logout events
bgp	BGP routing protocol
dhcp	DHCP server/client events
dns	DNS operations
firewall	Firewall rule matches
interface	Interface state changes
ipsec	IPsec VPN events
ospf	OSPF routing protocol
ppp	PPP connections
route	Routing table changes
script	Script execution
ssh	SSH access
system	System events (startup, shutdown)
wireless	Wireless events
wireguard	WireGuard VPN events

Topic Exclusion

Use ! to exclude topics:

/system logging add action=remote topics=info,!firewall

This logs all info messages except those also tagged firewall.

Syslog Facility Reference

Facility	Typical Use
daemon	Default; general system daemons
local0 - local7	Custom applications; use for multi-router identification
auth	Authentication events
syslog	Syslog-related messages
user	User-level messages

Related Topics

Firewall Logging

• Firewall Basics - firewall rules with logging actions
• NAT Masquerade - NAT with logging

System Integration

• System Backup - include logs in backups
• Scheduler - schedule log rotation scripts
• SNMP - SNMP traps complement logging

Security Monitoring

• User Management - audit user logins
• SSH Configuration - log SSH access

Reference

• MikroTik Log Documentation
• Syslog with Elasticsearch
• Version changes:
  • v7.20: Added /system logging action clear command
  • v7.19: Added VRF support for remote logging
  • v7.18: Added CEF format, millisecond timestamps, ISO8601 time format

Key Properties Reference

Logging Action Properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
name	string	-	Action identifier (required)
target	memory/disk/echo/remote/email	memory	Destination type
memory-lines	1-65535	1000	Lines stored in RAM buffer (memory target)
disk-file-name	string	log	Base filename (disk target)
disk-lines-per-file	1-65535	100	Lines per file before rotation
disk-file-count	1-65535	2	Number of rotating files
remote	IP[:port]	0.0.0.0:514	Syslog server address
remote-port	integer	514	Syslog server port
remote-protocol	tcp/udp	udp	Transport protocol
remote-log-format	cef/default/syslog	default	Output format
syslog-facility	enum	daemon	RFC 3164 facility
syslog-time-format	bsd-syslog/iso8601	bsd-syslog	Timestamp format
vrf	name	main	VRF for remote logging (v7.19+)
email-to	string	-	Recipient address (email target)

Logging Rule Properties

Property	Type	Description
action	string	Action name for matching logs
topics	string	Comma-separated topic list (ANDed)
prefix	string	Text prepended to log messages