Edge collection rules

Collection rules define how edge hosts collect their local data. To collect data from non-edge sources, see AxoRouter connector rules.

• Sources are hosts that are sending data to a data aggregator, like AxoRouter.
• Edges are source hosts that are running a collector agent managed by Axoflow Console, or have an Axolet agent reporting metrics from the host.

Collection rules are high-level policies that determine how data should be collected on a set of edge hosts based on dynamic host labels.

To see every collection rule configured in Axoflow Console, select Sources > Collection Rules from the main menu.

Collection rules have the following main elements:

• the way they collect data (for example, from files, or Windows Event Logs), and other specific parameters (for example, the path and filename)

• the edge selector, which determines the list of edge hosts that will create an edge connector based on that rule.

  You can use any labels and metadata of the edge hosts in the edge selectors, for example, the hostname, or any custom labels. For example, using the label.product = windows selector will create an edge connector only on Windows hosts.

Selecting a collection rule shows the details of the rule, including the list of Matched hosts: the edge hosts that will have an edge connector based on that rule. If you click on the name of a matched host, the Collection Rules page of the AxoRouter host opens, showing you the edge connectors configured for that host.

Create collection rule

To create a new connector rule, complete the following steps.

1. Select Routers > Connector Rules > Create New Rule. (Alternatively, you can select Add Connector > Create a connector rule on the Connectors page of an AxoRouter host.)

   

2. Select the type of collector you want to create. For example, File Collector. The following collector types are available:

   • File Collector(OpenTelemetry)
   • Windows Event Log
   • Windows Event Tracing (ETW)

3. Configure the collection rule.

   1. Enter a name for the collection rule into the Rule Name field.

      

   2. (Optional) Add labels to the collection rule.

      You can use these metrics labels as:

      • Filter labels on the Analytics page
      • in the Filter By Label field during log tapping
      • in Flow Processing steps, for example, in the Query field of Select Messages steps.

   3. Set the Edge Selector for the collection rule. The selector determines which edge hosts will have an edge connector based on this collection rule.

      

      • Only edge hosts will match the rule.
      • If you leave the Edge Selector field empty, the rule will match every edge host.
      • To select only a specific host, set the name field to the name of the host as selector.
      • If you set multiple fields in the selector, the collection rule will apply only to edge hosts that match all elements of the selector. (There in an AND relationship between the fields.) For example, label.location = us-east-1 AND label.product = windows

   4. (Optional) Enter a Suffix for the collection rule. This suffix will be used in the name of the edge connector instances created on the edge hosts. For example, if the name of a matching edge host is “my-edge”, and the suffix of the rule is “otel-file-collector”, the edge connector created for the edge will be named “my-edge-otel-file-collector”.

      If the Suffix field is empty, the name of the collection rule is used instead.

   5. (Optional) Enter a description for the rule.

4. Configure the options specific to the collector type. For details, see the specific pages:

   • File Collector(OpenTelemetry)
   • Windows Event Log
   • Windows Event Tracing (ETW)

5. Select Create. Based on the collection rule, Axoflow automatically creates edge connectors on the edge hosts that match the Edge Selector.

   CAUTION:

   Make sure to configure Data Forwarding Rules for your edge hosts to transfer the collected data to an AxoRouter.

Modify collection rule

To modify an existing collection rule, complete the following steps.

1. Find the collection rule you want to modify:

   • Select Sources > Collection Rules from the main menu, then select the collection rule you want to modify.
   • Alternatively, find the edge host whose collector you want to modify on the Topology page, then select Collection Rules. Find the collection rule you want to modify, then select ⋮ > Edit collection rule.

2. Modify the configuration of the collection rule as needed.

   CAUTION:

   The changes are applied immediately after you click Update. Double-check your changes to avoid losing data.

3. Select Update.

Add edge host to existing collection rule

To add an edge host to an existing collector rule, you have two options, depending on the Edge Selector of the collection rule:

• Modify the Edge Selector field of the collection rule to include the new edge host.
• Modify the labels of the edge host so it matches the edge selector of the collection rule.