The Import Sources feature lets you create many syslog sources at once from an Excel file instead of adding them one by one. To open it, go to Settings › Integrations › Data Collection and click Import at the top of the page. The Import Sources window opens. The Import button is shown only to users with the admin role.
How It Works?
Upload an Excel File:
Use the “Select Excel File” button on the left to upload your file. Save the file in .xlsx format. The file picker also lists .xls files, but the import reads the file with an .xlsx reader, so convert older .xls files to .xlsx before uploading.
The first row of the sheet must contain the column headers, written exactly as below (header names are case-sensitive). Your file should include the following columns:
- Description (required) – A short description of the source. It must be unique: a row whose description matches an existing source is skipped.
- Host (required) – IP address of the device that sends the logs
- Group (optional) – Source group
- Type (required) – Source type. Only syslog is accepted; rows with any other type are reported as failed.
- Vendor (required) – Vendor name
- Product (required) – Product name
- Version (optional) – Version of the product
- Status (optional) – Either enabled or disabled
- Facility (optional) – Syslog facility of the source. If the column is empty or missing, the source accepts any facility.
Import Guide and Rules:
The Import Guide panel on the right side of the window lists the rules:
- Use exact vendor/product names as defined in the system
- Avoid special characters in the description field
- The Host field must contain IP addresses only
- Currently, only syslog source types are supported for import
- The column order in the Excel file does not matter
Vendor/Product Selector:
If you’re unsure about the exact vendor or product names, use the Vendor/Product Selector in the Import Guide panel. Pick a vendor, then a product (and a version if the product has versions). The values to write into your Excel file appear under Excel file values:.
Status Column Explanation:
- enabled → The source will be active after import
- disabled → The source will be inactive after import (default)
- If left empty, the status defaults to disabled
- Case-insensitive: ENABLED, enabled, Enabled, etc., all work
Import Workflow:
- Click Select Excel File and choose your source list. The selected file name is shown below the button.
- Click Start Import. The file is checked during the import: if a required column header is missing, the import stops and the message lists the missing columns.
- Review the Import Results card. It shows Sources Created, Sources Failed and Total Processed, and under Failed Sources the row number and reason for each row that was not imported.
The import also checks your license source limit. If the new sources would exceed it, no sources are created and the license message is shown.
This feature enables you to import dozens of sources in seconds, with no need for repetitive manual input.