What's the best way to monitor and log IIS authentication events and activities?

1 Enable IIS Logging

The first step to monitor and log IIS authentication events and activities is to enable IIS logging on your server. IIS logging records information about each request and response that passes through your web server, such as the client IP address, the user name, the date and time, the HTTP status code, the bytes sent and received, and more. You can configure IIS logging from the IIS Manager console, the command line, or the web.config file. You can also specify the format, location, and frequency of the log files.

2 Use Event Viewer

The second step to monitor and log IIS authentication events and activities is to use Event Viewer, a built-in Windows tool that displays system and application events. Event Viewer can help you identify and troubleshoot authentication errors, failures, and anomalies. You can filter, search, and export events by category, level, source, and ID. You can also create custom views and tasks based on specific event criteria. To access Event Viewer, you can use the Run dialog box, the Control Panel, or the Server Manager dashboard.

3 Install IIS Advanced Logging

The third step to monitor and log IIS authentication events and activities is to install IIS Advanced Logging, an extension that enhances the capabilities of IIS logging. IIS Advanced Logging allows you to capture detailed information about the request and response headers, the cookies, the query strings, the user agents, and more. You can also define custom logging fields and rules based on your specific needs. You can download and install IIS Advanced Logging from the Microsoft website or the Web Platform Installer.

4 Use Log Parser

The fourth step to monitor and log IIS authentication events and activities is to use Log Parser, a command-line tool that can analyze and query log files from various sources, including IIS, Event Viewer, Windows Registry, Active Directory, and more. Log Parser can help you extract, filter, aggregate, and format data from your log files using SQL-like queries. You can also output the results to different formats, such as CSV, XML, HTML, or charts. You can download and install Log Parser from the Microsoft website or the Log Parser Studio GUI.

5 Use PowerShell

The fifth step to monitor and log IIS authentication events and activities is to use PowerShell, a scripting language and shell that can automate tasks and manage systems. PowerShell can help you access and manipulate IIS log files and Event Viewer events using cmdlets, functions, variables, operators, and expressions. You can also create scripts, modules, and workflows to perform complex and repetitive operations on your log data. You can run PowerShell commands from the PowerShell console, the PowerShell ISE, or the PowerShell Web Access.

6 Use a Third-Party Tool

The sixth step to monitor and log IIS authentication events and activities is to use a third-party tool that can collect, analyze, and visualize your log data. There are many tools available in the market that can help you monitor and log IIS authentication events and activities, such as Splunk, SolarWinds, Loggly, LogRhythm, and more. These tools can help you centralize, correlate, and alert on your log data from multiple sources and platforms. They can also provide dashboards, reports, and insights to help you improve your IIS security and performance.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?