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VMware Aria Operations for Logs vs syslog-ng comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

syslog-ng
Ranking in Log Management
15th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
3.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware Aria Operations for ...
Ranking in Log Management
18th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of syslog-ng is 1.8%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Aria Operations for Logs is 1.5%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
syslog-ng1.8%
VMware Aria Operations for Logs1.5%
Other96.7%
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

OC
IT Infrastructure & Cloud Security Manager at Thux
Has ensured compliance by centralizing log data and supporting secure connections
We currently do not use that feature. We currently have just an open-source release, not a premium release. My boss has indicated that he wants to buy a premium syslog-ng version next month. I think we can use other features of this tool in the future. In syslog-ng, I think a GUI would be beneficial. I am unsure if the premium module has a GUI to administer it.
reviewer2668767 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Solution Engineer at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Dashboard personalization enhances troubleshooting capabilities
A valuable feature of VMware Aria Operations for Logs is its ability to allow personalization of dashboards and requests. This personalization capability is crucial because it helps tailor the tool to specific needs. It also has many effective features for log analysis, making it a competent tool despite not having a comprehensive comparison with other tools.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Syslog-ng provides easy access to all my logs. It helps me show managers and other clients precisely where an incident occurred. I also like it because you can integrate syslog-ng with multiple solutions to allow real-time monitoring."
"What I appreciate most about syslog-ng is its configuration; its C-style config is much easier to understand, read, and write than other popular solutions such as syslog or rsyslog."
"We chose syslog-ng because it is easy to install, easy to maintain, easy to update, and due to the fact that all data arrive in raw format, we can manipulate it as we want."
"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."
"Syslog-ng has a separate config file in addition to the core configuration."
"The ability to extract and store the logs is the most valuable feature of syslog-ng."
"For us, the most valuable feature is the use of compound search for searching logs at a specific time, by a specific user, or specific behavior."
"The tool helps my company deal with security and log analysis, which are very important areas for us...It is a scalable solution."
"It is very scalable and can handle a large workload."
"It is a highly stable solution...It is a highly scalable solution."
"The setup and installation are very easy."
"The most valuable features are log centralization and long-term retention for logs."
"vRealize Log Insight has been running without any issues."
"Overall, I would recommend VMware Aria Operations for Logs because it is a good tool with many valuable features."
"The root cause analysis feature is very valuable."
 

Cons

"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."
"There is room for improvement in terms of observability."
"The filtering has room for improvement."
"In syslog-ng, I think a GUI would be beneficial. I am unsure if the premium module has a GUI to administer it."
"It's hard to find people who know how to use syslog-ng. I often find problems with configurations, and solutions aren't integrated correctly with syslog-ng. For example, there might be data with extra decimals, or the collector agents are incorrectly named. It isn't a problem with the solution; it's a lack of professionals."
"There is always the potential for additional integration and protocol extensions."
"The tool could benefit from improved filter settings and dashboarding."
"I think that it should be able to integrate with other third-party backup and recovery solutions, more that it does now."
"Log retention should have more options for user control."
"In the VMware environment, one area for improvement is the handling of VM failovers due to host failures, such as unexpected shutdowns from hardware issues. Currently, High Availability (HA) doesn't seem to recognize whether the VMs are online during failover, treating them as offline or unavailable."
"Paid or free does not matter, but it is complex to find good training material for vRealize Log Insight."
"VMware Aria Operations for Logs is not a cost-effective tool. Additionally, it is expensive, especially given the current economic conditions in Turkey."
"The solution is a very good tool, but it has a lot of limitations. One of the main issues is around how you define your retention policy, for instance, in Log Insight. It doesn't have it. You can't define a log retention policy. You also can't define the destination or location for your logs. All of the logs are in one index or one bucket."
"The tool does not provide a centralized pane for monitoring."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Syslog-ng is open-source."
"Syslog-ng is a free open-source solution."
"The license cost for any other monitoring tool is too high compared to this product."
"The pricing has been updated recently."
"Pricing is good because it is part of the suite package. It comes in a bundle for us."
"I am not sure what the exact cost is. However, I believe the vRealize suite costs $2,500.00 per year."
"It is not cheap. But it is worth it."
"Pricing could always be lower. If it were free, I would be more satisfied."
"The licensing cost for vRealize Log Insight is a little higher, so in terms of cost, it all depends upon what kind of environment you have. If you have a complete virtualized environment, or at least you're using a ninety-five percent virtualized environment, then vRealize Log Insight will play a very good role because it is a VMware component, so it has very tight integration with other VMware components and systems. This means you don't have to procure any other monitoring and management tool, and you don't need a separate automation tool. vRealize Log Insight will have an upper hand if your environment is purely virtualized on VMware. If you're using a mix of physical and virtual components, for example, a 50:50 ratio, then you need to have a third-party component to manage overall monitoring."
"I rate the product's price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with syslog-ng?
We currently do not use that feature. We currently have just an open-source release, not a premium release. My boss has indicated that he wants to buy a premium syslog-ng version next month. I thin...
What is your primary use case for syslog-ng?
In Italy, we have to be compliant with the Garante for privacy. We have to log every login, logout, or login failure made by a system administrator. We store all syslog data of the infrastructure. ...
What advice do you have for others considering syslog-ng?
When it comes to parsing, I can parse both structured and unstructured data, though our data are only structured. Currently, we collect all data we receive as raw data. Each file is stored for each...
What do you like most about vRealize Log Insight?
The events are notably more descriptive, aiding in security and event analysis. We've also integrated Sky Collector, providing valuable insights and solutions for troubleshooting.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vRealize Log Insight?
The cost of using VMware Aria Operations for Logs was very high, around two to three million dollars, although the exact figure is uncertain. The price was proving to be too much, especially with t...
What needs improvement with vRealize Log Insight?
VMware Aria Operations for Logs is not a cost-effective tool. Changing any telemetry requires creating a new template, such as changes to the VM disk size. Always having to create a new template ma...
 

Also Known As

No data available
vRealize Log Insight
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Tecnocom, University of Victoria, University of Exeter, Datapath
Wildlands Adventure Zoo, Medic Mobile, IBM, Seventy Seven Energy, Baystate Health, Osis, Oxford University, Columbia University, Siemens, Cardinal Health, Ashdod Port, Vasakronan, Sydney Adventist Hospital, University of Derby
Find out what your peers are saying about VMware Aria Operations for Logs vs. syslog-ng and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.