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Resolves issue #1, general textual improvements
- Rephrased the paragraph regarding the use of WinRM, mentioned in issue #1 by ruffy91. - Made general textual improvements.
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WindowsEventCollection.adoc

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@@ -111,20 +111,21 @@ also discuss several trade-offs related to configuring these timers as well as p
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profiles which can be used.
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==== Refresh
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Compared to the other parameters the Refresh parameter is the
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This parameter defines how often a client needs to contact the Event Collector for updates
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to the subscription. The Event Collector responds with a list of subscriptions applicable
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to the client. Compared to the other parameters the Refresh parameter is the
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only parameter which isn't defined within the subscription. Instead this parameter is defined
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in the `Configure target Subscription Manager` GPO-setting. This value is appended to
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the same string which defines the Event Collector URL. As separation character a `,`
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comma is being used. For example if we want to configure the Refresh parameter on 60
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seconds, `Server=http://collector.example.com:5985/wsman/SubscriptionManager/WEC`
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becomes the following.
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in the following GPO-setting:
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`Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Event Forwarding -> Configure Target Subscription Manager`
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The refresh rate is appended to
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the same string which defines the Event Collector URL, separated by a comma. For example if we want to configure a refresh rate of 60 seconds we would set the GPO-value to:
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```
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Server=http://collector.example.com:5985/wsman/SubscriptionManager/WEC,Refresh=60
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```
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This parameter defines how often a client needs to contact the Event Collector for updates
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to the subscription. The Event Collector responds with a list of subscriptions applicable
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to the client. By default the Refresh parameter is configured to `900 seconds` which
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is the same as 15 minutes. Microsoft recommends to adjust this parameter based on the
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By default the Refresh parameter is set to 900 seconds or 15 minutes. Microsoft recommends to adjust this parameter based on the
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frequency in which you apply changes to subscriptions. If subscriptions don't change
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frequently this parameter should be configured in the range of hours
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footnoteref:[wec-performance].
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PowerShell Remoting in order to gain an understanding of the security impact
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footnote:[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/learn/remoting/winrmsecurity].
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In order to verify that PowerShell remoting is enabled we execute the command below on
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In order to verify that PowerShell Remoting is enabled we execute the command below on
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a workstation (`WS01`). Invoke-Command executes the `hostname` command on our Event Collector
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(`EC01`).
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```
@@ -313,6 +314,8 @@ account which is used by WinRM needs to be a member of the local `Event Log Read
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This is accomplished by configuring the GPO below and applying it to the computer account
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of the Event Collector (`EC01`).
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`Computer Configuration -> Policies -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Restricted Groups`
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ifndef::env-github[]
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image::collector_gpo.png[align="center"]
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endif::[]
@@ -343,13 +346,19 @@ endif::[]
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In step 1 we already warned about the impact of enabling PowerShell Remoting. To reduce the
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attack surface we configure the `Allow remote server management through WinRM` option. This
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option allows one to specify from which IP-addresses to accept WS-Management traffic. In our
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environment we only want to accept traffic from the local network which has the `10.0.10.0/24`
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subnet configured. Inside the `IPv4 filter` option we specify `10.0.10.1-10.0.10.254` as value.
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It's not possible to specify networks in CDIR-format. Multiple IP-ranges can be specified
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by separating each range by a comma (`,`). Using the `IPv6 filter` option allowed ranges can
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be specified for WS-Management traffic using IPv6. In our case we don't use IPv6 so we leave
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this option empty. This results in denying any WS-Management traffic over IPv6.
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option specifies on which IP-addresses to listen for WS-Management traffic.
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[IMPORTANT]
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.Source address filtering
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Note that the aforementioned option doesn't specify which IP-addresses are allowed to connect to a specific
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WinRM instance. Firewall rules are required to limit the source IP-addresses that can connect to the WinRM instance.
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You must specify a range of IP-addresses, even if you want to listen for WS-Management traffic on just one IP-address. In our case the IP-address of our Event Collector is `10.0.10.100`.
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This results in the following range: `10.0.10.100-10.0.10.101`. Multiple ranges can be
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specified by separating each range using a comma (`,`).
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The `IPv6 filter` works in much the same way allowing you to specify on which IPv6-addresses we want to listen for WS-Management traffic. In our case we don't use IPv6
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so we leave this option empty. This results in not listening for WS-Management traffic over IPv6.
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=== Step 4: Configure Forwarded Events Log
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Eventually we configure the Event Collector to store the forwarded events into the `Forwarded
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* **System** - 1048576 KB (1 GB)
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Compared to the default maximum log sizes this allows for extended log retention on the
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client systems. The image below shows the GPO-settings which should be configured.
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client systems. The image below shows the GPO-settings which should be configured. For
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readability we only include the `Computer Configuration` part of the GPO. All of the
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configuration activities during this step take place inside this aforementioned part
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of the GPO.
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Furthermore, this GPO should be scoped on the computer accounts from which you want
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to receive events.
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Failed to open subscription. Error = 0x6ba.
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The RPC server is unavailable.
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```
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This error is caused due to the fact that the Event Collector service isn't active on the
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This error could be caused due to the fact that the Event Collector service isn't active on the
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Event Collector. Make sure the Event Collector service is started and execute step 8 again.
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Another possibility could be that the Event Collector's IP-address on which you want to accept
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forwarded events isn't listening on WS-Management traffic. This can be determined by executing the
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command below on the Event Collector.
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```
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winrm e winrm/config/listener
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```
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This results in an output similar to the example output below.
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```
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Listener [Source="GPO"]
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Address = *
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Transport = HTTP
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Port = 5985
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Hostname
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Enabled = true
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URLPrefix = wsman
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CertificateThumbprint
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ListeningOn = 10.0.10.101
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```
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In our case the `ListeningOn` attribute is equal to `10.0.10.101`. If the IP-address on which you want
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to receive forwarded events isn't listed under this attribute or the value is equal to `null` please review
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step 3 again. The ranges configured under the `Allow remote server management through WinRM` option should
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include the IP-address which you want to use for event collection.

WindowsEventLogging.adoc

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:toc-title:
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== Overview
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The table below provides an overview of the events further described in section Recommended Configurations. From left to right the table contains the event category, a short summary of what the category entails and an estimate of the volume you can expect during collection.
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The table below provides an overview of the events further described in section <<Recommendations>>. From left to right the table contains the event category, a short summary of what the category entails and an estimate of the volume you can expect during collection.
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[cols="1,1,0"]
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|===

images/collector_gpo.png

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images/forwarder_gpo.png

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