How to Create a Location

How to Create a Location

Locations in LogCentral represent the sources of your logs - typically physical sites, data centers, or logical groupings of devices. Each location gets a dedicated IP address and port for receiving syslogs.

What is a Location?

A location is:

• A container for logs from a specific source
• Assigned a unique IP:port combination for log ingestion
• Configurable with its own retention and alert settings
• The basic unit for organizing your log data

Example Use Cases

Use Case	Location Name Example
Physical site	”NYC Office”, “London DC”
Environment	”Production Servers”, “Dev Environment”
Device type	”Firewalls”, “Wireless APs”
Client (MSPs)	“Client ABC - Main Site”

Prerequisites

Before creating a location:

1. You must have a LogCentral account
2. You must belong to an organization
3. You need Owner or Admin permissions in that organization

Creating a Location

Step 1: Navigate to Locations

1. Log in to LogCentral
2. Select your organization
3. Go to Locations in the sidebar
4. Click Create Location or Add Location

Step 2: Enter Location Details

Required Fields:

Field	Description	Example
Name	Descriptive name for the location	”HQ Firewall Logs”

Optional Fields:

• Description
• Tags for organization
• Custom retention settings

Step 3: Get Your Connection Details

After creation, you’ll receive:

• Server IP: The IP address to send logs to
• Port: Your dedicated port number
• Protocol: UDP (default) or TCP

Example:

Server: logs.logcentral.io
Port: 51234
Protocol: UDP/514 format

Step 4: Configure Your Devices

Use the connection details to configure syslog forwarding on your devices. See our configuration guides for specific vendors:

• Cisco Meraki
• Generic syslog setup (pfSense, UniFi, etc.)

Location Settings

IP Management

Control which IP addresses can send logs to this location:

• Open (default): Accept logs from any IP
• Restricted: Only accept logs from whitelisted IPs

See Location IP Management for details.

Status

Locations can be:

• Active: Accepting and storing logs
• Archived: Not accepting new logs, historical data preserved
• Inactive: Paused, can be reactivated

Best Practices

Naming Conventions

Use clear, consistent naming:

✓ Good: "NYC-Office-Firewall"
✓ Good: "Client-ABC-Main"
✓ Good: "Prod-WebServers-US-East"

✗ Avoid: "Location 1"
✗ Avoid: "Test"
✗ Avoid: "asdf123"

One Location per Site

Generally, create one location per:

• Physical office or building
• Data center or cloud region
• Major network segment
• Client (for MSPs)

Don’t Over-Segment

Avoid creating too many locations:

• Harder to search across multiple locations
• More connection details to manage
• Consider using log filtering instead

Verifying Log Reception

After configuring your devices:

1. Go to your location’s dashboard
2. Check Live Logs or Hot Search
3. You should see logs appearing within minutes
4. If no logs appear, check:
   • Device syslog configuration
   • Firewall rules (allow outbound UDP/TCP to LogCentral)
   • IP whitelist settings

Location Limits

Depending on your plan:

Plan	Locations
Light	2
Business	10
Enterprise	50
Custom Enterprise	Unlimited

See Pricing for current plan details.

Managing Locations

Editing a Location

1. Go to Locations
2. Click on the location name
3. Click Settings or the edit icon
4. Make changes and save

Archiving a Location

If you no longer need to collect logs but want to keep historical data:

1. Go to location settings
2. Click Archive Location
3. Existing logs are preserved
4. No new logs will be accepted

See Archiving a Location for details.

Deleting a Location

Warning: Deleting a location permanently removes all its logs.

See How to Delete a Location for the process.

Troubleshooting

No logs appearing?

1. Verify device syslog configuration
2. Check the server IP and port are correct
3. Ensure no firewall is blocking outbound syslog traffic
4. Verify IP whitelist settings (if enabled)
5. Wait 2-3 minutes for logs to appear

Wrong location receiving logs?

1. Check the port number in your device config
2. Each location has a unique port - verify you’re using the right one

Location at capacity?

1. Check your plan’s log retention limits
2. Consider upgrading your plan
3. Or archive old locations to free up capacity

Next Steps

After creating your location:

1. Send your first logs
2. Search your logs
3. Set up alerts