Log management review: Trustwave SIEM

Trustwave's main competitive advantage is combining SIEM (security information and event management) and log management in one, relatively cheap appliance. While many vendors have begun bringing SIEM and log management functionality together, few do it as affordably as Trustwave -- though you'll generally need to look beyond the starting prices to see it.

The Trustwave SIEM appliance (formerly Intellitactics SAFE LP) has a relatively quick and easy initial setup, which includes setting the IP address and uploading a licensing file. There are five sizes of the appliance to choose from. My 1U test unit came with dual processors, dual power supplies, 10GB of RAM, 4TB of RAID5 disk space, and four Ethernet interfaces. It boots starting with rPath Linux. Booting was noticeably slower than competing appliances, often taking five minutes before I could log on to the management console.

Trustwave SIEM: Log collection and management

The HTTPS management console contains three main tabs (Admin, SAFE, and Favorites) under which all the options are contained. The Admin tab is used to configure the device and log management options. The SAFE section is used to view collected information and to run reports. The Favorites option allows you to quickly access commonly used views, dashboards, and graphics. Every page and option is covered by easily accessible help files, although the help files' explanations of the options could be improved. The interface and documentation still contain some of the Intellitactics branding left over from Trustwave's purchase.