Log Analysis as an OLAP Application - A Cube to Rule Them All -

Log analysis is an integral part of effective security management. The logs that an organization keeps are only as useful as the rigor of analysis that they are subject to. That rigor would have to stand up to both the voluminous amount of logs as well as the myriad of logs within an organization that carry security information. Fortunately, another problem of similar veins has been solved years before in the business world by the means of OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) and the technology has been featured in several log analysis products recently. However, most of such tools are either rigid in their queries, or are pricey and many potentially lock the customer to proprietary solutions. This paper discusses a specific implementation of using OLAP technology on log analysis, in particular by using the Seagate Analysis OLAP client.