Fastly Next-Gen WAF collector

Overview

The Fastly Next-Gen WAF (powered by Signal Sciences) is a web application firewall that monitors for suspicious and anomalous web traffic and protects, in real-time, against attacks directed at the applications and origin servers that you specify.

Feature	Details
Allow parallel downloading (`multipod`)	`not allowed`
Running environments	`collector server` `on-premise`
Populated Devo events	`table`
Flattening preprocessing	`no`
Allowed source events obfuscation	`yes`

Data sources

Data source	Description	API endpoint	Collector service name	Devo table	Available from release
List corp activity events	Lists activity events for a corporation.	`api/v0/corps/{corpName}/activity`	`corp_activity_events`	`waf.fastly.nextgen_waf.corp_activity.{corpName}.{site}`	v1.0.0
List site activity events	Lists activity events of a corporation for a given site.	`api/v0/corps/{corpName}/sites/{siteName}/analytics/events`	`site_activity_events`	`waf.fastly.nextgen_waf.site_activity.{corpName}.{site}`	v1.0.0
List corp events.	Lists all events of a corporation for a given site.	`api/v0/corps/{corpName}/sites/{siteName}/events`	`corp_events`	`waf.fastly.nextgen_waf.corp_event.{corpName}.{site}`	v1.0.0
Get request feed.	Lists all of a corporation's request feed data for a given site.	`api/v0/corps/{corpName}/sites/{siteName}/feed/requests`	`feed_requests`	`waf.fastly.nextgen_waf.request_feed.{corpName}.{site}`	v1.0.0

For more information on how the events are parsed, visit our page.

Vendor setup

You must have a Fasly Next-Gen WAF account. For information on how to create an account check this guide.

With the creation of the account you will get:

User email: The user's email to configure the collector.
Corporation: It is a necessary parameter to configure the collector. It is provided by the Fastly Next-Gen WAF team during account creation.
Site: It is a necessary parameter to configure the collector. It is provided by the Fastly Next-Gen WAF team during account creation.

To generate the required API access token, follow these steps:

Log in to the Fastly console here.
From the My Profile menu, select API access tokens.
Click Add API access token.
In the Token name field, enter a name to identify the access token.
Click Create API access token.
Record the token in a secure location for your use.

Note that this is the only time the token will be visible. Record the token and keep it secure. For your security, it will not appear in the console.

Click Continue to finish creating the token.
Copy the token to set the collector's api_token parameter.

For more information check this article.

Minimum configuration required for basic pulling

Although this collector supports advanced configuration, the fields required to retrieve data with basic configuration are defined below.

This minimum configuration refers exclusively to those specific parameters of this integration. There are more required parameters related to the generic behavior of the collector. Check setting sections for details.

Setting	Details
`user_email`	The username for the Next-Gen WAF API.
`api_token`	The API Token for the Next-Gen WAF API.. To find out how to get it, see the Vendor Setup guide.

See the Accepted authentication methods section to verify what settings are required based on the desired authentication method.

Accepted authentication methods

Authentication method	API Token
`user_email`	Required
`api_token`	Required

Run the collector

Once the data source is configured, you can either send us the required information if you want us to host and manage the collector for you (Cloud collector), or deploy and host the collector in your own machine using a Docker image (On-premise collector).

Collector services detail

This section is intended to explain how to proceed with specific actions for services.

Events service

Verify data collection

Internal process and deduplication method

Data is collected by setting a start date and by pagination. To eliminate duplicates, the date of the last event sent to Devo and the IDs of events with the same date are stored.

Devo categorization and destination

All events of this service are ingested into the table waf.fastly.nextgen_waf.request_feed.{corpName}.{site}

Setup output

A successful run has the following output messages for the setup module:

INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> ServiceThread(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) - Starting thread (execution_period=60s)
INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> FastlyPullerSetup(fastly_collector,fastly#1234123,corp_activity_events#predefined) -> Starting thread
WARNING InputProcess::FastlyPullerSetup(fastly_collector,fastly#1234123,corp_activity_events#predefined) -> The token/header/authentication has not been created yet
INFO InputProcess::FastlyPullerSetup(fastly_collector,fastly#1234123,corp_activity_events#predefined) -> Setup for module <FastlyEventsPuller> has been successfully executed

Puller output

A successful initial run has the following output messages for the puller module:

INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) Starting the execution of pre_pull()
INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> Reading persisted data
INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> Data retrieved from the persistence: None
WARNING InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> Persistence will be overridden due to the retrieved state is empty
INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> Running the persistence upgrade steps
INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> Running the persistence corrections steps
INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> Running the persistence corrections steps
WARNING InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> Some changes have been detected and the persistence needs to be updated. Previous content: None. New content: {'@persistence_version': 1, 'start_time_epoch': 1673400180, 'last_event_time_epoch': 1673400180, 'last_id': None}
INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> Updating the persistence
WARNING InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> Persistence has been updated successfully
INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) Finalizing the execution of pre_pull()
INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> Starting data collection every 60 seconds
INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> Pull Started
INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> (Partial) Statistics for this pull cycle (@devo_pulling_id=1700122878630):Number of requests made: 1; Number of events received: 13; Number of duplicated events filtered out: 0; Number of events generated and sent: 13; Average of events per second: 6.338.
INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> Statistics for this pull cycle (@devo_pulling_id=1700122878630):Number of requests made: 1; Number of events received: 13; Number of duplicated events filtered out: 0; Number of events generated and sent: 13; Average of events per second: 6.336.
INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> The data is up to date!
INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> Data collection completed. Elapsed time: 2.070 seconds. Waiting for 57.930 second(s) until the next one

After a successful collector’s execution (that is, no error logs found), you will see the following log message:

INFO InputProcess::FastlyEventsPuller(fastly,1234123,corp_activity_events,predefined) -> Statistics for this pull cycle (@devo_pulling_id=1700122878630):Number of requests made: 1; Number of events received: 13; Number of duplicated events filtered out: 0; Number of events generated and sent: 13; Average of events per second: 6.336.

Restart the persistence

This collector uses persistent storage to download events in an orderly fashion and avoid duplicates. In case you want to re-ingest historical data or recreate the persistence, you can restart the persistence of this collector by following these steps:

Edit the configuration file.
Change the value of the start_time_utc parameter to a different one.
Save the changes.
Restart the collector.

The collector will detect this change and will restart the persistence using the parameters of the configuration file or the default configuration in case it has not been provided.

Troubleshooting

This collector has different security layers that detect both an invalid configuration and abnormal operation. This table will help you detect and resolve the most common errors.

Error type	Error ID	Error message	Cause	Solution
InitVariablesError	1	Invalid start_time_utc: {datetime_utc_now}. Must be in the past.	The user has set the start_time_utc parameter in the future	Set the start_time_utc parameter to a date and time earlier than the current one in the configuration file.
InitVariablesError	2	Invalid start_time_utc: {datetime_utc_now}. The maximum value is 24 hours and 5 minutes in the past (in utc time).	The user has set the start_time_utc parameter out of range.	Set the start_time_utc parameter within the indicated range.
SetupError	102	ERROR: The base url is invalid. Cause: {cause}	The url is malformed because you have entered an invalid corporation or site value.	Check if the corporation and site values are correct.
ApiError	400	HTTP ERROR 400: Bad request: The server could not understand the request.	The API request is malformed.	Contact the Devo team
	401	HTTP ERROR 401: Unauthorized: Authentication is required and has failed or has not been provided.	The user is not authorized to access the requested service.	Check the permissions and that the credentials are not expired.
	402	HTTP ERROR 500: Server Error: An error occurred on the server.	Unknown server error.	Check that the internet connection works correctly and contact the company that manages the server on which the events are hosted.
	403	Request Error: Received status code {status_code}	Unknown API error	Contact the Devo team.
	404	HTTP ERROR 429: Too Many Requests: The user has sent too many requests in a given amount of time.	Too many requests have been sent to the resource.	Check: That there is only one POD running. That there are no more computers using the same credentials Wait several minutes before restarting the collector. If nothing works, contact the Devo team.

Collector operations

This section is intended to explain how to proceed with specific operations of this collector.

Verify collector operations

Initialization

The initialization module is in charge of setup and running the input (pulling logic) and output (delivering logic) services and validating the given configuration.

A successful run has the following output messages for the initializer module:

2023-01-10T15:22:57.146    INFO MainProcess::MainThread -> Loading configuration using the following files: {"full_config": "config.yaml", "job_config_loc": null, "collector_config_loc": null}
2023-01-10T15:22:57.146    INFO MainProcess::MainThread -> Using the default location for "job_config_loc" file: "/etc/devo/job/job_config.json"
2023-01-10T15:22:57.147    INFO MainProcess::MainThread -> "\etc\devo\job" does not exists
2023-01-10T15:22:57.147    INFO MainProcess::MainThread -> Using the default location for "collector_config_loc" file: "/etc/devo/collector/collector_config.json"
2023-01-10T15:22:57.148    INFO MainProcess::MainThread -> "\etc\devo\collector" does not exists
2023-01-10T15:22:57.148    INFO MainProcess::MainThread -> Results of validation of config files parameters: {"config": "config.yaml", "config_validated": True, "job_config_loc": "/etc/devo/job/job_config.json", "job_config_loc_default": True, "job_config_loc_validated": False, "collector_config_loc": "/etc/devo/collector/collector_config.json", "collector_config_loc_default": True, "collector_config_loc_validated": False}
2023-01-10T15:22:57.171 WARNING MainProcess::MainThread -> [WARNING] Illegal global setting has been ignored -> multiprocessing: False

Events delivery and Devo ingestion

The event delivery module is in charge of receiving the events from the internal queues where all events are injected by the pullers and delivering them using the selected compatible delivery method.

A successful run has the following output messages for the initializer module:

2023-01-10T15:23:00.788    INFO OutputProcess::MainThread -> DevoSender(standard_senders,devo_sender_0) -> Starting thread
2023-01-10T15:23:00.789    INFO OutputProcess::MainThread -> DevoSenderManagerMonitor(standard_senders,devo_1) -> Starting thread (every 300 seconds)
2023-01-10T15:23:00.790    INFO OutputProcess::MainThread -> DevoSenderManager(standard_senders,manager,devo_1) -> Starting thread
2023-01-10T15:23:00.842    INFO OutputProcess::MainThread -> global_status: {"output_process": {"process_id": 18804, "process_status": "running", "thread_counter": 21, "thread_names": ["MainThread", "pydevd.Writer", "pydevd.Reader", "pydevd.CommandThread", "pydevd.CheckAliveThread", "DevoSender(standard_senders,devo_sender_0)", "DevoSenderManagerMonitor(standard_senders,devo_1)", "DevoSenderManager(standard_senders,manager,devo_1)", "OutputStandardConsumer(standard_senders_consumer_0)",

Sender services

The Integrations Factory Collector SDK has 3 different senders services depending on the event type to delivery (internal, standard, and lookup). This collector uses the following Sender Services:

Sender services	Description
`internal_senders`	In charge of delivering internal metrics to Devo such as logging traces or metrics.
`standard_senders`	In charge of delivering pulled events to Devo.

Sender statistics

Each service displays its own performance statistics that allow checking how many events have been delivered to Devo by type:

Logging trace

Description

Number of available senders: 1

Displays the number of concurrent senders available for the given Sender Service.

sender manager internal queue size: 0

Displays the items available in the internal sender queue.

This value helps detect bottlenecks and needs to increase the performance of data delivery to Devo. This last can be made by increasing the concurrent senders.

Total number of messages sent: 44, messages sent since "2022-06-28 10:39:22.511671+00:00": 21 (elapsed 0.007 seconds)

Displayes the number of events from the last time and following the given example, the following conclusions can be obtained:

44 events were sent to Devo since the collector started.
The last checkpoint timestamp was 2022-06-28 10:39:22.511671+00:00.
21 events where sent to Devo between the last UTC checkpoint and now.
Those 21 events required 0.007 seconds to be delivered.

By default these traces will be shown every 10 minutes.

Check memory usage

To check the memory usage of this collector, look for the following log records in the collector which are displayed every 5 minutes by default, always after running the memory-free process.

The used memory is displayed by running processes and the sum of both values will give the total used memory for the collector.
The global pressure of the available memory is displayed in the global value.
All metrics (Global, RSS, VMS) include the value before freeing and after previous -> after freeing memory

INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> [GC] global: 20.4% -> 20.4%, process: RSS(34.50MiB -> 34.08MiB), VMS(410.52MiB -> 410.02MiB)
INFO OutputProcess::MainThread -> [GC] global: 20.4% -> 20.4%, process: RSS(28.41MiB -> 28.41MiB), VMS(705.28MiB -> 705.28MiB)

Change log

Release

Released on

Release type

Details

Recommendations

v1.0.0

10 Oct 2023

INITIAL RELEASE

Deployed the first Beta version of the Fastly Next-Gen WAF with the following services:

List corp activity events.

List site activity events.

List corp events.

Get request feed.

DCSDK Version: 1.10.0

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