Dell N-Series Switch
Download PDFRules, dashboards, and triggers for Dell EMC Networking N-Series switches (DNOS 6.x)
Overview
LogZilla app for Dell EMC Networking N-Series switches running DNOS 6.x firmware. Covers N1100-ON, N1500, N2000, N2200, N3000, N3200, and N4000 series. Parses both the DNOS native (FASTPATH) log format and the Cisco IOS-compatible format that Dell N-Series switches emit for link, STP, LLDP, and port events.
App Function
Parses Dell N-Series switch logs and extracts:
- Interface state changes (link up/down, line protocol up/down)
- Spanning Tree topology changes and BPDU errors
- LLDP neighbor discovery events
- FDB MAC address movement events
- Port error frame notifications
- OSPF routing protocol errors
- SupportAssist connection events
Provides per-Event-Class dashboards for network and system monitoring, plus triggers for interface flapping, STP storms, MAC move storms, and OSPF failures.
Vendor Documentation
Prerequisites
LogZilla Dedicated Port
Dell N-Series switches emit Cisco IOS-format syslog messages (%LINK-3-UPDOWN,
%SPANTREE-5-TOPOTRAP, etc.) that are indistinguishable from actual Cisco
devices. A dedicated port is required to route these events to the Dell parser
instead of the Cisco parser.
- Navigate to Settings > System > Application Ports
- Set Dell N-Series syslog port to a dedicated port (e.g.,
5523) - Click Save
Both TCP and UDP listeners are enabled on the configured port.
LogZilla Cloud: the Application Ports page is not available on the
cloud platform, where devices reach LogZilla through a relay rather than
a direct syslog listener. To enable parsing there, tag Dell N-Series events
at the relay with _source_type=dell_n_series. See Application Ports on
LogZilla Cloud.
Dell Switch Configuration
Configure each Dell N-Series switch to send syslog to the dedicated port:
- Access the switch CLI via console or SSH
- Enter configuration mode:
textenable configure
- Configure syslog server with the dedicated port:
textlogging host <LogZilla-IP> port 5523 logging buffered informational
- Save configuration:
textwrite memory
Verification
Generate a link event by toggling an interface, then verify events appear in
LogZilla with Vendor tag set to Dell.
Incoming Log Format
Dell N-Series switches generate syslog in two formats.
DNOS Native Format (FASTPATH)
texttaskName]: source_file.c(line) seqnum %% SEVERITY MESSAGE_TYPE: details
Cisco IOS-Compatible Format
text*Mon DD HH:MM:SS: %FACILITY-SEV-MNEMONIC: message
Parsed Metadata Fields
| Tag Name | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
Vendor | Dell | Device vendor |
Product | N-Series Switch | Product line |
Event Class | Network, System | Event classification |
Event Type | Interface, Topology, Routing, Service | Event type |
Interface | GigabitEthernet 1/0 | Network interface name (HC) |
VLAN | Vlan200 | VLAN identifier |
Action | Up, Down, MAC Move, Topology Change | Event action |
SrcMAC | 00:00:5e:00:53:01 | Source MAC address (HC) |
MitreId | T1557 | MITRE ATT&CK technique |
Dell Mnemonic | LINK-3-UPDOWN | Facility-severity-mnemonic |
Dell MAC Move | Te2/0/27 -> Te2/0/28 | MAC move port path (HC) |
Dell STP Error | Invalid Forward Delay | STP error description |
Log Examples
FDB MAC Move (DNOS)
textdtlAddrTask]: fdb.c(685) 981153 %% INFO MAC_MOVE: Mac 00:00:5e:00:53:01 in VLAN: 200 is overwritten from entryType 1 to 1 and port Te2/0/27 to Te2/0/28
STP BPDU Error (DNOS)
texthapiRxTask]: dot1s_txrx.c(1236) 54878005 %% NOTE dot1sBpduReceive(): Invalid Forward Delay.
Interface Down (Cisco IOS)
text*Mar 6 14:22:50: %LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface GigabitEthernet 1/0, changed state to down.
Topology Change (Cisco IOS)
text*Mar 6 15:01:22: %SPANTREE-5-TOPOTRAP: Topology Change Trap.
LLDP Neighbor (Cisco IOS)
text*Mar 6 15:10:05: %LLDP-5-CREATEREM: Port GigabitEthernet 1/28 created one new neighbor, Chassis ID is MikroTik1, Port ID is ether1.
OSPF Error (DNOS Short)
textOSPF4-3: % [_ospf_snmp_ext_process_entry_read] Get ospf proc failed
Dashboards
Dell N-Series Network
- Interface up/down event tracking
- STP topology change monitoring
- MAC move path distribution
- OSPF routing error tracking
- VLAN activity distribution
- Top switches by event volume
Dell N-Series System
- SupportAssist connection monitoring
- System event timeline
- Top switches by system event volume
Triggers
Dell N-Series Interface Down
Alerts when switch interfaces go down. Throttled per interface.
Dell N-Series STP Topology Storm
Alerts on excessive STP events indicating potential network loop.
Dell N-Series MAC Move Storm
Alerts on excessive MAC moves indicating potential AiTM attack or misconfiguration. Maps to MITRE T1557.
Dell N-Series OSPF Error
Alerts on OSPF routing protocol failures. Throttled per switch.