In the previous articles in this series, we have created a complete Snort NIDS with a web interface and rulesets that automatically update. In this article, we will finalize the configuration of our Snort service by creating Upstart scripts for the Snort and Barnyard2 daemons. If you are running Ubuntu 16, you should go see my systemD article instead of this article.
First create the Snort Upstart script:
sudo vi /etc/init/snort.conf
We will insert the below content into this Upstart script. Note that we are using the same flags that we used in earlier articles, so if Snort ran correctly for you earlier, then you shouldn’t need to change any of these flags:
description "Snort NIDS service"
stop on runlevel [!2345]
start on runlevel [2345]
script
exec /usr/sbin/snort -q -u snort -g snort -c /etc/snort/snort.conf -i eth0 -D
end script
Now make the script executable, and tell Upstart that the script exists:
sudo chmod +x /etc/init/snort.conf initctl list | grep snort snort stop/waiting
do the same for our Barnyard2 script:
sudo vi /etc/init/barnyard2.conf
with the following content:
description "barnyard2 service"
stop on runlevel [!2345]
start on runlevel [2345]
script
exec /usr/local/bin/barnyard2 -c /etc/snort/barnyard2.conf -d /var/log/snort -f snort.u2 -w /var/log/snort/barnyard2.waldo -g snort -u snort -D -a /var/log/snort/archived_logs
end script
Note that we have added a new flag here that we didn’t use before: -a /var/log/snort/archived_logs, this will move logs that Barnyard2 has processed to the /var/log/snort/archived_logs/ folder.
Now make the script executable, and tell Upstart that the script exists:
sudo chmod +x /etc/init/barnyard2.conf initctl list | grep barnyard barnyard2 stop/waiting
Reboot the computer and check that both services are started:
user@snortserver:~$ service snort status snort start/running, process 1116 user@snortserver:~$ service barnyard2 status barnyard2 start/running, process 1109 user@snortserver:~$
If both services are running, you are ready to move to the next section, where you will install BASE, a web-based GUI to view and profile alert data: Installing BASE
UPDATE: Snort 2.9.9.x has been released. Please see the updated series of articles here or my quick install guide here.
I am leaving this older guide online for anyone who wants to install this older version of Snort on Ubuntu, but you really should be using the updated guide for the 2.9.9.x version of Snort, since support for older versions of Snort are set to expire, and the updated guide is kept more up to date and includes BASE instead of Snorby for a Web GUI.
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In the previous articles in this series, we have created a complete Snort NIDS with a web interface and rulesets that automatically update. In this article, we will finalize the configuration of our Snort service by creating Upstart scripts for the Snort and Barnyard2 daemons. If you are running Ubuntu 15, you should go see my systemD article instead of this article.
First create the Snort Upstart script:
sudo vi /etc/init/snort.conf
We will insert the below content into this Upstart script. Note that we are using the same flags that we used in earlier articles, so if Snort ran correctly for you earlier, then you shouldn’t need to change any of these flags:
description "Snort NIDS service"
stop on runlevel [!2345]
start on runlevel [2345]
script
exec /usr/sbin/snort -q -u snort -g snort -c /etc/snort/snort.conf -i eth0 -D
end script
Now make the script executable, and tell Upstart that the script exists:
sudo chmod +x /etc/init/snort.conf initctl list | grep snort snort stop/waiting
do the same for our Barnyard2 script:
sudo vi /etc/init/barnyard2.conf
with the following content:
description "barnyard2 service"
stop on runlevel [!2345]
start on runlevel [2345]
script
exec /usr/local/bin/barnyard2 -c /etc/snort/barnyard2.conf -d /var/log/snort -f snort.u2 -w /var/log/snort/barnyard2.waldo -g snort -u snort -D -a /var/log/snort/archived_logs
end script
Note that we have added a new flag here that we didn’t use before: -a /var/log/snort/archived_logs, this will move logs that Barnyard2 has processed to the /var/log/snort/archived_logs/ folder.
Now make the script executable, and tell Upstart that the script exists:
sudo chmod +x /etc/init/barnyard2.conf initctl list | grep barnyard barnyard2 stop/waiting
Reboot the computer and check that both services are started:
user@snortserver:~$ service snort status snort start/running, process 1116 user@snortserver:~$ service barnyard2 status barnyard2 start/running, process 1109 user@snortserver:~$
If both services are running, you are ready to move to the next section, where you will install Snorby, a web-based GUI to view and profile alert data. The instructions are broken up into three different versions, based on the version of Ubuntu you are running.
Choose one of the following:
Ubuntu 12: Installing Snorby on Ubuntu 12
Ubuntu 14: Installing Snorby on Ubuntu 14
Ubuntu 15: Installing Snorby on Ubuntu 15