Using Query Builder

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Using Query Builder

Use queries to identify the exact log records you want Strata Logging Service to retrieve.

Where Can I Use This?	What Do I Need?
NGFW, including those funded by Software NGFW Credits Prisma Access	One of these: Strata Cloud Manager Pro `Strata Logging Service`

Strata Logging Service helps you build queries by offering suggestions as to what you can specify next in your query. Queries are Boolean expressions that identify the log records Strata Logging Service will retrieve for the specified log record type. You use them as an addition to the log record type and time range information that you are always required to provide. Use queries to narrow the retrieval set to the exact records you want.

You can select field names, boolean operators, and equality and pattern matching operators as you build your query. You can also use type-down to specify field names and operators. Finally, you can left-click on a table cell to add that column and value, with an equality operator, to the query.

Query Syntax

Specify queries using match statements. These statements can be either an equality or pattern matching expression. You can optionally combine these statements using the Boolean operators: AND or OR.

<match_statement> [<boolean> <match_statement>] ...

For example:

source_user LIKE 'paloalto%' AND action.value = 'deny'

A query can be at most 4096 characters long. The actual field name that you use for your filters are not identical to the names shown in the column header. Also, the data displayed in the log table might not always be the identical value you want to use in your queries. For example, the BYTES field shows values rounded to the nearest byte or kilobyte. To obtain the exact bytes_total value, use the add-to-search feature provided by the query builder.

The filter evaluates queries according to the standard order of precedence for logical operators. However, you can change the order of operations by grouping terms in parentheses.

It is an error to create a query with identical start and end times.

Expression Type	Definition
Numeric comparison	<field_name> <equality_operator> <value> Equality operators are described below.
String comparison	<field_name> <equality_operator> '<value>'
Pattern matching	<field_name> LIKE '<string>%' Pattern matching is supported only for fields that contain strings or IP addresses. For strings and IP addresses, % may be provided as a wild card character at any location in the value. A pattern matching expression that does not provide a wild card returns the identical log lines as an equality comparison.

You must use single quotes with your string values: '<value>'. Double quotes are illegal: "<value>".

Supported Operators

When building a query, you can choose from a set of operators. The following table describes when to use each operator and lists its compatible values.

Operator	When to Use it	Possible Values
=	Find logs that contain an exact value.	Integer bytes_total = 270 String action.value = 'allow' IP addresses Full: source_ip.value = “192.1.1.10/32” Subnet Range: source_ip.value = “192.1.1.10/24” Timestamp time_generated = '2022-03-29 12:57:14'
!= or <>	Find logs that do not contain anexact value.	Integer bytes_total != 270 bytes_total <> 270 String action.value != 'allow' action.value <> 'allow' IP addresses Full: source_ip.value = “192.1.1.10/32” Subnet range: source_ip.value <> “192.1.1.10/24” Timestamp time_generated != '2022-03-29 12:57:14' time_generated <> '2022-03-29 12:57:14'
<	Find logs with data less than a value.	Integer bytes_total < 270 Timestamp time_generated < '2022-03-29 12:57:14'
<=	Find logs with data less than or equal to a value.	Integer bytes_total <= 270 Timestamp time_generated <= '2022-03-29 12:57:14'
>	Find logs with data greater than a value.	Integer bytes_total < 270 Timestamp time_generated > '2022-03-29 12:57:14'
>=	Find logs with data greater than or equal to a value.	Integer bytes_total <= 270 Timestamp time_generated >= '2022-03-29 12:57:14'
LIKE	Find logs with data that matches a string pattern. LIKE is not supported for fields such as action, tunnel, or proto that have limited possible values.	String source_user_info.name LIKE “usern_me” You can use either _ or % as wildcard characters.
AND	Find logs that satisfy multiple search terms at once.	Any bytes_total = 270 AND source_user_info.name LIKE “usern_me” AND src_ip.value != “192.1.1.10/24”
OR	Find logs that satisfy at least one of multiple search terms.	Any bytes_total = 270 OR source_user_info.name LIKE “usern_me” OR src_ip.value != “192.1.1.10/24”
()	Specify the priority in which search terms are evaluated.	Any bytes_total = 270 AND (source_user_info.name LIKE “usern_me” OR src_ip.value != “192.1.1.10/24”)

Supported Characters

These are the characters that you can use when building a query using Query Builder.

Alphanumeric characters	All letters, both uppercase and lowercase and numbers A-Z, a-z, 0-9
Special characters	underscore (_), black slash (\), forward slash (/) ampersand (&), at symbol (@), percent symbol (%), hash symbol (#), dollar symbol ($), tilde (~), asterisk (*), pipe (\|), less than and greater than sign (< >), plus sign (+), comma (,), period (.), question mark (?), exclamation mark (!), colon (:), dash, or hyphen (-), equal (=)
White space characters	space

About Field Names

The field names that you use in your queries are sometimes, but not always, identical to the names shown in the log record column headers. The field name that you must use is the log record field name as it is stored in Strata Logging Service. There are two ways to obtain this field name:

Click into the user interface query field to see a drop-down list of available field names for the selected log type. On the right-hand side of this drop-down list is the corresponding column name.
The Schema Reference guide provides a mapping of the log column name, as shown in the user interface, to the corresponding log record field name.

Build Queries

Do one of the following to build a query:
- Click into the query field to see the list of available field names.
- You can left-click on a table cell to add that column and value, with an equality operator, to the query.
Click to select the field that you want, or type down until you find the right field.
The user interface immediately displays the operators that are appropriate for the field's data type.
Continue this point-click-and-type activity until your query is complete. Click

or press Enter to retrieve log records.
You have the option to cancel a query you no longer want to run with the Cancel option