International Journal of Science, Engineering and TechnologyAuthors: Snehalatha B., Lakshman Rao, Deepika A, Nanda Kishore
Abstract: In today’s enterprise IT environments, heterogeneous UNIX systems such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Oracle Solaris, and IBM AIX continue to serve mission-critical functions. However, their varied architectures, logging mechanisms, and performance monitoring tools present substantial challenges for unified observability and system health management. This review explores the development and implementation of a hybrid monitoring model using Splunk as the central analytics and correlation engine for multi-platform UNIX deployments. By deploying Splunk Universal Forwarders and configuring platform-specific log redirection and modular inputs, organizations can centralize system logs, metrics, and alerts into a single searchable index. The article elaborates on the distinct logging frameworks of RHEL (e.g., journald, rsyslog), Solaris (e.g., SMF logs, syslog), and AIX (e.g., errpt, perfstat), and how Splunk’s indexing pipeline harmonizes these diverse inputs. Key topics include data normalization, source-type configuration, Common Information Model (CIM) mapping, and cross-platform dashboard design. Real-world use cases are presented to illustrate how this model supports security compliance (HIPAA, PCI-DSS), root cause analysis across hybrid clusters, and modernization of legacy systems without losing visibility. The review also discusses scalability considerations, role-based access control, alerting strategies, and challenges such as normalization complexity and resource optimization on legacy platforms. Finally, the article outlines emerging directions including AI-driven anomaly detection, integration with AIOps platforms, and automated remediation hooks. As organizations balance modernization with legacy continuity, Splunk’s role as a unifying observability layer becomes increasingly vital for efficient, secure, and scalable operations in UNIX-dominated infrastructures.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16154305
