What’s the best way to extract error logs from remote devices?

Using tools like Filebeat or Fluent Bit can really simplify log extraction. These act as "shippers" that monitor logs and send them to a designated location. You can set them up as daemons on the remote devices to automatically forward logs to your preferred endpoint. There are plenty of other options too, just make sure to choose one that fits your needs!

In my setup, I use Fluent Bit to push all my application and system logs to AWS CloudWatch. I disable local file-based logging and instead log everything through the systemd journal, which Fluent Bit can pull from and send to CloudWatch. It's been a game changer for remote log management!

The approach can vary depending on your network setup. If the remote device is on the same network, you might consider writing the log to a UNC path. For remote devices over the internet, I've successfully used API-based SMTP services to email logs as attachments, or even just send them in the email body if the details aren’t too extensive.

SCP is a classic method. You might also want to consider setting up a centralized syslog server for larger environments. It allows local machines to continue logging while forwarding to a central location. If you want a user-friendly interface for your logs, tools like Kibana can be integrated on top of that setup.

If you're using a syslog daemon, it's actually designed to send logs to a remote syslog server. Just check the documentation for the specific daemon you're utilizing. This built-in feature can save you a lot of trouble!