Why can't I index my wtmp, lastlog, etc files?

[Flynt]

I have a text file that I cannot index, I KNOW it's text, I can vi the file with :set list and there are no hidden characters or formatting. In fact I deleted the file and created it with the name "wtmp" from scratch and STILL I cannot index this file as Splunk claims it is binary! What is going on?

[Flynt · Accepted solution]

Splunk will not index binary files. There are certain files and filetypes that are by default considered binary by Splunk.

Notice in $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/default/props.conf

[source::....(0t|a|ali|asa|au|bmp|cg|cgi|class|d|dat|deb|del|dot|dvi|dylib|elc|eps|exe|ftn|gif|hlp|hqx|hs|icns|ico|inc|iso|jame|jin|jpeg|jpg|kml|la|lhs|lib|lo|lock|mcp|mid|mp3|mpg|msf|nib|o|obj|odt|ogg|ook|opt|os|pal|pbm|pdf|pem|pgm|plo|png|po|pod|pp|ppd|ppm|ppt|prc|ps|psd|psym|pyc|pyd|rast|rb|rde|rdf|rdr|rgb|ro|rpm|rsrc|so|ss|stg|strings|tdt|tif|tiff|tk|uue|vhd|xbm|xlb|xls|xlw)]
sourcetype = known_binary

[lastlog]

invalid_cause = binary

LEARN_MODEL = false

[wtmp]

invalid_cause = binary

LEARN_MODEL = false

[known_binary]

is_valid = False

invalid_cause = binary

LEARN_MODEL = false

Any files with the extensions listed in the source stanza, or files named wtmp or lastlog will not be indexed as Splunk considers them Binary files. If you have a log with these reserved names, change the name and your log should be indexed.

If you are working with trying to index wtmp itself, there is a great post here to help you accomplish that.

http://splunk-base.splunk.com/answers/5844/can-i-splunk-my-wtmp-files