diff --git a/heka/files/lua/decoders/collectd.lua b/heka/files/lua/decoders/collectd.lua
index 98084af..1d44349 100644
--- a/heka/files/lua/decoders/collectd.lua
+++ b/heka/files/lua/decoders/collectd.lua
@@ -53,7 +53,6 @@
     check_openstack_api = true,
     cinder = true,
     glance = true,
-    http_check = true,
     hypervisor_stats = true,
     keystone = true,
     neutron = true,
@@ -448,10 +447,6 @@
                 end
             elseif metric_source == 'influxdb' then
                 msg['Fields']['name'] = metric_source .. sep .. sample['type_instance']
-            elseif metric_source == 'http_check' then
-                msg['Fields']['name'] = metric_source
-                msg['Fields']['service'] = sample['type_instance']
-                table.insert(msg['Fields']['tag_fields'], 'service')
             elseif metric_source == 'check_local_endpoint' then
                 msg['Fields']['name'] = 'openstack_check_local_api'
                 msg['Fields']['service'] = sample['type_instance']
diff --git a/heka/files/lua/decoders/notification.lua b/heka/files/lua/decoders/notification.lua
index 3f10e0d..fc86283 100644
--- a/heka/files/lua/decoders/notification.lua
+++ b/heka/files/lua/decoders/notification.lua
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
 local patt = require 'patterns'
 local utils = require 'lma_utils'
 
+local hostname = read_config('hostname')
+
 -- Mapping table from event_type prefixes to notification loggers
 local logger_map = {
     --cinder
@@ -150,7 +152,7 @@
 end
 
 function process_message()
-    local msg = {Fields={}}
+    local msg = {Hostname=hostname, Fields={}}
     local data = read_message("Payload")
     local ok, notif = pcall(cjson.decode, data)
     if not ok then
diff --git a/heka/files/lua/encoders/syslog.lua b/heka/files/lua/encoders/syslog.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eb59ce2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/heka/files/lua/encoders/syslog.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+-- Copyright 2017 Mirantis, Inc.
+--
+-- Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+-- you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+-- You may obtain a copy of the License at
+--
+--     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+--
+-- Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+-- distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+-- WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+-- See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+-- limitations under the License.
+require 'string'
+require 'os'
+local lma = require 'lma_utils'
+
+
+local default_facility = read_config('facility')
+if default_facility == nil or (default_facility + 0 < 0 and default_facility + 0 > 23) then
+    -- default to local0
+    default_facility = 16
+end
+
+-- Encodes Heka messages using the RFC5424 Syslog format
+-- https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5424
+-- A line feed is added at the end of the message to avoid truncated messages
+-- on the other side.
+function process_message()
+    local timestamp = os.date("%FT%TZ", read_message('Timestamp') / 1e9)
+    local hostname = read_message('Hostname')
+    local msg = read_message('Payload')
+    local pid = read_message('Pid')
+    if pid == nil or pid == 0 then
+        pid = '-'
+    end
+    local severity = read_message('Severity') or 7
+    local facility = read_message('Fields[syslogfacility]') or default_facility
+    local app = read_message('Fields[programname]') or read_message('Logger')
+
+    return lma.safe_inject_payload(
+        'txt',
+        'syslog',
+        string.format("<%d>1 %s %s %s %s - - %s\n", 8 * facility + severity, timestamp, hostname, app, pid, msg)
+    )
+end
diff --git a/heka/files/toml/encoder/sandbox.toml b/heka/files/toml/encoder/sandbox.toml
index 67c95a1..96ad77d 100644
--- a/heka/files/toml/encoder/sandbox.toml
+++ b/heka/files/toml/encoder/sandbox.toml
@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
 [{{ encoder_name }}_encoder]
 type = "SandboxEncoder"
-filename = "{{ encoder.module_file }}"
-{%- if encoder.module_dir is defined %}
-module_directory = "{{ encoder.module_dir }}"
-{%- endif %}
+filename = "{{ encoder.module_file|default('/usr/share/lma_collector/encoders/' + encoder_name + '.lua' ) }}"
+module_directory = "{{ encoder.module_dir|default('/usr/share/lma_collector/common;/usr/share/heka/lua_modules') }}"
 
 {%- if encoder.config is mapping %}
 [{{ encoder_name }}_encoder.config]
diff --git a/heka/files/toml/output/_buffering.toml b/heka/files/toml/output/_buffering.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dd75cc3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/heka/files/toml/output/_buffering.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{%- if output.get('use_buffering', True) %}
+use_buffering = true
+[{{ output_name }}_output.buffering]
+max_buffer_size = {{ output.buffering_max_buffer_size|default(268435456) }}
+max_file_size = {{ output.buffering_max_file_size|default(67108864) }}
+full_action = "{{ output.buffering_full_action|default('drop') }}"
+{%- else %}
+use_buffering = false
+{%- endif %}
diff --git a/heka/files/toml/output/tcp.toml b/heka/files/toml/output/tcp.toml
index dee7fa0..643f3ce 100644
--- a/heka/files/toml/output/tcp.toml
+++ b/heka/files/toml/output/tcp.toml
@@ -1,11 +1,7 @@
 [{{ output_name }}_output]
 type="TcpOutput"
 address = "{{ output.host }}:{{ output.port }}"
-encoder = "ProtobufEncoder"
+encoder = "{{ output.encoder|default('ProtobufEncoder') }}"
 message_matcher = "{{ output.message_matcher }}"
-use_buffering = true
 
-[{{ output_name }}_output.buffering]
-max_buffer_size = 268435456
-max_file_size = 67108864
-full_action = "drop"
+{%- include 'heka/files/toml/output/_buffering.toml' %}
diff --git a/heka/files/toml/output/udp.toml b/heka/files/toml/output/udp.toml
index 1b2854e..f649f7d 100644
--- a/heka/files/toml/output/udp.toml
+++ b/heka/files/toml/output/udp.toml
@@ -4,10 +4,4 @@
 encoder = "{{ output.encoder }}"
 message_matcher = "{{ output.message_matcher }}"
 
-{%-  if output.get('use_buffering', True) %}
-use_buffering = true
-[{{ output_name }}_output.buffering]
-max_buffer_size = {{  output.buffering_max_buffer_size|default(268435456) }}
-max_file_size = {{ output.buffering_max_file_size|default(67108864) }}
-full_action = "{{ output.output.buffering_full_action|default("drop") }}"
-{%- endif %}
+{%- include 'heka/files/toml/output/_buffering.toml' %}
diff --git a/heka/meta/heka.yml b/heka/meta/heka.yml
index 8555f47..12c0c63 100644
--- a/heka/meta/heka.yml
+++ b/heka/meta/heka.yml
@@ -237,6 +237,7 @@
       module_dir: /usr/share/lma_collector/common;/usr/share/heka/lua_modules
       config:
         include_full_notification: false
+        hostname: '{{ grains.host }}'
 {%- endif %}
   input:
     heka_collectd:
diff --git a/metadata/service/log_collector/output/syslog.yml b/metadata/service/log_collector/output/syslog.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b7055d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/metadata/service/log_collector/output/syslog.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+parameters:
+  _param:
+    log_collector_syslog_port: 514
+    # protocol should be either tcp or udp
+    log_collector_syslog_protocol: tcp
+    # set this parameter to false if using udp
+    log_collector_syslog_buffering: true
+  heka:
+    log_collector:
+      encoder:
+        syslog:
+          engine: sandbox
+      output:
+        syslog:
+           engine: ${_param:log_collector_syslog_protocol}
+           host: ${_param:log_collector_syslog_host}
+           port: ${_param:log_collector_syslog_port}
+           message_matcher: "Type == 'log'"
+           encoder: syslog_encoder
+           use_buffering: ${_param:log_collector_syslog_buffering}
diff --git a/metadata/service/remote_collector/output/syslog.yml b/metadata/service/remote_collector/output/syslog.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2709817
--- /dev/null
+++ b/metadata/service/remote_collector/output/syslog.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+parameters:
+  _param:
+    remote_collector_syslog_port: 514
+    # protocol should be either tcp or udp
+    remote_collector_syslog_protocol: tcp
+    # set this parameter to false if using udp
+    remote_collector_syslog_buffering: true
+  heka:
+    remote_collector:
+      encoder:
+        syslog:
+          engine: sandbox
+      output:
+        syslog:
+           engine: ${_param:remote_collector_syslog_protocol}
+           host: ${_param:remote_collector_syslog_host}
+           port: ${_param:remote_collector_syslog_port}
+           message_matcher: "Type == 'notification' || Type == 'audit'"
+           encoder: syslog_encoder
+           use_buffering: ${_param:remote_collector_syslog_buffering}