Chapter 3. Exploring Logstash and Its Plugins

In the previous chapter, we learned a lot about Elasticsearch, its features, its architecture, and the various APIs it provides. We learned in detail about how to use the APIs exposed and the functionalities provided by the APIs. Now that we have explored Elasticsearch, let us explore another popular component, namely, Logstash. In this chapter, we will focus on exploring the various components of Logstash. We will understand the need for Logstash, Logstash flow architecture, and the usage of various plugins.

By the end of this chapter, you will understand the need for Logstash, the Logstash workflow, the configuration and the various plugins present.

In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

• Introduction to Logstash
• Logstash Plugin Architecture
• Logstash Configuration File Structure
• Types of Plugins
• Exploring Input Plugins
• Exploring Filter Plugins
• Exploring Output Plugins
• Exploring Codec Plugins
• Plugins Command-Line Options
• Logstash Command-Line Options
• Logstash Configuration for Parsing Logs
• Monitoring APIs