Getting started with Filebeat

Filebeat is a lightweight, open-source log shipper designed to efficiently forward and centralize log data. It monitors specified log files, reads new entries in real time, and securely transmits them to various destinations. Filebeat is commonly used to send logs to an observability platform like Logit.io, making it a crucial component in modern logging and monitoring pipelines.

With its low resource consumption and built-in modules for structured log parsing, Filebeat is ideal for collecting and shipping logs from applications, containers, and system files. It supports automatic backpressure handling (the ability to adapt to slowdowns in the pipeline when sending logs to a destination, such as Elasticsearch, Logstash, or OpenSearch, instead of overwhelming the destination), secure data transmission, and configurable processing pipelines, ensuring reliable log delivery even in high-traffic environments.

Below are some of the most common use cases where Filebeat plays a critical role in modern observability and security setups.

Shipping Application Logs

Collect logs from a Web application and send them to Logit.io for centralized monitoring.

Filebeat can tail logs (continuously reads new log entries as they are written to a file) from .log files or collect structured JSON logs from a microservices architecture.

Monitoring System Logs

Forward system logs from Linux (/var/log/syslog) or Windows Event Logs to Logit.io for security auditing and troubleshooting.

Use Filebeat’s system module to ship authentication and kernel logs to detect security threats.

Collecting Container Logs

Aggregate logs from Docker containers running microservices.

Filebeat’s Docker input captures container logs and sends them to Logit.io.

Streaming Logs from Cloud Services

Monitor AWS, Azure, or GCP logs and centralize them for analysis. Use the AWS module in Filebeat to collect CloudWatch logs and forward them to a Logit.io.

Log Forwarding from Remote Servers

Forward logs from multiple remote servers to Logit.io.

Deploy Filebeat on web servers, application servers, and database servers to stream logs to Logit.io securely over TLS.

Sending Network and Security Logs

Collect logs from firewalls, IDS/IPS, and network appliances.

Use Filebeat to forward Suricata, Cisco ASA, or Zeek logs to Logit.io for security monitoring.

Click here for instructions on how to use setup and use Filebeat to send logs to Logit.io.