Configuring Authentication Mechanisms for Filebeat
Filebeat supports multiple authentication mechanisms to securely send data to Elasticsearch, including basic authentication, API key authentication, and client certificate authentication. Below is a step-by-step guide to configuring these mechanisms, along with essential security considerations.
Basic authentication is the most common method, requiring a username and password to authenticate with Elasticsearch.
filebeat.yml) and add the username and password parameters under the output.elasticsearch section. For example:output.elasticsearch:
hosts: ["https://your-elasticsearch-host:9200"]
username: "your_username" # Replace with your Elasticsearch username
password: "your_password" # Replace with your Elasticsearch password
filebeat_system role) to send data to Elasticsearch.API keys provide a more secure alternative to basic authentication, as they are token-based and can be easily rotated.
filebeat.yml file:output.elasticsearch:
hosts: ["https://your-elasticsearch-host:9200"]
api_key: "your_api_key_id:your_api_key_secret" # Replace with your actual API key
For high-security environments, client certificate authentication (mutual TLS) ensures both the Filebeat client and Elasticsearch server authenticate each other.
output.elasticsearch section with SSL/TLS settings, including client certificate and key paths:output.elasticsearch:
hosts: ["https://your-elasticsearch-host:9200"]
ssl.certificate_authorities: ["/path/to/ca.crt"] # Path to CA certificate
ssl.certificate: "/path/to/client.crt" # Path to client certificate
ssl.key: "/path/to/client.key" # Path to client private key
elasticsearch.yml).Regardless of the authentication method, SSL/TLS encryption is critical to protect data in transit.
ssl.enabled: true (default in modern Filebeat/Elasticsearch versions).ssl.certificate_authorities.ssl.verification_mode:
full (default): Validates the server certificate and hostname.certificate: Validates only the server certificate (ignores hostname).none (not recommended): Disables certificate validation (insecure for production).output.elasticsearch:
hosts: ["https://your-elasticsearch-host:9200"]
ssl.enabled: true
ssl.certificate_authorities: ["/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt"]
ssl.verification_mode: full # Recommended for production
ssl.certificate_authorities list instead of disabling verification.output.elasticsearch:
username: ${ELASTICSEARCH_USERNAME} # Reference environment variable
password: ${ELASTICSEARCH_PASSWORD}
After configuring authentication, verify the connection by checking Filebeat logs:
sudo tail -f /var/log/filebeat/filebeat.log
Look for messages indicating successful connections to Elasticsearch (e.g., "Successfully connected to Elasticsearch"). If errors occur, troubleshoot based on log entries (e.g., certificate validation failures, authentication errors).
By following these steps, you can securely configure Filebeat to authenticate with Elasticsearch using your preferred method while ensuring data encryption in transit.