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Elasticsearch

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Elasticsearch is a distributed search and storage solution used for log analytics, full-text search, security intelligence, business analytics, and operational intelligence use cases. This integration supports histogram aggregate queries that return either a single value or a single pair stored in n9-val field, any filtering or matches can be applied as long as the output follows the mentioned format.

Elasticsearch parameters and supported features in Nobl9
General support:
Release channel: Stable, Beta
Connection method: Agent
Replay and SLI Analyzer: Not supported
Event logs: Not supported
Query checker: Not supported
Query parameters retrieval: Supported
Timestamp cache persistence: Supported
Query parameters:
Query interval: 1 min
Query delay: 1 min
Jitter: 15 sec
Timeout: 30 sec
Agent details and minimum required versions for supported features:
Environment variable: ES_QUERY_DELAY
Plugin name: n9elasticsearch
Query parameters retrieval: 0.73.2
Timestamp cache persistence: 0.65.0
Additional notes:
Support for Elasticsearch v7.9.1

Authentication​

The Nobl9 agent calls the Elasticsearch Get API | Elasticsearch documentation. To call the Elasticsearch API, you must provide a token. The token can be obtained from the Kibana control panel. All of the required steps are documented by ElasticSearch and can be found here.

Custom authorization header​

For the agent version equal or greater than 0.37.0, you can set ELASTICSEARCH_CUSTOM_AUTHORIZATION_HEADER environment variable to authenticate.

If you want to use the custom header for authentication instead of the ELASTICSEARCH_TOKEN in your agent config, you must add the variable ELASTICSEARCH_CUSTOM_AUTHORIZATION_HEADER with the appropriate value in the Kubernetes YAML or the Docker runtime. For more details, see the Deploying Elasticsearch agent.

Adding Elasticsearch as a data source​

To ensure data transmission between Nobl9 and Elasticsearch, it may be necessary to list Nobl9 IP addresses as trusted.

IP addresses to add to your allowlist:
  • 18.159.114.21
  • 18.158.132.186
  • 3.64.154.26
⚠ Applies to app.nobl9.com only. In all other cases, contact Nobl9 support.

You can add the Elasticsearch data source using the agent connection method.

Nobl9 Web​

Follow the instructions below to configure your Elasticsearch agent:

  1. Navigate to Integrations > Sources.
  2. Click .
  3. Click the required Source button.
  4. Choose Agent.
  1. Select one of the following Release Channels:
    • The stable channel is fully tested by the Nobl9 team. It represents the final product; however, this channel does not contain all the new features of a beta release. Use it to avoid crashes and other limitations.
    • The beta channel is under active development. Here, you can check out new features and improvements without the risk of affecting any viable SLOs. Remember that features in this channel can change.

  2. Add the URL to connect to your data source.
    The URL must point to the Elasticsearch app. If you are using Elastic Cloud, the URL can be obtained from here. Select your deployment, open the deployment details, and copy the Elasticsearch endpoint.

  1. Select a Project.
    Specifying a project is helpful when multiple users are spread across multiple teams or projects. When the Project field is left blank, Nobl9 uses the default project.
  2. Enter a Display Name.
    You can enter a user-friendly name with spaces in this field.
  3. Enter a Name.
    The name is mandatory and can only contain lowercase, alphanumeric characters, and dashes (for example, my-project-1). Nobl9 duplicates the display name here, transforming it into the supported format, but you can edit the result.
  4. Enter a Description.
    Here you can add details such as who is responsible for the integration (team/owner) and the purpose of creating it.
  5. Specify the Query delay to set a customized delay for queries when pulling the data from the data source.
    • The default value in Elasticsearch integration for Query delay is 1 minute.
    info
    Changing the Query delay may affect your SLI data. For more details, check the Query delay documentation.
  6. Click Add Data Source.

sloctl​

The YAML for setting up an agent connection to Elasticsearch looks like this:

apiVersion: n9/v1alpha
kind: Agent
metadata:
  name: elasticSearch
  displayName: Elasticsearch agent
  project: elastic
spec:
  sourceOf:
    - Metrics
    - Services
  releaseChannel: stable
  queryDelay:
      unit: Minute
      value: 720
  elasticsearch:
    url: https://observability-deployment-id.eu-central-1.aws.cloud.es.io:1234
FieldTypeDescription
queryDelay.unit
mandatory
enumSpecifies the unit for the query delay. Possible values: Second | Minute.
• Check query delay documentation for default unit of query delay for each source.
queryDelay.value
mandatory
numericSpecifies the value for the query delay.
• Must be a number less than 1440 minutes (24 hours).
• Check query delay documentation for default unit of query delay for each source.
releaseChannel
mandatory
enumSpecifies the release channel. Accepted values: beta | stable.
Source-specific fields
elasticsearch.url
mandatory
stringMust point to the Elasticsearch application.
warning

You can deploy only one agent in one YAML file by using the sloctl apply command.

Agent deployment​

When you add the data source, Nobl9 automatically generates a Kubernetes configuration and a Docker command line for you to use to deploy the agent. Both of these are available in the web UI, under the Agent Configuration section. Be sure to swap in your credentials (e.g., replace the <ELASTICSEARCH_TOKEN> with your organization key).

If you use Kubernetes, you can apply the supplied YAML config file to a Kubernetes cluster to deploy the agent. It will look something like this:

# DISCLAIMER: This deployment description contains only the fields necessary for the purpose of this demo.
# It is not a ready-to-apply k8s deployment description, and the client_id and client_secret are only exemplary values.
apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: nobl9-agent-nobl9-dev-elasticsearch-elastic-test
  namespace: default
type: Opaque
stringData:
  elasticsearch_token: <ELASTICSEARCH_TOKEN>
  client_id: "unique_client_id"
  client_secret: "unique_client_secret"
---
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: nobl9-agent-nobl9-dev-elasticsearch-elastic-test
  namespace: default
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      nobl9-agent-name: elastic-test
      nobl9-agent-project: elasticsearch
      nobl9-agent-organization: nobl9-dev
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        nobl9-agent-name: elastic-test
        nobl9-agent-project: elasticsearch
        nobl9-agent-organization: nobl9-dev
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: agent-container
          image: nobl9/agent:0.82.2
          resources:
            requests:
              memory: "350Mi"
              cpu: "0.1"
          env:
            - name: N9_CLIENT_ID
              valueFrom:
                secretKeyRef:
                  key: client_id
                  name: nobl9-agent-nobl9-dev-elasticsearch-elastic-test
            - name: N9_CLIENT_SECRET
              valueFrom:
                secretKeyRef:
                  key: client_secret
                  name: nobl9-agent-nobl9-dev-elasticsearch-elastic-test
            - name: ELASTICSEARCH_TOKEN
              valueFrom:
                secretKeyRef:
                  key: elasticsearch_token
                  name: nobl9-agent-nobl9-dev-elasticsearch-elastic-test
            # The N9_METRICS_PORT is a variable specifying the port to which the /metrics and /health endpoints are exposed.
            # The 9090 is the default value and can be changed.
            # If you don’t want the metrics to be exposed, comment out or delete the N9_METRICS_PORT variable.
            - name: N9_METRICS_PORT
              value: "9090"

Creating SLOs with Elasticsearch​

Nobl9 Web​

Follow the instructions below to create your SLOs with Elasticsearch in the UI:

  1. Navigate to Service Level Objectives.

  2. Click .

  3. In step 1 of the SLO wizard, select the service the SLO will be associated with.

  4. In step 2, select Elasticsearch as the data source for your SLO.

  5. Enter the Index Name.
    For information on how to obtain it, refer to the Index Name | Elasticsearch documentation.

  6. Specify the Metric. You can choose either a Threshold Metric, where a single time series is evaluated against a threshold or a Ratio Metric, which allows you to enter two time series to compare (for example, a count of good requests and total requests).

    1. Choose the Data Count Method for your ratio metric:
    • Non-incremental: counts incoming metric values one-by-one. So the resulting SLO graph is pike-shaped.
    • Incremental: counts the incoming metric values incrementally, adding every next value to previous values. It results in a constantly increasing SLO graph.

  7. Enter a Query or Query for good counter and Query for total counter for the metric you selected.
    For examples of queries, refer to the section below.

    For details on Elasticsearch queries, refer to the Scope of support for Elasticsearch Queries section.

    SLI values for good and total
    When choosing the query for the ratio SLI (countMetrics), keep in mind that the values ​​resulting from that query for both good and total:
    • Must be positive.
    • While we recommend using integers, fractions are also acceptable.
      • If using fractions, we recommend them to be larger than 1e-4 = 0.0001.
    • Shouldn't be larger than 1e+20.

  8. In step 3, define a Time Window for the SLO.

  • Rolling time windows are better for tracking the recent user experience of a service.

  • Calendar-aligned windows are best suited for SLOs that are intended to map to business metrics measured on a calendar-aligned basis, such as every calendar month or every quarter.

  1. In step 4, specify the Error Budget Calculation Method and your Objective(s).

    • Occurrences method counts good attempts against the count of total attempts.
    • Time Slicesmethod measures how many good minutes were achieved (when a system operates within defined boundaries) during a time window.
    • You can define up to 12 objectives for an SLO.

    See the use case example and the SLO calculations guide for more information on the error budget calculation methods.

  2. In step 5, add the Display name, Name, and other settings for your SLO:

    • Create a composite SLO
    • Set notification on data, if this option is available for your data source.
      When activated, Nobl9 notifies you if your SLO hasn't received data or received incomplete data for more than 15 minutes.
    • Add alert policies, labels, and links, if required.
      You can add up to 20 links per SLO.

  3. Click Create SLO.

sloctl​

Here’s an example of Elasticsearch using a rawMetric (threshold metric):

apiVersion: n9/v1alpha
kind: SLO
metadata:
  name: elasticsearch-rawmetric-calendar
  project: elasticsearch
spec:
  service: elasticsearch-service
  indicator:
    metricSource:
      name: elasticsearch
  timeWindows:
    - unit: Day
      count: 7
      calendar:
        startTime: 2020-07-19 00:00:00
        timeZone: Europe/Warsaw
  budgetingMethod: Occurrences
  objectives:
    - displayName: Good
      target: 0.75
      op: lte
      rawMetric:
        query:
          elasticsearch:
            index: apm-7.13.3-transaction
            query: |-
              {
                  "query": {
                      "bool": {
                          "must": [
                              {
                                  "match": {
                                      "service.name": "weloveourpets_xyz"
                                  }
                              },
                              {
                                  "match": {
                                      "transaction.result": "HTTP 2xx"
                                  }
                              }
                          ],
                          "filter": [
                              {
                                  "range": {
                                      "@timestamp": {
                                          "gte": "{{.BeginTime}}",
                                          "lte": "{{.EndTime}}"
                                      }
                                  }
                              }
                          ]
                      }
                  },
                  "size": 0,
                  "aggs": {
                      "resolution": {
                          "date_histogram": {
                              "field": "@timestamp",
                              "fixed_interval": "{{.Resolution}}",
                              "min_doc_count": 0,
                              "extended_bounds": {
                                  "min": "{{.BeginTime}}",
                                  "max": "{{.EndTime}}"
                              }
                          },
                          "aggs": {
                              "n9-val": {
                                  "avg": {
                                      "field": "transaction.duration.us"
                                  }
                              }
                          }
                      }
                  }
              }
      value: 100
    - displayName: Bad
      target: 0.90
      op: lte
      rawMetric:
        query:
          elasticsearch:
            index: apm-7.13.3-transaction
            query: |-
              {
                  "query": {
                      "bool": {
                          "must": [
                              {
                                  "match": {
                                      "service.name": "weloveourpets_xyz"
                                  }
                              },
                              {
                                  "match": {
                                      "transaction.result": "HTTP 2xx"
                                  }
                              }
                          ],
                          "filter": [
                              {
                                  "range": {
                                      "@timestamp": {
                                          "gte": "{{.BeginTime}}",
                                          "lte": "{{.EndTime}}"
                                      }
                                  }
                              }
                          ]
                      }
                  },
                  "size": 0,
                  "aggs": {
                      "resolution": {
                          "date_histogram": {
                              "field": "@timestamp",
                              "fixed_interval": "{{.Resolution}}",
                              "min_doc_count": 0,
                              "extended_bounds": {
                                  "min": "{{.BeginTime}}",
                                  "max": "{{.EndTime}}"
                              }
                          },
                          "aggs": {
                              "n9-val": {
                                  "avg": {
                                      "field": "transaction.duration.us"
                                  }
                              }
                          }
                      }
                  }
              }
      value: 250
    - displayName: Terrible
      target: 0.95
      op: lte
      rawMetric:
        query:
          elasticsearch:
            index: apm-7.13.3-transaction
            query: |-
              {
                  "query": {
                      "bool": {
                          "must": [
                              {
                                  "match": {
                                      "service.name": "weloveourpets_xyz"
                                  }
                              },
                              {
                                  "match": {
                                      "transaction.result": "HTTP 2xx"
                                  }
                              }
                          ],
                          "filter": [
                              {
                                  "range": {
                                      "@timestamp": {
                                          "gte": "{{.BeginTime}}",
                                          "lte": "{{.EndTime}}"
                                      }
                                  }
                              }
                          ]
                      }
                  },
                  "size": 0,
                  "aggs": {
                      "resolution": {
                          "date_histogram": {
                              "field": "@timestamp",
                              "fixed_interval": "{{.Resolution}}",
                              "min_doc_count": 0,
                              "extended_bounds": {
                                  "min": "{{.BeginTime}}",
                                  "max": "{{.EndTime}}"
                              }
                          },
                          "aggs": {
                              "n9-val": {
                                  "avg": {
                                      "field": "transaction.duration.us"
                                  }
                              }
                          }
                      }
                  }
              }
      value: 500

Elasticsearch queries scope of support​

When data from Elastic APM is used, @timestamp is an example of a field that holds the timestamp of the document. Another field can be utilized according to the schema used.

Use the following links in the Elasticsearch guides for context:

The Nobl9 agent requires the search results to be a time series. The agent expects the date_histogram aggregation is named resolution will be used, and will be the source of the timestamps with child aggregation named n9-val, which is the source of the value(s).

{
  "aggs": {
        "resolution": {
            "date_histogram": {
                "field": "@timestamp",
                "fixed_interval": "{{.Resolution}}",
                "min_doc_count": 0,
                "extended_bounds": {
                    "min": "{{.BeginTime}}",
                    "max": "{{.EndTime}}"
                }
            },
            "aggs": {
                "n9-val": {
                    "avg": {
                        "field": "transaction.duration.us"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

  1. Date Histogram Aggregation | Elasticsearch documentation

    • The recommendation is to use fixed_interval with date_histogram and pass {{.Resolution}} placeholder as the value. This will entitle Nobl9 agent to control data resolution.

    • The query must not use a fixed_interval longer than one minute because queries are done every one minute for a 1-minute time range.

  2. Date Histogram Aggregation Fixed Intervals | Elasticsearch documentation

    • The "field": "@timestamp" must match the field used in the filter query.

    • Use the extended_bounds with the "{{.BeginTime}}", "{{.EndTime}}" placeholders as a filter query.

note

The {{.BeginTime}} and {{.EndTime}} are mandatory placeholders and must be included in the query. If you use filter and aggregations parameters in your query, then, the {{.BeginTime}} and {{.EndTime}} placeholders are required in both parameters.

The placeholders are then replaced by the Nobl9 agent with the correct time range values.

  1. Metrics Aggregations | Elasticsearch documentation

    • The n9-val must be a metric aggregation.

    • The single value metric aggregation value is used as the value of the time series.

    • The multi-value metric aggregation first returns a non-null value and is used as the value of the time series. In the following example, the null values are skipped.

      "aggs": {
          "n9-val": {
              ...
          }
      }

  2. The elasticsearch.index is the index name when the query completes.

Querying the Elasticsearch server​

Nobl9 calls Elasticsearch Get API every minute and retrieves the data points from the previous minute to the present time point. The number of data points is dependent on how much data the customer has stored.

Elasticsearch API rate limits​

Elasticsearch rate limits are configurable by setting the search.max_buckets. Depending on the settings of the target cluster, the default limitations are 65,536 buckets for aggregate queries. For more information, refer to the Search Settings | Elasticsearch documentation.

For a more in-depth look, consult additional resources:
ElasticSearch authenticationElasticsearch docsElasticsearch get APIElasticsearch docsElasticsearch APMElasticsearch docsBoolean queryElasticsearch docsQuery and filter contextElasticsearch docsFilter aggregationElasticsearch docsRange queryElasticsearch docsElasticsearch indexElasticsearch docsSearch SettingsElasticsearch docsAgent metricsAgentCreating SLOs via TerraformTerraformCreating agents via TerraformTerraform
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