How to Send Logs with Vector: A Comprehensive Guide

How to Send Logs with Vector

Handling log data efficiently is crucial for ensuring smooth operations and robust observability in any modern infrastructure. Vector, an open-source tool, excels at routing logs from various sources to different destinations. This guide will walk you through the process of setting up and using Vector to send logs effectively.

Prerequisites

Basic understanding of log management concepts.
Access to a system with Vector installed. If Vector is not yet installed, refer to our guide on installing the Vector Log Tool for the installation steps.
Administrator access to configure log input and output paths.

Step 1: Configure Vector Sources

Begin by defining your log sources in the Vector configuration file. Vector supports various input types, such as file, syslog, or journald. Here is an example configuration for reading logs from a file:

[sources.my_source]
  type = "file"
  include = ["/var/log/myapp/*.log"]

Step 2: Set Up Vector Transforms

Transforms allow you to process or enrich your log data before sending it to its final destination. For instance, you can parse JSON logs or add additional fields. Here’s how you can add a basic transform:

[transforms.my_transform]
  type = "json_parser"
  inputs = ["my_source"]
  drop_invalid = true

Step 3: Define Vector Sinks

The sink defines where the logs should be sent. Vector supports multiple outputs like Elasticsearch, AWS S3, or another log aggregator. Example for sending logs to Elasticsearch:

[sinks.my_sink]
  type = "elasticsearch"
  inputs = ["my_transform"]
  endpoint = "http://localhost:9200"
  index = "my-logs"

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues while setting up Vector, consider the following tips:

Check configuration file syntax using vector validate config.toml.
Review Vector logs for errors using the default log output or a custom log file.
Verify network connectivity if sending logs to a remote service.

Summary Checklist

Ensure Vector is installed and running on your system.
Configure log sources to define where logs are read from.
Add necessary transforms to process and enrich log data.
Define sinks to route logs to their destination efficiently.

Using Vector for log management enhances observability and ensures that log data is routed where it needs to be seamlessly. Whether you’re managing system infrastructure or specific applications, having a reliable log routing setup with Vector is invaluable.