Splunk

Send logs to Splunk HTTP Event Collector

The Splunk output plugin lets you ingest your records into a Splunk Enterprise service through the HTTP Event Collector (HEC) interface.

To learn how to set up the HEC in Splunk, refer to Splunk / Use the HTTP Event Collector.

Configuration parameters

Connectivity, transport, and authentication configuration properties:

Key	Description	Default
host	IP address or hostname of the target Splunk service.	127.0.0.1
port	TCP port of the target Splunk service.	8088
splunk_token	Specify the authentication token for the HTTP Event Collector interface.	none
http_user	Optional username for basic authentication on HEC.	none
http_passwd	Password for user defined in http_user.	none
http_buffer_size	Buffer size used to receive Splunk HTTP responses.	2M
compress	Set payload compression mechanism. Allowed value: gzip.	none
channel	Specify X-Splunk-Request-Channel header for the HTTP Event Collector interface.	none
http_debug_bad_request	If the HTTP server response code is 400 (bad request) and this flag is enabled, it will print the full HTTP request and response to the stdout interface. This feature is available for debugging purposes.	none
workers	The number of workers to perform flush operations for this output.	2

Content and Splunk metadata (fields) handling configuration properties:

Key	Description	Default
splunk_send_raw	When enabled, the record keys and values are set in the top level of the map instead of under the event key. See Sending Raw Events to configure this option.	off
event_key	Specify the key name that will be used to send a single value as part of the record.	none
event_host	Specify the key name that contains the host value. This option allows a record accessors pattern.	none
event_source	Set the source value to assign to the event data.	none
event_sourcetype	Set the sourcetype value to assign to the event data.	none
event_sourcetype_key	Set a record key that will populate sourcetype. If the key is found, it will have precedence over the value set in event_sourcetype.	none
event_index	The name of the index by which the event data is to be indexed.	none
event_index_key	Set a record key that will populate the index field. If the key is found, it will have precedence over the value set in event_index.	none
event_field	Set event fields for the record. This option can be set multiple times and the format is key_name record_accessor_pattern.	none

TLS / SSL

The Splunk output plugin supports TLS/SSL. For more details about the properties available and general configuration, see TLS/SSL.

Get started

To insert records into a Splunk service, you can run the plugin from the command line or through the configuration file.

Command line

The Splunk plugin can read the parameters from the command line through the -p argument (property):

fluent-bit -i cpu -t cpu -o splunk -p host=127.0.0.1 -p port=8088 \
  -p tls=on -p tls.verify=off -m '*'

Configuration file

In your main configuration file append the following sections:

fluent-bit.yaml

pipeline:
  inputs:
    - name: cpu
      tag: cpu

  outputs:
    - name: splunk
      match: '*'
      host: 127.0.0.1
      port: 8088
      tls: on
      tls.verify: off

fluent-bit.conf

Data format

By default, the Splunk output plugin nests the record under the event key in the payload sent to the HEC. It will also append the time of the record to a top level time key.

To customize any of the Splunk event metadata, such as the host or target index, you can set Splunk_Send_Raw On in the plugin configuration, and add the metadata as keys/values in the record. With Splunk_Send_Raw enabled, you are responsible for creating and populating the event section of the payload.

For example, to add a custom index and hostname:

fluent-bit.yaml

pipeline:
  inputs:
    - name: cpu
      tag: cpu

  filters:
    # nest the record under the 'event' key
    - name: nest
      match: '*'
      operation: nest
      wildcard: '*'
      nest_under: event

    - name: modify
      match: '*'
      add:
        - index my-splunk-index
        - host my-host

  outputs:
    - name: splunk
      match: '*'
      host: 127.0.0.1
      splunk_token: 'xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxx'
      splunk_send_raw: On

fluent-bit.conf

This will create a payload that looks like:

{
  "time": "1535995058.003385189",
  "index": "my-splunk-index",
  "host": "my-host",
  "event": {
    "cpu_p":0.000000,
    "user_p":0.000000,
    "system_p":0.000000
  }
}

Sending raw events

If the option splunk_send_raw has been enabled, the user must add all log details in the event field, and only specify fields known to Splunk in the top level event. If there is a mismatch, Splunk returns an HTTP 400 Bad Request status code.

Consider the following examples:

• splunk_send_raw off

  {"time": "SOMETIME", "event": {"k1": "foo", "k2": "bar", "index": "applogs"}}

• splunk_send_raw on

  {"time": "SOMETIME", "k1": "foo", "k2": "bar", "index": "applogs"}

For up-to-date information about the valid keys, see Getting Data In.

Splunk metric index

With Splunk version 8.0 and later, you can use the Fluent Bit Splunk output plugin to send data to metric indices. This lets you perform visualizations, metric queries, and analysis with other metrics you might be collecting. This is based off of Splunk 8.0 support of multi metric support using single JSON payload, more details can be found in Splunk metrics documentation

Sending to a Splunk metric index requires the use of Splunk_send_raw option being enabled and formatting the message properly. This includes these specific operations:

• Nest metric events under a fields property

• Add metric_name: to all metrics

• Add index, source, sourcetype as fields in the message

Example configuration

The following configuration gathers CPU metrics, nests the appropriate field, adds the required identifiers and then sends to Splunk.

fluent-bit.yaml

pipeline:
  inputs:
    - name: cpu
      tag: cpu

  filters:
    # Move CPU metrics to be nested under "fields" and
    # add the prefix "metric_name:" to all metrics
    # NOTE: you can change Wildcard field to only select metric fields
    - name: nest
      match: cpu
      wildcard: '*'
      operation: nest
      nest_under: fields
      add_prefix: 'metric_name:'

    # Add index, source, sourcetype
    - name: modify
      match: cpu
      set:
        - index cpu-metrics
        - source fluent-bit
        - sourcetype custom

  outputs:
    - name: splunk
      match: '*'
      host: <HOST>
      port: 8088
      splunk_token: 'xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxx'
      tls: on
      tls.verify: off

fluent-bit.conf

Send metrics events of Fluent Bit

In Fluent Bit 2.0 or later, you can send Fluent Bit metrics the events type into Splunk using Splunk HEC. This lets you perform visualizations, metric queries, and analysis with directly sent using Fluent Bit metrics. This is based off Splunk 8.0 support of multi metric support using a single concatenated JSON payload.

Sending Fluent Bit metrics into Splunk requires the use of collecting Fluent Bit metrics plugins, whether events type of logs or metrics can be distinguished automatically. You don't need to pay attentions about the type of events.

This example includes two specific operations

• Collect node or Fluent Bit internal metrics

• Send metrics as single concatenated JSON payload

fluent-bit.yaml

pipeline:
  inputs:
    - name: node_exporter_metrics
      tag: node_exporter_metrics

  outputs:
    - name: splunk
      match: '*'
      host: <HOST>
      port: 8088
      splunk_token: 'xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxx'
      tls: on
      tls.verify: off

fluent-bit.conf