Kafka and Loki Integration

Powerful performance with an easy integration, powered by Telegraf, the open source data connector built by InfluxData.

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This is not the recommended configuration for real-time query at scale. For query and compression optimization, high-speed ingest, and high availability, you may want to consider Kafka and InfluxDB.

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Powerful Performance, Limitless Scale

Collect, organize, and act on massive volumes of high-velocity data. Any data is more valuable when you think of it as time series data. with InfluxDB, the #1 time series platform built to scale with Telegraf.

See Ways to Get Started

Input and output integration overview

This plugin allows you to gather metrics from Kafka topics in real-time, enhancing data monitoring and collection capabilities within your Telegraf setup.

The Loki plugin allows users to send logs to Loki for aggregation and querying, leveraging Loki’s efficient storage capabilities.

Integration details

Kafka

The Kafka Telegraf plugin is designed to read data from Kafka topics and create metrics using supported input data formats. As a service input plugin, it listens continuously for incoming metrics and events, differing from standard input plugins that operate at fixed intervals. This particular plugin can utilize features from various Kafka versions and is capable of consuming messages from specified topics, applying configurations such as security credentials using SASL, and managing message processing with options for message offsets and consumer groups. The flexibility of this plugin allows it to handle a wide array of message formats and use cases, making it a valuable asset for applications relying on Kafka for data ingestion.

Loki

This Loki plugin integrates with Grafana Loki, a powerful log aggregation system. By sending logs in a format compatible with Loki, this plugin allows for efficient storage and querying of logs. Each log entry is structured in a key-value format where keys represent the field names and values represent the corresponding log information. The sorting of logs by timestamp ensures that the log streams maintain chronological order when queried through Loki. This plugin’s support for secrets makes it easier to manage authentication parameters securely, while options for HTTP headers, gzip encoding, and TLS configuration enhance the adaptability and security of log transmission, fitting various deployment needs.

Configuration

Kafka


[[inputs.kafka_consumer]]
              ## Kafka brokers.
              brokers = ["localhost:9092"]

              ## Set the minimal supported Kafka version. Should be a string contains
              ## 4 digits in case if it is 0 version and 3 digits for versions starting
              ## from 1.0.0 separated by dot. This setting enables the use of new
              ## Kafka features and APIs.  Must be 0.10.2.0(used as default) or greater.
              ## Please, check the list of supported versions at
              ## https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/Shopify/sarama#SupportedVersions
              ##   ex: kafka_version = "2.6.0"
              ##   ex: kafka_version = "0.10.2.0"
              # kafka_version = "0.10.2.0"

              ## Topics to consume.
              topics = ["telegraf"]

              ## Topic regular expressions to consume.  Matches will be added to topics.
              ## Example: topic_regexps = [ "*test", "metric[0-9A-z]*" ]
              # topic_regexps = [ ]

              ## When set this tag will be added to all metrics with the topic as the value.
              # topic_tag = ""

              ## The list of Kafka message headers that should be pass as metric tags
              ## works only for Kafka version 0.11+, on lower versions the message headers
              ## are not available
              # msg_headers_as_tags = []

              ## The name of kafka message header which value should override the metric name.
              ## In case when the same header specified in current option and in msg_headers_as_tags
              ## option, it will be excluded from the msg_headers_as_tags list.
              # msg_header_as_metric_name = ""

              ## Set metric(s) timestamp using the given source.
              ## Available options are:
              ##   metric -- do not modify the metric timestamp
              ##   inner  -- use the inner message timestamp (Kafka v0.10+)
              ##   outer  -- use the outer (compressed) block timestamp (Kafka v0.10+)
              # timestamp_source = "metric"

              ## Optional Client id
              # client_id = "Telegraf"

              ## Optional TLS Config
              # enable_tls = false
              # tls_ca = "/etc/telegraf/ca.pem"
              # tls_cert = "/etc/telegraf/cert.pem"
              # tls_key = "/etc/telegraf/key.pem"
              ## Use TLS but skip chain & host verification
              # insecure_skip_verify = false

              ## Period between keep alive probes.
              ## Defaults to the OS configuration if not specified or zero.
              # keep_alive_period = "15s"

              ## SASL authentication credentials.  These settings should typically be used
              ## with TLS encryption enabled
              # sasl_username = "kafka"
              # sasl_password = "secret"

              ## Optional SASL:
              ## one of: OAUTHBEARER, PLAIN, SCRAM-SHA-256, SCRAM-SHA-512, GSSAPI
              ## (defaults to PLAIN)
              # sasl_mechanism = ""

              ## used if sasl_mechanism is GSSAPI
              # sasl_gssapi_service_name = ""
              # ## One of: KRB5_USER_AUTH and KRB5_KEYTAB_AUTH
              # sasl_gssapi_auth_type = "KRB5_USER_AUTH"
              # sasl_gssapi_kerberos_config_path = "/"
              # sasl_gssapi_realm = "realm"
              # sasl_gssapi_key_tab_path = ""
              # sasl_gssapi_disable_pafxfast = false

              ## used if sasl_mechanism is OAUTHBEARER
              # sasl_access_token = ""

              ## SASL protocol version.  When connecting to Azure EventHub set to 0.
              # sasl_version = 1

              # Disable Kafka metadata full fetch
              # metadata_full = false

              ## Name of the consumer group.
              # consumer_group = "telegraf_metrics_consumers"

              ## Compression codec represents the various compression codecs recognized by
              ## Kafka in messages.
              ##  0 : None
              ##  1 : Gzip
              ##  2 : Snappy
              ##  3 : LZ4
              ##  4 : ZSTD
              # compression_codec = 0
              ## Initial offset position; one of "oldest" or "newest".
              # offset = "oldest"

              ## Consumer group partition assignment strategy; one of "range", "roundrobin" or "sticky".
              # balance_strategy = "range"

              ## Maximum number of retries for metadata operations including
              ## connecting. Sets Sarama library's Metadata.Retry.Max config value. If 0 or
              ## unset, use the Sarama default of 3,
              # metadata_retry_max = 0

              ## Type of retry backoff. Valid options: "constant", "exponential"
              # metadata_retry_type = "constant"

              ## Amount of time to wait before retrying. When metadata_retry_type is
              ## "constant", each retry is delayed this amount. When "exponential", the
              ## first retry is delayed this amount, and subsequent delays are doubled. If 0
              ## or unset, use the Sarama default of 250 ms
              # metadata_retry_backoff = 0

              ## Maximum amount of time to wait before retrying when metadata_retry_type is
              ## "exponential". Ignored for other retry types. If 0, there is no backoff
              ## limit.
              # metadata_retry_max_duration = 0

              ## When set to true, this turns each bootstrap broker address into a set of
              ## IPs, then does a reverse lookup on each one to get its canonical hostname.
              ## This list of hostnames then replaces the original address list.
              ## resolve_canonical_bootstrap_servers_only = false

              ## Strategy for making connection to kafka brokers. Valid options: "startup",
              ## "defer". If set to "defer" the plugin is allowed to start before making a
              ## connection. This is useful if the broker may be down when telegraf is
              ## started, but if there are any typos in the broker setting, they will cause
              ## connection failures without warning at startup
              # connection_strategy = "startup"

              ## Maximum length of a message to consume, in bytes (default 0/unlimited);
              ## larger messages are dropped
              max_message_len = 1000000

              ## Max undelivered messages
              ## This plugin uses tracking metrics, which ensure messages are read to
              ## outputs before acknowledging them to the original broker to ensure data
              ## is not lost. This option sets the maximum messages to read from the
              ## broker that have not been written by an output.
              ##
              ## This value needs to be picked with awareness of the agent's
              ## metric_batch_size value as well. Setting max undelivered messages too high
              ## can result in a constant stream of data batches to the output. While
              ## setting it too low may never flush the broker's messages.
              # max_undelivered_messages = 1000

              ## Maximum amount of time the consumer should take to process messages. If
              ## the debug log prints messages from sarama about 'abandoning subscription
              ## to [topic] because consuming was taking too long', increase this value to
              ## longer than the time taken by the output plugin(s).
              ##
              ## Note that the effective timeout could be between 'max_processing_time' and
              ## '2 * max_processing_time'.
              # max_processing_time = "100ms"

              ## The default number of message bytes to fetch from the broker in each
              ## request (default 1MB). This should be larger than the majority of
              ## your messages, or else the consumer will spend a lot of time
              ## negotiating sizes and not actually consuming. Similar to the JVM's
              ## `fetch.message.max.bytes`.
              # consumer_fetch_default = "1MB"

              ## Data format to consume.
              ## Each data format has its own unique set of configuration options, read
              ## more about them here:
              ## https://github.com/influxdata/telegraf/blob/master/docs/DATA_FORMATS_INPUT.md
              data_format = "influx"

Loki

[[outputs.loki]]
  ## The domain of Loki
  domain = "https://loki.domain.tld"

  ## Endpoint to write api
  # endpoint = "/loki/api/v1/push"

  ## Connection timeout, defaults to "5s" if not set.
  # timeout = "5s"

  ## Basic auth credential
  # username = "loki"
  # password = "pass"

  ## Additional HTTP headers
  # http_headers = {"X-Scope-OrgID" = "1"}

  ## If the request must be gzip encoded
  # gzip_request = false

  ## Optional TLS Config
  # tls_ca = "/etc/telegraf/ca.pem"
  # tls_cert = "/etc/telegraf/cert.pem"
  # tls_key = "/etc/telegraf/key.pem"

  ## Sanitize Tag Names
  ## If true, all tag names will have invalid characters replaced with
  ## underscores that do not match the regex: ^[a-zA-Z_:][a-zA-Z0-9_:]*.
  # sanitize_label_names = false

  ## Metric Name Label
  ## Label to use for the metric name to when sending metrics. If set to an
  ## empty string, this will not add the label. This is NOT suggested as there
  ## is no way to differentiate between multiple metrics.
  # metric_name_label = "__name"

Input and output integration examples

Kafka

  1. Real-Time Data Processing: Use the Kafka plugin to feed live data from a Kafka topic into a monitoring system. This can be particularly useful for applications that require instant feedback on performance metrics or user activity, allowing businesses to react more swiftly to changing conditions in their environments.

  2. Dynamic Metrics Collection: Leverage this plugin to dynamically adjust the metrics being captured based on events occurring within Kafka. For instance, by integrating with other services, users can have the plugin reconfigure itself on-the-fly, ensuring relevant metrics are always collected according to the needs of the business or application.

  3. Centralized Logging and Monitoring: Implement a centralized logging system using the Kafka Consumer Plugin to aggregate logs from multiple services into a unified monitoring dashboard. This setup can help identify issues across different services and improve overall system observability and troubleshooting capabilities.

  4. Anomaly Detection System: Combine Kafka with machine learning algorithms for real-time anomaly detection. By constantly analyzing streaming data, this setup can automatically identify unusual patterns, triggering alerts and mitigating potential issues more effectively.

Loki

  1. Centralized Logging for Microservices: Utilize the Loki plugin to gather logs from multiple microservices running in a Kubernetes cluster. By directing logs to a centralized Loki instance, developers can monitor, search, and analyze logs from all services in one place, facilitating easier troubleshooting and performance monitoring. This setup streamlines operations and supports rapid response to issues across distributed applications.

  2. Real-Time Log Anomaly Detection: Combine Loki with monitoring tools to analyze log outputs in real-time for unusual patterns that could indicate system errors or security threats. Implementing anomaly detection on log streams enables teams to proactively identify and respond to incidents, thereby improving system reliability and enhancing security postures.

  3. Enhanced Log Processing with Gzip Compression: Configure the Loki plugin to utilize gzip compression for log transmission. This approach can reduce bandwidth usage and improve transmission speeds, especially beneficial in environments where network bandwidth may be a constraint. It’s particularly useful for high-volume logging applications where every byte counts and performance is critical.

  4. Multi-Tenancy Support with Custom Headers: Leverage the ability to add custom HTTP headers to segregate logs from different tenants in a multi-tenant application environment. By using the Loki plugin to send different headers for each tenant, operators can ensure proper log management and compliance with data isolation requirements, making it a versatile solution for SaaS applications.

Feedback

Thank you for being part of our community! If you have any general feedback or found any bugs on these pages, we welcome and encourage your input. Please submit your feedback in the InfluxDB community Slack.

Powerful Performance, Limitless Scale

Collect, organize, and act on massive volumes of high-velocity data. Any data is more valuable when you think of it as time series data. with InfluxDB, the #1 time series platform built to scale with Telegraf.

See Ways to Get Started

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