Kubernetes and OpenSearch Integration

Input and output integration overview

This plugin captures metrics for Kubernetes pods and containers by communicating with the Kubelet API.

The OpenSearch Output Plugin allows users to send metrics directly to an OpenSearch instance using HTTP, thus facilitating effective data management and analytics within the OpenSearch ecosystem.

Integration details

Kubernetes

The Kubernetes input plugin interfaces with the Kubelet API to gather metrics for running pods and containers on a single host, ideally as part of a daemonset in a Kubernetes installation. By operating on each node within the cluster, it collects metrics from the locally running kubelet, ensuring that the data reflects the real-time state of the environment. Being a rapidly evolving project, Kubernetes sees frequent updates, and this plugin adheres to the major cloud providers’ supported versions, maintaining compatibility across multiple releases within a limited time span. Significant consideration is given to the potential high series cardinality, which can burden the database; thus, users are advised to implement filtering techniques and retention policies to manage this load effectively. Configuration options provide flexible customization of the plugin’s behavior to integrate seamlessly into different setups, enhancing its utility in monitoring Kubernetes environments.

OpenSearch

The OpenSearch Telegraf Plugin integrates with the OpenSearch database via HTTP, allowing for the streamlined collection and storage of metrics. As a powerful tool designed specifically for OpenSearch releases from 2.x, the plugin provides robust features while offering compatibility with 1.x through the original Elasticsearch plugin. This plugin facilitates the creation and management of indexes in OpenSearch, automatically managing templates and ensuring that data is structured efficiently for analysis. The plugin supports various configuration options such as index names, authentication, health checks, and value handling, allowing it to be tailored to diverse operational requirements. Its capabilities make it essential for organizations looking to harness the power of OpenSearch for metrics storage and querying.

Configuration

Kubernetes

[[inputs.kubernetes]]
  ## URL for the kubelet, if empty read metrics from all nodes in the cluster
  url = "http://127.0.0.1:10255"

  ## Use bearer token for authorization. ('bearer_token' takes priority)
  ## If both of these are empty, we'll use the default serviceaccount:
  ## at: /var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token
  ##
  ## To re-read the token at each interval, please use a file with the
  ## bearer_token option. If given a string, Telegraf will always use that
  ## token.
  # bearer_token = "/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token"
  ## OR
  # bearer_token_string = "abc_123"

  ## Kubernetes Node Metric Name
  ## The default Kubernetes node metric name (i.e. kubernetes_node) is the same
  ## for the kubernetes and kube_inventory plugins. To avoid conflicts, set this
  ## option to a different value.
  # node_metric_name = "kubernetes_node"

  ## Pod labels to be added as tags.  An empty array for both include and
  ## exclude will include all labels.
  # label_include = []
  # label_exclude = ["*"]

  ## Set response_timeout (default 5 seconds)
  # response_timeout = "5s"

  ## Optional TLS Config
  # tls_ca = /path/to/cafile
  # tls_cert = /path/to/certfile
  # tls_key = /path/to/keyfile
  ## Use TLS but skip chain & host verification
  # insecure_skip_verify = false

OpenSearch

[[outputs.opensearch]]
  ## URLs
  ## The full HTTP endpoint URL for your OpenSearch instance. Multiple URLs can
  ## be specified as part of the same cluster, but only one URLs is used to
  ## write during each interval.
  urls = ["http://node1.os.example.com:9200"]

  ## Index Name
  ## Target index name for metrics (OpenSearch will create if it not exists).
  ## This is a Golang template (see https://pkg.go.dev/text/template)
  ## You can also specify
  ## metric name (`{{.Name}}`), tag value (`{{.Tag "tag_name"}}`), field value (`{{.Field "field_name"}}`)
  ## If the tag does not exist, the default tag value will be empty string "".
  ## the timestamp (`{{.Time.Format "xxxxxxxxx"}}`).
  ## For example: "telegraf-{{.Time.Format \"2006-01-02\"}}-{{.Tag \"host\"}}" would set it to telegraf-2023-07-27-HostName
  index_name = ""

  ## Timeout
  ## OpenSearch client timeout
  # timeout = "5s"

  ## Sniffer
  ## Set to true to ask OpenSearch a list of all cluster nodes,
  ## thus it is not necessary to list all nodes in the urls config option
  # enable_sniffer = false

  ## GZIP Compression
  ## Set to true to enable gzip compression
  # enable_gzip = false

  ## Health Check Interval
  ## Set the interval to check if the OpenSearch nodes are available
  ## Setting to "0s" will disable the health check (not recommended in production)
  # health_check_interval = "10s"

  ## Set the timeout for periodic health checks.
  # health_check_timeout = "1s"
  ## HTTP basic authentication details.
  # username = ""
  # password = ""
  ## HTTP bearer token authentication details
  # auth_bearer_token = ""

  ## Optional TLS Config
  ## Set to true/false to enforce TLS being enabled/disabled. If not set,
  ## enable TLS only if any of the other options are specified.
  # tls_enable =
  ## Trusted root certificates for server
  # tls_ca = "/path/to/cafile"
  ## Used for TLS client certificate authentication
  # tls_cert = "/path/to/certfile"
  ## Used for TLS client certificate authentication
  # tls_key = "/path/to/keyfile"
  ## Send the specified TLS server name via SNI
  # tls_server_name = "kubernetes.example.com"
  ## Use TLS but skip chain & host verification
  # insecure_skip_verify = false

  ## Template Config
  ## Manage templates
  ## Set to true if you want telegraf to manage its index template.
  ## If enabled it will create a recommended index template for telegraf indexes
  # manage_template = true

  ## Template Name
  ## The template name used for telegraf indexes
  # template_name = "telegraf"

  ## Overwrite Templates
  ## Set to true if you want telegraf to overwrite an existing template
  # overwrite_template = false

  ## Document ID
  ## If set to true a unique ID hash will be sent as
  ## sha256(concat(timestamp,measurement,series-hash)) string. It will enable
  ## data resend and update metric points avoiding duplicated metrics with
  ## different id's
  # force_document_id = false

  ## Value Handling
  ## Specifies the handling of NaN and Inf values.
  ## This option can have the following values:
  ##    none    -- do not modify field-values (default); will produce an error
  ##               if NaNs or infs are encountered
  ##    drop    -- drop fields containing NaNs or infs
  ##    replace -- replace with the value in "float_replacement_value" (default: 0.0)
  ##               NaNs and inf will be replaced with the given number, -inf with the negative of that number
  # float_handling = "none"
  # float_replacement_value = 0.0

  ## Pipeline Config
  ## To use a ingest pipeline, set this to the name of the pipeline you want to use.
  # use_pipeline = "my_pipeline"

  ## Pipeline Name
  ## Additionally, you can specify a tag name using the notation (`{{.Tag "tag_name"}}`)
  ## which will be used as the pipeline name (e.g. "{{.Tag \"os_pipeline\"}}").
  ## If the tag does not exist, the default pipeline will be used as the pipeline.
  ## If no default pipeline is set, no pipeline is used for the metric.
  # default_pipeline = ""

Input and output integration examples

Kubernetes

1. Dynamic Resource Allocation Monitoring: By utilizing the Kubernetes plugin, teams can set up alerts for resource usage patterns across various pods and containers. This proactive monitoring approach enables automatic scaling of resources in response to specific thresholds—helping to optimize performance while minimizing costs during peak usage.

2. Multi-tenancy Resource Isolation Analysis: Organizations using Kubernetes can leverage this plugin to track resource consumption per namespace. In a multi-tenant scenario, understanding the resource allocations and usages across different teams becomes critical for ensuring fair access and performance guarantees, leading to better resource management strategies.

3. Real-time Health Dashboards: Integrate the data captured by the Kubernetes plugin into visualization tools like Grafana to create real-time dashboards. These dashboards provide insights into the overall health and performance of the Kubernetes environment, allowing teams to quickly identify and rectify issues across clusters, pods, and containers.

4. Automated Incident Response Workflows: By combining the Kubernetes plugin with alert management systems, teams can automate incident response procedures based on real-time metrics. If a pod’s resource usage exceeds predefined limits, an automated workflow can trigger remediation actions, such as restarting the pod or reallocating resources—all of which can help improve system resilience.

OpenSearch

1. Dynamic Indexing for Time-Series Data: Utilize the OpenSearch Telegraf plugin to dynamically create indexes for time-series metrics, ensuring that data is stored in an organized manner conducive to time-based queries. By defining index patterns using Go templates, users can leverage the plugin to create daily or monthly indexes, which can greatly simplify data management and retrieval over time, thus enhancing analytical performance.

2. Centralized Logging for Multi-Tenant Applications: Implement the OpenSearch plugin in a multi-tenant application where each tenant’s logs are sent to separate indexes. This enables targeted analysis and monitoring for each tenant while maintaining data isolation. By utilizing the index name templating feature, users can automatically create tenant-specific indexes, which not only streamlines the process but also enhances security and accessibility for tenant data.

3. Integration with Machine Learning for Anomaly Detection: Leverage the OpenSearch plugin alongside machine learning tools to automatically detect anomalies in metrics data. By configuring the plugin to send real-time metrics to OpenSearch, users can apply machine learning models on the incoming data streams to identify outliers or unusual patterns, facilitating proactive monitoring and swift remedial actions.

4. Enhanced Monitoring Dashboards with OpenSearch: Use the metrics collected from OpenSearch to create real-time dashboards that provide insights into system performance. By feeding metrics into OpenSearch, organizations can utilize OpenSearch Dashboards to visualize key performance indicators, allowing operations teams to quickly assess health and performance, and making data-driven decisions.

Feedback

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