GCP Operations (formerly Stackdriver) logs

Deliver logs to GCP’s Cloud Operations suite

Configuration

Example configurations

{
  "sinks": {
    "my_sink_id": {
      "type": "gcp_stackdriver_logs",
      "inputs": [
        "my-source-or-transform-id"
      ],
      "credentials_path": "/path/to/credentials.json",
      "log_id": "vector-logs",
      "project_id": "vector-123456"
    }
  }
}

[sinks.my_sink_id]
type = "gcp_stackdriver_logs"
inputs = [ "my-source-or-transform-id" ]
credentials_path = "/path/to/credentials.json"
log_id = "vector-logs"
project_id = "vector-123456"

---
sinks:
  my_sink_id:
    type: gcp_stackdriver_logs
    inputs:
      - my-source-or-transform-id
    credentials_path: /path/to/credentials.json
    log_id: vector-logs
    project_id: vector-123456
    resource: null
    encoding: null
    healthcheck: null

{
  "sinks": {
    "my_sink_id": {
      "type": "gcp_stackdriver_logs",
      "inputs": [
        "my-source-or-transform-id"
      ],
      "billing_account_id": "012345-6789AB-CDEF01",
      "credentials_path": "/path/to/credentials.json",
      "folder_id": "My Folder",
      "log_id": "vector-logs",
      "organization_id": "622418129737",
      "project_id": "vector-123456",
      "severity_key": "severity"
    }
  }
}

[sinks.my_sink_id]
type = "gcp_stackdriver_logs"
inputs = [ "my-source-or-transform-id" ]
billing_account_id = "012345-6789AB-CDEF01"
credentials_path = "/path/to/credentials.json"
folder_id = "My Folder"
log_id = "vector-logs"
organization_id = "622418129737"
project_id = "vector-123456"
severity_key = "severity"

---
sinks:
  my_sink_id:
    type: gcp_stackdriver_logs
    inputs:
      - my-source-or-transform-id
    billing_account_id: 012345-6789AB-CDEF01
    credentials_path: /path/to/credentials.json
    folder_id: My Folder
    log_id: vector-logs
    organization_id: "622418129737"
    project_id: vector-123456
    resource: null
    buffer: null
    batch: null
    encoding: null
    healthcheck: null
    request: null
    tls: null
    proxy: null
    severity_key: severity

batch

optional object

Configures the sink batching behavior.

batch.max_bytes

optional uint

The maximum size of a batch, in bytes, before it is flushed.

default: 5.24288e+06 (bytes)

batch.timeout_secs

optional uint

The maximum age of a batch before it is flushed.

default: 1 (seconds)

billing_account_id

optional string literal

The billing account ID to which to publish logs.

Exactly one of must be set: billing_account_id, folder_id, organization_id, or project_id.

Examples

"012345-6789AB-CDEF01"

Option	Description
`disk`	Stores the sink’s buffer on disk. This is less performant, but durable. Data will not be lost between restarts. Will also hold data in memory to enhance performance. WARNING: This may stall the sink if disk performance isn’t on par with the throughput. For comparison, AWS gp2 volumes are usually too slow for common cases.
`memory`	Stores the sink’s buffer in memory. This is more performant, but less durable. Data will be lost if Vector is restarted forcefully.

Option	Description
`block`	Applies back pressure when the buffer is full. This prevents data loss, but will cause data to pile up on the edge.
`drop_newest`	Drops new data as it’s received. This data is lost. This should be used when performance is the highest priority.

The filename for a Google Cloud service account credentials JSON file used to authenticate access to the Stackdriver Logging API. If this is unset, Vector checks the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable for a filename.

If no filename is named, Vector attempts to fetch an instance service account for the compute instance the program is running on. If Vector is not running on a GCE instance, you must define a credentials file as above.

Examples

"/path/to/credentials.json"

encoding

required object

Configures the encoding specific sink behavior.

encoding.except_fields

optional array

Prevent the sink from encoding the specified fields.

encoding.only_fields

optional array

Makes the sink encode only the specified fields.

encoding.timestamp_format

optional string enum literal

How to format event timestamps.

Enum options

Option	Description
`rfc3339`	Formats as a RFC3339 string
`unix`	Formats as a unix timestamp

default: rfc3339

folder_id

optional string literal

The folder ID to which to publish logs.

See the Google Cloud Platform folder documentation for more details.

Exactly one of billing_account_id, folder_id, organization_id, or project_id must be set.

Examples

"My Folder"

healthcheck

common optional object

Health check options for the sink.

healthcheck.enabled

optional bool

Enables/disables the healthcheck upon Vector boot.

default: true

inputs

required [string]

A list of upstream source or transform IDs. Wildcards (*) are supported.

See configuration for more info.

Array string literal

Examples

[
  "my-source-or-transform-id",
  "prefix-*"
]

log_id

required string template

The log ID to which to publish logs. This is a name you create to identify this log stream.

Note: This parameter supports Vector's template syntax, which enables you to use dynamic per-event values.

Examples

"vector-logs"

"{{ component_id }}"

organization_id

optional string literal

The organization ID to which to publish logs. This would be the identifier assigned to your organization on Google Cloud Platform.

Exactly one of billing_account_id, folder_id, organization_id, or project_id must be set.

Examples

"622418129737"

project_id

required string literal

The project ID to which to publish logs. See the Google Cloud Platform project management documentation for more details.

Exactly one of billing_account_id, folder_id, organization_id, or project_id must be set.

Examples

"vector-123456"

proxy

optional object

Configures an HTTP(S) proxy for Vector to use. By default, the globally configured proxy is used.

proxy.enabled

optional bool

If false the proxy will be disabled.

default: true

proxy.http

optional string literal

The URL to proxy HTTP requests through.

proxy.https

optional string literal

The URL to proxy HTTPS requests through.

proxy.no_proxy

optional array

A list of hosts to avoid proxying. Allowed patterns here include:

Pattern	Example match
Domain names	`example.com` matches requests to `example.com`
Wildcard domains	`.example.com` matches requests to `example.com` and its subdomains
IP addresses	`127.0.0.1` matches requests to 127.0.0.1
CIDR blocks	`192.168.0.0./16` matches requests to any IP addresses in this range
Splat	`*` matches all hosts

request

optional object

Configures the sink request behavior.

request.adaptive_concurrency

optional object

Configure the adaptive concurrency algorithms. These values have been tuned by optimizing simulated results. In general you should not need to adjust these.

request.concurrency

optional uint

The maximum number of in-flight requests allowed at any given time.

default: 1024 (requests)

request.rate_limit_duration_secs

optional uint

The time window, in seconds, used for the rate_limit_num option.

default: 1 (seconds)

request.rate_limit_num

optional uint

The maximum number of requests allowed within the rate_limit_duration_secs time window.

default: 1000

request.retry_attempts

optional uint

The maximum number of retries to make for failed requests. The default, for all intents and purposes, represents an infinite number of retries.

default: 1.8446744073709552e+19

request.retry_initial_backoff_secs

optional uint

The amount of time to wait before attempting the first retry for a failed request. Once, the first retry has failed the fibonacci sequence will be used to select future backoffs.

default: 1 (seconds)

request.retry_max_duration_secs

optional uint

The maximum amount of time, in seconds, to wait between retries.

default: 3600 (seconds)

request.timeout_secs

optional uint

The maximum time a request can take before being aborted. It is highly recommended that you do not lower this value below the service’s internal timeout, as this could create orphaned requests, pile on retries, and result in duplicate data downstream.

default: 60 (seconds)

resource

required object

Options for describing the logging resource.

resource.*

optional string template

Values for all of the labels listed in the associated monitored resource descriptor.

For example, Compute Engine VM instances use the labels instance_id and zone.

resource.type

required string literal

The monitored resource type. For example, the type of a Compute Engine VM instance is gce_instance.

See the Google Cloud Platform monitored resource documentation for more details.

severity_key

optional string literal

The field of the log event from which to take the outgoing log’s severity field. The named field is removed from the log event if present, and must be either an integer between 0 and 800 or a string containing one of the severity level names (case is ignored) or a common prefix such as err.

If no severity key is specified, the severity of outgoing records is set to 0 (DEFAULT).

See the GCP Stackdriver Logging LogSeverity description for more details on the value of the severity field.

Examples

"severity"

tls

optional object

Configures the TLS options for incoming connections.

tls.ca_file

optional string literal

Absolute path to an additional CA certificate file, in DER or PEM format (X.509), or an inline CA certificate in PEM format.

tls.crt_file

optional string literal

Absolute path to a certificate file used to identify this connection, in DER or PEM format (X.509) or PKCS#12, or an inline certificate in PEM format. If this is set and is not a PKCS#12 archive, key_file must also be set.

tls.key_file

optional string literal

Absolute path to a private key file used to identify this connection, in DER or PEM format (PKCS#8), or an inline private key in PEM format. If this is set, crt_file must also be set.

tls.key_pass

optional string literal

Pass phrase used to unlock the encrypted key file. This has no effect unless key_file is set.

tls.verify_hostname

optional bool

If true (the default), Vector will validate the configured remote host name against the remote host’s TLS certificate. Do NOT set this to false unless you understand the risks of not verifying the remote hostname.

default: true

Environment variables

GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS

common optional string literal

The filename for a Google Cloud service account credentials JSON file used for authentication.

Examples

/path/to/credentials.json

Telemetry

Metrics

link

events_in_total

counter

The number of events accepted by this component either from tagged origin like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins.

component_id required

The Vector component ID.

component_kind required

The Vector component kind.

component_name required

Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.

component_type required

The Vector component type.

container_name optional

The name of the container from which the event originates.

file optional

The file from which the event originates.

host required

The hostname of the system Vector is running on.

mode optional

The connection mode used by the component.

peer_addr optional

The IP from which the event originates.

peer_path optional

The pathname from which the event originates.

pid required

The process ID of the Vector instance.

pod_name optional

The name of the pod from which the event originates.

uri optional

The sanitized URI from which the event originates.

events_out_total

counter

The total number of events emitted by this component.

component_id required

The Vector component ID.

component_kind required

The Vector component kind.

component_name required

Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.

component_type required

The Vector component type.

host required

The hostname of the system Vector is running on.

pid required

The process ID of the Vector instance.

utilization

gauge

A ratio from 0 to 1 of the load on a component. A value of 0 would indicate a completely idle component that is simply waiting for input. A value of 1 would indicate a that is never idle. This value is updated every 5 seconds.

component_id required

The Vector component ID.

component_kind required

The Vector component kind.

component_name required

Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.

component_type required

The Vector component type.

host required

The hostname of the system Vector is running on.

pid required

The process ID of the Vector instance.

Permissions

Platform: Google Cloud Platform

Relevant policies

Policy	Required for	Required when
`logging.logEntries.create`	`healthcheck` `operation`

How it works

Buffers and batches

This component buffers & batches data as shown in the diagram above. You’ll notice that Vector treats these concepts differently, instead of treating them as global concepts, Vector treats them as sink specific concepts. This isolates sinks, ensuring services disruptions are contained and delivery guarantees are honored.

Batches are flushed when 1 of 2 conditions are met:

The batch age meets or exceeds the configured timeout_secs.
The batch size meets or exceeds the configured max_size or max_events.

Buffers are controlled via the buffer.* options.

GCP Authentication

GCP offers a variety of authentication methods and Vector is concerned with the server to server methods and will find credentials in the following order:

If the credentials_path option is set.
If the api_key option is set.
If the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS envrionment variable is set.
Finally, Vector will check for an instance service account.

If credentials aren’t found, Vector’s health checks fail and an error is logged.

Health checks

Health checks ensure that the downstream service is accessible and ready to accept data. This check is performed upon sink initialization. If the health check fails an error will be logged and Vector will proceed to start.

Require health checks

If you’d like to exit immediately upon a health check failure, you can pass the --require-healthy flag:

vector --config /etc/vector/vector.toml --require-healthy

Disable health checks

If you’d like to disable health checks for this sink you can set the healthcheck option to false.

Partitioning

Vector supports dynamic configuration values through a simple template syntax. If an option supports templating, it will be noted with a badge and you can use event fields to create dynamic values. For example:

[sinks.my-sink]
dynamic_option = "application={{ application_id }}"

In the above example, the application_id for each event will be used to partition outgoing data.

Rate limits & adapative concurrency

Adaptive Request Concurrency (ARC)

Adaptive Requst Concurrency is a feature of Vector that does away with static concurrency limits and automatically optimizes HTTP concurrency based on downstream service responses. The underlying mechanism is a feedback loop inspired by TCP congestion control algorithms. Checkout the announcement blog post,

We highly recommend enabling this feature as it improves performance and reliability of Vector and the systems it communicates with.

To enable, set the request.concurrency option to adaptive:

[sinks.my-sink]
  request.concurrency = "adaptive"

Static concurrency

If Adaptive Request Concurrency is not for you, you can manually set static concurrency limits by specifying an integer for request.concurrency:

[sinks.my-sink]
  request.concurrency = 10

Rate limits

In addition to limiting request concurrency, you can also limit the overall request throughput via the request.rate_limit_duration_secs and request.rate_limit_num options.

[sinks.my-sink]
  request.rate_limit_duration_secs = 1
  request.rate_limit_num = 10

These will apply to both adaptive and fixed request.concurrency values.

Retry policy

Vector will retry failed requests (status == 429, >= 500, and != 501). Other responses will not be retried. You can control the number of retry attempts and backoff rate with the request.retry_attempts and request.retry_backoff_secs options.

Severity Level Mapping

If a severity_key is configured, outgoing log records have their severity header field set from the named field in the Vector event. However, the required values for this field may be inconvenient to produce, typically requiring a custom mapping using an additional transform. To assist with this, this sink remaps certain commonly used words to the required numbers as in the following table. Note that only the prefix is compared, such that a value of emergency matches emerg, and the comparison ignores case.

Prefix	Value
`emerg`	800
`fatal`	800
`alert`	700
`crit`	600
`err`	500
`warn`	400
`notice`	300
`info`	200
`debug`	100
`trace`	100

State

This component is stateless, meaning its behavior is consistent across each input.

Transport Layer Security (TLS)

Vector uses OpenSSL for TLS protocols due to OpenSSL’s maturity. You can enable and adjust TLS behavior using the tls.* options.