Splunk HTTP Event Collector (HEC)

Receive logs from Splunk

status: stable role: aggregator delivery: at-least-once acknowledgements: yes egress: batch state: stateless output: log
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This source exposes three HTTP endpoints at a configurable address that jointly implement the Splunk HEC API: /services/collector/event, /services/collector/raw, and /services/collector/health.

Configuration

Example configurations 

{
  "sources": {
    "my_source_id": {
      "type": "splunk_hec"
    }
  }
}
[sources.my_source_id]
type = "splunk_hec"

---
sources:
  my_source_id:
    type: splunk_hec

{
  "sources": {
    "my_source_id": {
      "type": "splunk_hec",
      "address": "0.0.0.0:8088",
      "valid_tokens": [
        "A94A8FE5CCB19BA61C4C08"
      ]
    }
  }
}
[sources.my_source_id]
type = "splunk_hec"
address = "0.0.0.0:8088"
valid_tokens = [ "A94A8FE5CCB19BA61C4C08" ]

---
sources:
  my_source_id:
    type: splunk_hec
    address: 0.0.0.0:8088
    valid_tokens:
      - A94A8FE5CCB19BA61C4C08

acknowledgements

optional object
Acknowledgement configuration for the splunk_hec source.

acknowledgements.ack_idle_cleanup

optional bool

Whether or not to remove channels after idling for max_idle_time seconds.

A channel is idling if it is not used for sending data or querying ack statuses.

default: false

acknowledgements.enabled

optional bool
Enables end-to-end acknowledgements.

acknowledgements.max_idle_time

optional uint

The amount of time, in seconds, a channel is allowed to idle before removal.

Channels can potentially idle for longer than this setting but clients should not rely on such behavior.

Minimum of 1.

default: 300

acknowledgements.max_number_of_ack_channels

optional uint

The maximum number of Splunk HEC channels clients can use with this source.

Minimum of 1.

default: 1e+06

acknowledgements.max_pending_acks

optional uint

The maximum number of ack statuses pending query across all channels.

Equivalent to the max_number_of_acked_requests_pending_query Splunk HEC setting.

Minimum of 1.

default: 1e+07

acknowledgements.max_pending_acks_per_channel

optional uint

The maximum number of ack statuses pending query for a single channel.

Equivalent to the max_number_of_acked_requests_pending_query_per_ack_channel Splunk HEC setting.

Minimum of 1.

default: 1e+06

address

optional string literal

The socket address to listen for connections on.

The address must include a port.

default: 0.0.0.0:8088

store_hec_token

optional bool

Whether or not to forward the Splunk HEC authentication token with events.

If set to true, when incoming requests contain a Splunk HEC token, the token used will kept in the event metadata and be preferentially used if the event is sent to a Splunk HEC sink.

default: false

tls

optional object
Configures the TLS options for incoming/outgoing connections.

tls.alpn_protocols

optional [string]

Sets the list of supported ALPN protocols.

Declare the supported ALPN protocols, which are used during negotiation with peer. Prioritized in the order they are defined.

tls.ca_file

optional string literal

Absolute path to an additional CA certificate file.

The certificate must be in the DER or PEM (X.509) format. Additionally, the certificate can be provided as an inline string in PEM format.

Examples 
"/path/to/certificate_authority.crt"

tls.crt_file

optional string literal

Absolute path to a certificate file used to identify this server.

The certificate must be in DER, PEM (X.509), or PKCS#12 format. Additionally, the certificate can be provided as an inline string in PEM format.

If this is set, and is not a PKCS#12 archive, key_file must also be set.

Examples 
"/path/to/host_certificate.crt"

tls.enabled

optional bool

Whether or not to require TLS for incoming/outgoing connections.

When enabled and used for incoming connections, an identity certificate is also required. See tls.crt_file for more information.

tls.key_file

optional string literal

Absolute path to a private key file used to identify this server.

The key must be in DER or PEM (PKCS#8) format. Additionally, the key can be provided as an inline string in PEM format.

Examples 
"/path/to/host_certificate.key"

tls.key_pass

optional string literal

Passphrase used to unlock the encrypted key file.

This has no effect unless key_file is set.

Examples 
"${KEY_PASS_ENV_VAR}"
"PassWord1"

tls.verify_certificate

optional bool

Enables certificate verification.

If enabled, certificates must be valid in terms of not being expired, as well as being issued by a trusted issuer. This verification operates in a hierarchical manner, checking that not only the leaf certificate (the certificate presented by the client/server) is valid, but also that the issuer of that certificate is valid, and so on until reaching a root certificate.

Relevant for both incoming and outgoing connections.

Do NOT set this to false unless you understand the risks of not verifying the validity of certificates.

tls.verify_hostname

optional bool

Enables hostname verification.

If enabled, the hostname used to connect to the remote host must be present in the TLS certificate presented by the remote host, either as the Common Name or as an entry in the Subject Alternative Name extension.

Only relevant for outgoing connections.

Do NOT set this to false unless you understand the risks of not verifying the remote hostname.

token

optional string literal

Deprecated

This option has been deprecated, use valid_tokens instead.

Optional authorization token.

If supplied, incoming requests must supply this token in the Authorization header, just as a client would if it was communicating with the Splunk HEC endpoint directly.

If not supplied, the Authorization header will be ignored and requests will not be authenticated.

valid_tokens

optional [string]

Optional list of valid authorization tokens.

If supplied, incoming requests must supply one of these tokens in the Authorization header, just as a client would if it was communicating with the Splunk HEC endpoint directly.

If not supplied, the Authorization header will be ignored and requests will not be authenticated.

Array string literal
Examples 
[
  "A94A8FE5CCB19BA61C4C08"
]

Outputs

<component_id>

Default output stream of the component. Use this component’s ID as an input to downstream transforms and sinks.

Output Data

Logs

Event

A single event
Fields
message required string literal
The raw line, unparsed.
Examples
2019-02-13T19:48:34+00:00 [info] Started GET "/" for 127.0.0.1
source_type required string literal
The name of the source type.
Examples
splunk_hec
splunk_channel required timestamp
The Splunk channel, value of the X-Splunk-Request-Channel header or channel query parameter, in that order of precedence.
Examples
2020-10-10T17:07:36.452332Z
timestamp required timestamp
The exact time the event was ingested into Vector.
Examples
2020-10-10T17:07:36.452332Z

Telemetry

Metrics

link

component_errors_total

counter
The total number of errors encountered by this component.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
error_type
The type of the error
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
stage
The stage within the component at which the error occurred.

component_received_bytes_total

counter
The number of raw bytes accepted by this component from source origins.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
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 data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

component_received_event_bytes_total

counter
The number of event bytes accepted by this component either from tagged origins like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
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 data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

component_received_events_total

counter
The number of events accepted by this component either from tagged origins like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
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 data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

component_sent_event_bytes_total

counter
The total number of event bytes emitted by this component.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
output optional
The specific output of the component.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

component_sent_events_total

counter
The total number of events emitted by this component.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
output optional
The specific output of the component.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

events_in_total

counter
The number of events accepted by this component either from tagged origins like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins. This metric is deprecated and will be removed in a future version. Use component_received_events_total instead.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
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 data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

events_out_total

counter
The total number of events emitted by this component. This metric is deprecated and will be removed in a future version. Use component_sent_events_total instead.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
output optional
The specific output of the component.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

http_request_errors_total

counter
The total number of HTTP request errors for this component.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

requests_received_total

counter
The total number of requests received by this component.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

source_lag_time_seconds

histogram
The difference between the timestamp recorded in each event and the time when it was ingested, expressed as fractional seconds.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

How it works

Context

By default, the splunk_hec source augments events with helpful context keys.

Indexer Acknowledgements

With acknowledgements enabled, the source uses the Splunk HEC indexer acknowledgements protocol to allow clients to verify data has been delivered to destination sinks. To summarize the protocol, each request to the source is associated with an integer identifier (an ack id) that the client is given and can use to query for the status of the request.

State

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

Transport Layer Security (TLS)

Vector uses OpenSSL for TLS protocols. You can adjust TLS behavior via the tls.* options.
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