Google Compute Engine
Ship Google Compute Engine logs from Google Cloud Pub/Sub to Logstash
Install Integration
Export Logs to Google Pub/Sub
Ensure that you have Cloud Compute configured in GCP (opens in a new tab).
Now we can filter the logs as needed, by clicking on the service name and choosing Show matching entries as shown below.
Read more about how to configure and export logs using the Google Operations Console (opens in a new tab)
Create A Sink
To export the logs choose Create sink as shown below.
You will be then be prompted for:
- Sink details (enter a name)
- Sink destination (choose Cloud Pub/Sub topic creating a new topic if needed)
- Choose logs to include in sink (this will have a filter applied already if you filtered the logs above)
Choose Create sink to continue.
Create Google Pub/Sub
Locate your newly created Pub/Sub topic (opens in a new tab) and choose Create subscription.
Enter a suitable Subscription ID and leave the delivery type as pull.
We don't need to change anything further at this stage, scroll to the bottom and choose CREATE to create the Subscription.
Create Service Account
Now in service accounts (opens in a new tab), choose the project you're working with.
Then select CREATE SERVICE ACCOUNT, this account will be used to retrieve logs from the Pub/Sub and send them to Logit.io.
Name the service account and in step 2 add the role Pub/Sub Subscriber as shown below, then choose DONE.
Now choose Manage keys as shown below.
Then choose ADD KEY > Create new key, choosing the recommended JSON format. This will download the JSON key to your machine ready to use in the next step.
Configuring Logstash
To start pulling logs and metrics from the Google Cloud Platform to your Stack you need to configure a Google Cloud Platform Input on your Logit.io Stack.
Go to DashboardLogit.io will verify your input before it is applied, we will contact you to confirm when this has been completed.
Launch Logit.io to view your logs
Data should now have been sent to your Stack.
View My DataIf you don't see take a look at How to diagnose no data in Stack below for how to diagnose common issues.
Cloud Compute Logging Overview
Cloud Compute Engine is an Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) offering from Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This IaaS platform enables users to launch virtual machines on demand through Google's data centers and extensive global network.
Cloud Compute is a comparable platform to Microsoft Azure & Amazon EC2 and is often used as it is relatively inexpensive when compared to the two previously cited service providers. Some of the drawbacks of using GCP can include limited access to virtual machines based upon billing reliability of the organisation's account as if monthly spends are exceeded instances may be unavailable for use.
Compute Engine creates activity, usage, billing & audit logs that allow you track a variety of events affecting your deployment. For example; activity logs record the occurrence of API calls and system events as log messages. It is recommended that you prioritise activity logs over audit messages to follow through log analysis best practises.
With the amount of log messages and formats being generated by a single Infrastructure service it can be hard to know where to look first when it comes to debugging your applications and services running on virtual machines.
You can use Google Cloud Compute logs & metrics to visualise the performance of your services in Hosted Kibana (opens in a new tab) for intelligent reporting & by using our log analysis platform (opens in a new tab) you can correlate the performance of your Compute Engines with the rest of your applications (even those based outside of Google services).
Our Cloud Compute log file analyser can be used to centralise your data, alert on preconfigured rules & monitor the health of all your virtual machine (VM) deployments.
If you need any assistance with analysing your Google Cloud Compute logs we're here to help. Feel free to reach out by getting in contact with us via live chat & we'll be happy to help you start analysing your Cloud Compute data.