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Logstash parse Nginx access log

Did you know that you have to create a Logstash configuration file that defines the input, filter, and output sections to parse the Nginx access log with Logstash?

In fact, the input section includes information about the source of the log data. This can be a file, a network socket, or another source. According to our experts, the input section will specify a file path to the Nginx access log file in the case of Nginx access logs.

We can define the Logstash filters that will be applied to the log data in the filter section. The grok filter, which can be used to extract fields from log lines using regular expressions, is one of the numerous built-in filters that may be used to parse popular log formats.

In the case of Nginx access logs, the grok filter is often used to extract fields such as the request method, requested URL, response status code, and client IP address.

An Example

For instance, here is a sample Logstash configuration file for parsing Nginx access logs:

Here, we can see that the Nginx access log file is located at /var/log/nginx/access.log. Furthermore, Logstash has to start reading the file from the beginning and ignore any previously read data.

Furthermore, the grok filter extracts fields from each log line using a regular expression. Additionally, the regular expression used above matches the default Nginx access log format. Furthermore, it extracts fields like the client IP address, the timestamp of the request, the request method, the requested URL, the response status code, and the user agent string.

The output section indicates that the parsed log data has to be stored in Elasticsearch, with a new index created each day.

Additionally, we can easily analyze and visualize the log data in tools like Kibana or Grafana. This helps identify trends, diagnose performance issues, and improve the security of our web application.

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Conclusion

In summary, our Support Techs introduced us to Logstash parse configuration for Nginx access logs.