Vector

Relay observability data to another Vector instance

status: beta delivery: best effort egress: stream state: stateless

Configuration

Example configurations 

{
  "sinks": {
    "my_sink_id": {
      "type": "vector",
      "inputs": "my-source-or-transform-id",
      "address": "92.12.333.224:5000"
    }
  }
}
[sinks.my_sink_id]
type = "vector"
inputs = "my-source-or-transform-id"
address = "92.12.333.224:5000"

---
sinks:
  my_sink_id:
    type: vector
    inputs: my-source-or-transform-id
    address: 92.12.333.224:5000
    encoding: null
    healthcheck: null

{
  "sinks": {
    "my_sink_id": {
      "type": "vector",
      "inputs": "my-source-or-transform-id",
      "address": "92.12.333.224:5000"
    }
  }
}
[sinks.my_sink_id]
type = "vector"
inputs = "my-source-or-transform-id"
address = "92.12.333.224:5000"

---
sinks:
  my_sink_id:
    type: vector
    inputs: my-source-or-transform-id
    address: 92.12.333.224:5000
    buffer: null
    encoding: null
    healthcheck: null
    keepalive: null
    tls: null

address

required string
The downstream Vector address to connect to. The address must include a port.

buffer

optional object
Configures the sink specific buffer behavior.

buffer.max_events

optional uint
The maximum number of events allowed in the buffer.
Relevant when: type = "memory"
default: 500 (events)

buffer.max_size

required uint
The maximum size of the buffer on the disk.
Relevant when: type = "disk"

buffer.type

optional string enum literal
The buffer’s type and storage mechanism.
Enum options
OptionDescription
diskStores 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.
memoryStores the sink’s buffer in memory. This is more performant, but less durable. Data will be lost if Vector is restarted forcefully.
default: memory

buffer.when_full

optional string enum literal
The behavior when the buffer becomes full.
Enum options
OptionDescription
blockApplies back pressure when the buffer is full. This prevents data loss, but will cause data to pile up on the edge.
drop_newestDrops new data as it’s received. This data is lost. This should be used when performance is the highest priority.
default: block

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
OptionDescription
rfc3339Formats as a RFC3339 string
unixFormats as a unix timestamp
default: rfc3339

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 but must be the last character in the ID.

See configuration for more info.

Array string literal
Examples 
[
  "my-source-or-transform-id",
  "prefix-*"
]

keepalive

optional object
Configures the TCP keepalive behavior for the connection to the sink.

keepalive.time_secs

optional uint
The time a connection needs to be idle before sending TCP keepalive probes.

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.enabled

optional bool
Enable TLS during connections to the remote.
default: false

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_certificate

optional bool
If true (the default), Vector will validate the TLS certificate of the remote host.
default: true

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

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_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
The Vector component name.
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_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
The Vector component name.
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.

processed_bytes_total

counter
The number of bytes processed by the component.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
The Vector component name.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the bytes originate.
file optional
The file from which the bytes originate.
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 bytes originate.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the bytes originate.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the bytes originate.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the bytes originate.

processed_events_total

counter
The total number of events processed by this component. This metric is deprecated in place of using events_in_total and events_out_total metrics.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
The Vector component name.
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.

protobuf_decode_errors_total

counter
The total number of Protocol Buffers errors thrown during communication between Vector instances.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
The Vector component name.
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.

How it works

Context

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

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.

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.

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.
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