A Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance can be connected to Filebeat as an input. This topic shows you how to consume messages in Message Queue for Apache Kafka over the Internet by using Filebeat.

Background information

Before you start this tutorial, make sure that the following operations are completed:

Step 1: Obtain an endpoint

Filebeat establishes a connection to Message Queue for Apache Kafka by using a Message Queue for Apache Kafka endpoint.

  1. Log on to the Message Queue for Apache Kafka console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Instances.
  3. On the Instances page, select the instance that you want to connect to Filebeat as an input.
  4. On the Instance Details page, obtain an endpoint of the instance in the Basic Information section.
    endpointzh
    Note For information about the differences among endpoints, see Comparison among endpoints.

Step 2: Create a topic

Perform the following operations to create a topic for storing messages:

  1. Log on to the Message Queue for Apache Kafka console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Instances.
  3. On the Instances page, click the name of your instance.
  4. In the left-side navigation pane, click Topics.
  5. On the Topics page, click Create Topic.
  6. In the Create Topic dialog box, enter the topic information and click Create.
    create topic

Step 3: Send messages

Perform the following operations to send messages to the topic that you created:

  1. Log on to the Message Queue for Apache Kafka console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Instances.
  3. On the Instances page, click the name of your instance.
  4. In the left-side navigation pane, click Topics.
  5. On the Topics page, find the created topic and click Send Message in the Actions column.
  6. In the Send Message dialog box, enter the message information and click Send.
    send

Step 4: Create a consumer group

Perform the following operations to create a consumer group for Filebeat:

  1. Log on to the Message Queue for Apache Kafka console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Instances.
  3. On the Instances page, click the name of your instance.
  4. In the left-side navigation pane, click Consumer Groups.
  5. On the Consumer Groups page, click Create Consumer Group.
  6. In the Create Consumer Group dialog box, enter the consumer group information and click Create.
    filebeat

Step 5: Use Filebeat to consume messages

Start Filebeat on the server where Filebeat is installed to consume messages from the created topic.

  1. Run the cd command to switch to the installation directory of Filebeat:
  2. Run the following command to download the CA certificate file:
    wget https://code.aliyun.com/alikafka/aliware-kafka-demos/raw/master/kafka-filebeat-demo/vpc-ssl/ca-cert
  3. Create a configuration file named input.yml.
    1. Run the vim input.yml command to create an empty configuration file.
    2. Press the i key to go to the insert mode.
    3. Enter the following content:
      filebeat.inputs:
- type: kafka
  hosts:
    - 121.XX.XX.XX:9093
    - 120.XX.XX.XX:9093
    - 120.XX.XX.XX:9093
  username: "alikafka_pre-cn-v641e1dt***"
  password: "aeN3WLRoMPRXmAP2jvJuGk84Kuuo***"
  topics: ["filebeat_test"]
  group_id: "filebeat_group"
  ssl.certificate_authorities: ["/root/filebeat/filebeat-7.7.0-linux-x86_64/ca-cert"]
  ssl.verification_mode: none

output.console:
  pretty: true
      Parameter Description Example
      hosts The public endpoint provided by Message Queue for Apache Kafka is the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) endpoint. 
      - 121.XX.XX.XX:9093
- 120.XX.XX.XX:9093
- 120.XX.XX.XX:9093
      username The username of your Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance of the Internet and VPC type. alikafka_pre-cn-v641e1d***
      password The password of your Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance of the Internet and VPC type. aeN3WLRoMPRXmAP2jvJuGk84Kuuo***
      topics The name of the topic. filebeat_test
      group_id The name of the consumer group. filebeat_group
      ssl.certificate_authorities The path of the CA certificate file. /root/filebeat/filebeat-7.7.0-linux-x86_64/ca-cert
      ssl.verification_mode The verification mode. none

      For more information about parameter settings, see Kafka input plugin.

    4. Press the Esc key to return to the command line mode.
    5. Press the : key to enter the bottom line mode. Type wq, and then press Enter to save the file and exit.
  4. Run the following command to consume messages:
    ./filebeat -c ./input.yml
    result