Owing to its public license, Elasticsearch is source-available and free to use. This status has made this corporate search engine very popular and applied to a wide number of applications. You might find that Elasticsearch lies at the core of your SIEM system or your log management tool. There are even system monitors that use Elasticsearch to drive their data management systems.
Elastic NV, the company that owns Elasticsearch is changing its licensing model to gain more control over the system. This is because many other businesses have appropriated the search system for their commercial products. This is particularly noticeable in the AWS Elasticsearch system.
Here is our list of the best Elasticsearch monitoring tools:
- ManageEngine Applications Manager (FREE TRIAL) An applications monitor that includes Elasticsearch monitoring. It installs on Windows Server or Linux. Start a 30-day free trial.
- AppOptics (FREE TRIAL) A cloud-based monitoring service that has add-ons for Elasticsearch and AWS Elasticsearch monitoring. This SaaS system can unify the supervision of all Elasticsearch instances no matter where they are hosted. Start a 30-day free trial.
- Site24x7 Infrastructure (FREE TRIAL) A cloud-based system monitoring tool that has an add-on for Elasticsearch coverage. Start a 30-day free trial.
- Datadog Infrastructure A monitor for system services and resources that can be expanded to cover Elasticsearch. This is a SaaS system.
- Dynatrace An AI-based monitoring service for networks, servers, and applications that will monitor Elasticsearch instances on-premises and in the cloud.
- Opsview A flexible monitoring tool that has a plugin for Elasticsearch monitoring. It is available in versions for installation on Linux or as a cloud service.
Elastic Stack
Elasticsearch is part of Elastic Stack, a suite of useful tools that, individually, have become very popular and together can provide a comprehensive data analysis system that can be deployed with a range of data sources. Elastic Stack is abbreviated to ELK and the other two stars in the pack are Kibana, a data viewer and interface, and Logstash, a log server, and consolidator. Like Elasticsearch, these other two free tools are recommended by a range of data management services and provide key functionality that those systems lack.
One other way you can access Elasticsearch is through the Elastic Cloud service. This is a charged-for SaaS system that is a hosted version of the ELK stack. Elasticsearch is also offered on the Azure platform and Google Cloud as well as the well-known AWS version.
Monitoring Elasticsearch
There are many ways to use Elasticsearch and if you don’t have it already, you might be considering trying it out. You might need to install Elasticsearch in order to use another product, such as a SIEM system.
The tools you can use to monitor your Elasticsearch implementation depend on which platform you use the search engine. Elasticsearch and its fellow ELK components install on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Also, as mentioned, you might choose to access Elasticsearch on AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
Clearly, when you are looking for a monitoring system for Elasticsearch, you need to be sure it can access the operating system you installed Elasticsearch on. However, there are a number of monitoring tools that can access all of these platforms. A monitor that has multi-platform capabilities gives you flexibility for the future. You particularly need a hybrid approach if you already use Elasticsearch on several platforms.
The best Elasticsearch monitoring tools
When searching for the best monitoring tools for Elasticsearch, we focused on system performance monitors that cover many different resources as well as Elasticsearch. This strategy gives you a system that can monitor as much of your IT resources as possible and reduces the need to switch between dashboards in your day-to-day IT operations management tasks.
Our methodology for Elasticsearch monitoring tools
We reviewed the market for Elasticsearch monitoring systems and analyzed the options based on the following criteria:
- The ability to monitor Elasticsearch on any platform
- Nice to have Logstash monitoring as well
- Cluster monitoring
- Consolidated statistics for multiple instances
- Drilldown path to metrics for individual instances
- A free trial, a demo for a risk-free assessment opportunity
- A monitoring package that can track the performance of other applications as well as Elasticsearch to provide value for money
We have identified a range of services, some of which you will need to install on your own servers and others that are subscription services hosted on the SaaS delivery model. Clearly, the system that is right for you ties into your platform preferences.
In all cases, the tools we chose to recommend have the ability to monitor both on-premises and cloud implementations of Elasticsearch. These systems can also unify the performance monitoring of all Elasticsearch instances to provide an overview of live operations data. With any of these tools, you will be able to drill down from a consolidated overview to examine the performance of individual instances.
1. ManageEngine Applications Manager (FREE TRIAL)
ManageEngine Applications Manager is a thorough monitor for applications, services, and server resources. It is an on-premises system but it isn’t limited to monitoring the activities of its host. It can access other servers across a network, monitor remote sites over the Internet, and check on cloud resources.
Key Features:
- Response Time Monitoring: Focuses on the responsiveness of Elasticsearch, ensuring quick data retrieval.
- Memory Management: Keeps a close eye on JVM memory usage to prevent performance degradation.
- Dependency Mapping: Automatically maps out application dependencies for enhanced problem-solving.
Why do we recommend it?
ManageEngine Applications Manager monitors servers, services, and software and it includes Elasticsearch monitoring in its capabilities. The tool will scour a server and note running processes. It then traces through each to identify sub-processes, thus building up a map of application dependencies. This provides immediate root cause analysis for performance problems.
This monitoring service approaches Elasticsearch supervision from a use-case angle. That means that it links the performance expectations for the search facility to the context of the service that it is working on. For example, when Elasticsearch is used for log analysis. The system looks at availability and response times for all instances and then it gives a drill-down to examine each implementation.
The use-case modeling of Applications Manager is closely linked to its application dependency mapping service. This is an automated process that searches out all of the applications and services running in a system and identifies the links between them. This is a great tool for root cause analysis. Applications Manager operates a system of performance thresholds that trip alerts if crossed. Alerts can be sent out as notifications by email or SMS.
Internal activities are tracked, such as query response times and resource usage. Memory is a particularly big issue with Elasticsearch and the Applications Manager examines cache, JVM memory, and index spaces to ensure that memory services don’t cause Elasticsearch’s performance to hit limitations. The data search engine’s cluster and node management and server resource usage are also tracked.
Who is it recommended for?
This package has a free edition, which is limited to monitoring five hosts. The system is able to track technologies such as Elasticsearch both on premises and on the cloud. The Professional edition is suitable for mid-sized businesses and the Enterprise plan is tailored to large multi-site organizations.
Pros:
- Versatile Deployment: Offers both on-premise and cloud options, catering to diverse infrastructure needs.
- Application Insight: Reveals how performance issues can impact business operations through detailed interdependency mapping.
- Comprehensive Monitoring: Includes log, memory, disk IO, and real-time detection of databases and servers for total health visibility.
Cons:
- Learning Curve: The depth of features necessitates a period of learning to fully harness the platform’s capabilities.
Applications Manager installs on Windows Server and Linux. It is packed in three editions. These are Free, Professional, and Enterprise. The Free version is limited to five monitors. The Professional edition is for a single site and the Enterprise edition can unify the monitoring of multiple sites. Applications Manager is available for a 30-day free trial.
2. AppOptics (FREE TRIAL)
As a cloud-based system, AppOptics by SolarWinds includes the server to run the monitoring software on plus server space for data storage. This is an application performance monitor that also monitors server resources. It will monitor the performance of applications running on-premises and in the cloud. It can also handle hybrid environments.
Key Features:
- Cloud-Based Monitoring: Offers a comprehensive solution for tracking both application performance and server health in the cloud and on-premises.
- Server Oversight: Continuously observes server operations, ensuring peak performance and availability.
- Application Mapping: Automatically maps dependencies between applications, enhancing problem identification and resolution.
- Unified Stats: Aggregates data from multiple sources for a holistic view of system performance.
- Diagnostic Insights: Facilitates root cause analysis with detailed investigative tools.
Why do we recommend it?
AppOptics will monitor your Elasticsearch instances, including those hosted on AWS. This is part of the infrastructure layer of the AppOptics service, which is also available in a package with the APM option. This is a cloud-based service that is ideal for monitoring hybrid systems and it can simultaneously monitor other technologies.
The Elasticsearch monitoring feature of AppOptics is an “integration.” This is an add-on module but it is free to use and easy to install. AppOptics uses this system of integrations so that each customer only gets the features needed to monitor systems. The integrations library also includes an add-on for AWS Elasticsearch monitoring.
The Elasticsearch tool adds extra screens to the AppOptics dashboard. These show live performance data from all of your grouped Elasticsearch instances. You can drill down to observe each individual implementation.
The metrics that AppOtics looks at include data about clusters and nodes, server resource usage, Java memory management, action speeds, and interactions with Kibana.
AppOptics includes an automatic application detection system that builds up a plan of interactions between applications and services. This application dependency map is constantly updated and it is there to speed up root cause analysis should performance drop in any application. SolarWinds AppOpics assesses each monitored factor for acceptable performance levels and issues an alert if a service factor fails its tests. Alerts can be sent out as notifications by email and SMS if problems arise.
Who is it recommended for?
This package is a very sophisticated monitoring service that is best suited for large organizations with many technologies to track both on site and on the cloud. The system is a cloud-based service and is charged for by subscription. The full plan, which adds on the APM will give you distributed tracing and code profiling for Web applications.
Pros:
- Comprehensive Visualizations: Features dynamic visuals for both real-time and historical data on system health and resource use.
- Scalable Solution: Adapts effortlessly to growing organizational needs with its cloud-based architecture.
- Extensive Monitoring: Covers over 180 metrics, including Docker, Azure, and Hyper-V, for unmatched resource tracking.
- Versatile Elasticsearch Monitoring: Efficiently oversees both self-hosted and AWS-hosted Elasticsearch instances.
Cons:
- Trial Period Limitations: An extended trial period would be beneficial for a more thorough evaluation.
- Subscription Model: Operates on a subscription basis, with tiered plans that might require careful consideration to match specific monitoring needs.
AppOptics is a subscription service and it is structured in two editions. The first of these is called Infrastructure Monitoring, which includes the Elasticsearch monitoring service. The higher plan is called Infrastructure and Application Monitoring. SolarWinds offers AppOptics on a 30-day free trial.
3. Site24x7 (FREE TRIAL)
Site24x7 is a SaaS-delivered monitoring service. It can monitor resources on the cloud or on-premises and it specializes in backend functions down to hardware monitoring.
Key Features:
- Elasticsearch Integration: Monitors Elasticsearch environments on both self-hosted and AWS platforms.
- JVM Oversight: Keeps tabs on Java Virtual Machine memory usage, crucial for application performance.
- Server Health Tracking: Ensures servers are performing optimally, monitoring resources comprehensively.
Why do we recommend it?
Site24x7 is a similar platform to Datadog and it offers plans that can be expended by integrations. There are integrations for Elasticsearch and AWS Elasticsearch. The Site24x7 platform is a product of ManageEngine, which initially split the system out into a separate product. However, it is now bringing the service back into the ManageEngine brand.
A subscription to Site24x7 Infrastructure is a flexible package of monitoring credits that include networks, servers, and services monitoring. The plan includes the ability to monitor up to 10 hosts and there is an allowance of one integration per host. The Elasticsearch monitoring functions of the service are packaged as an integration. You don’t have to apply the same integration to each host that you monitor.
The integrations library of Site24x7 includes a plugin for Elasticsearch and another for AWS Elasticsearch. Each of these adds extra screens to the dashboards. They monitor activity by Elasticsearch plus memory issues and JVM performance. The Elasticsearch features that the monitor looks at include cluster statuses, memory activity, storage requirements, and document access. It checks on read and write activity for response times and throughput and it identifies search metrics related to indexing, query efficiency, and thread pool performance.
You can also see server-related performance issues through this system. This will observe orphaned and hanging processes and the potential for processor and memory shortages. The Elasticsearch monitor identifies maintenance activities performed by the application’s management system, such as backup process and memory release.
Who is it recommended for?
Site24x7 is a cloud platform and offers SaaS packages. Unlike the Datadog system, buyers select a bundle of tools that provide a mix of services rather than paying for each module individually. The packages are sized to be suitable for small businesses. Larger companies can pay for extra capacity.
Pros:
- All-In-One Platform: Combines network, server, and user experience monitoring in one user-friendly service.
- Automated Discovery: Utilizes real-time data for device discovery, generating detailed reports and visualizations.
- User-Centric Analysis: Bridges technical performance with user behavior insights, enhancing business metric understanding.
- Scalable for All Sizes: Offers a free version for small-scale testing and scalable packages for growing businesses.
Cons:
- Learning Curve: The platform’s depth and breadth require time investment to fully leverage its capabilities.
- Alerting System: Employs performance thresholds for proactive issue notification via email or SMS.
The Site24x7 system includes performance thresholds that trigger alerts when breached. Alerts can be sent out to technicians by email or SMS. The service also includes application dependency mapping for rapid root cause analysis. Site24x7 is available on a 30-day free trial.
4. Datadog Infrastructure
Datadog is a SaaS platform that offers a range of monitoring modules that specialize in different categories of resources. Datadog Infrastructure covers all of the services that lie behind user-facing software, back to server resources.
Key Features:
- Comprehensive Elasticsearch Monitoring: Supports diverse environments including on-site, AWS, and cloud-based Elasticsearch.
- Application and Service Tracking: Monitors a wide range of services and applications, ensuring performance and availability.
- Unified Server Surveillance: Offers detailed insights into server health, aiding in efficient resource management.
Why do we recommend it?
Datadog Infrastructure follows the same format as Sematext and AppOptics because it provides a core package that can be expanded by integrations. There is an integration for Elasticsearch monitoring and there is also a plug-in for Logstash monitoring. It is able to monitor Amazon Elasticsearch as well as the on-premises and cloud-based ELK versions.
Datadog Infrastructure can be expanded by “integrations.” These are plugins that add the capabilities to monitor specific products and currently, there is a library of 400 of them. There is an integration for Elasticsearch available and another for Amazon Elasticsearch.
Datadog is able to monitor servers wherever they are hosted and it can unify the supervision of all of your Elasticsearch implementations. Its Elasticsearch monitoring service has its own screens in the system dashboard where live metrics can be viewed in the form of charts and graphs. As well as observing the performance of Elasticsearch itself, the service watches JVM performance and memory issues. It will track access to server resources and watch the availability of memory, CPU, and disk space.
Datadog Infrastructure creates performance thresholds on each monitored factor and applies machine learning to adjust them to a level that cuts out false alarms. Those alerts can be forwarded to technicians as notifications by email or messaging system.
An AI-based application tracking service, called Correlations generates a live application dependency map, which is constantly revised. This lays the groundwork for root cause analysis in the event of emerging problems.
Who is it recommended for?
The Datadog platform has many modules and the Infrastructure unit is central to its system monitoring services. For example, you have to subscribe to the Infrastructure Monitoring package to use the Network Performance Monitoring and Network Device Monitoring modules. There is a Free edition available, but it doesn’t include access to the integrations library.
Pros:
- Intuitive Dashboards: Customizable interfaces provide immediate access to critical metrics and performance data.
- SaaS Convenience: Eliminates the need for server setup, reducing onboarding costs and complexities.
- Holistic Monitoring: Integrates internal and external perspectives for a complete network performance overview.
- Dynamic Discovery: Features auto-discovery for real-time network mapping and updates.
- Flexible Scaling: Offers adaptable monitoring solutions that grow with business needs.
Cons:
- Evaluation Period: A more extended trial would offer a better opportunity for comprehensive testing and evaluation.
Datadog Infrastructure is offered in three editions: Free, Pro, and Enterprise. The Free service will only monitor up to five hosts. The Pro edition includes access to those Elasticsearch integrations. The Enterprise system adds on AI-based services, such as Correlations and machine learning for performance thresholds. You can get a 14-day free trial of either of the paid plans.
5. Dynatrace
Dynatrace includes AI techniques and task automation to speed up system monitoring tasks and reduce the involvement of operations team technicians in performance problem-solving. This system has special functions for monitoring Elasticsearch and Amazon Elasticsearch.
Key Features:
- AI-Driven Insights: Employs artificial intelligence to streamline monitoring processes and minimize manual troubleshooting.
- Comprehensive Monitoring: Tracks both on-premises and AWS-hosted Elasticsearch, ensuring thorough oversight.
- Automated Discovery: Automatically identifies and maps application dependencies for simplified setup and management.
Why do we recommend it?
Dynatrace is a high-end AI-based application monitoring system. The platform offers an Infrastructure Monitoring package that is able to monitor Elasticsearch. Dynatrace all has a Full Stack Monitoring package that includes all of the features of the Infrastructure Monitoring plan. AI processes discover and track applications and services and predict their resource requirements.
The system includes a discovery function that will connect to all of your instances and install monitoring agents. This creates an overview of performance in the Elasticsearch screen of the Dynatrace dashboard. The operations of individual instances can be examined through a drill-down path.
The discovery function ripples through all of the applications and services that you operate. All of these will be registered in the dashboard and come under the supervision of Dynatrace automated processes. This makes the service very easy to set up.
The application tracking service includes the creation of an application dependency map. This is an AI-supported service that is constantly updated. It prepares background information to speed up root cause analysis if performance issues are detected in any service or application.
The Elasticsearch monitoring services in Dynatrace cover Elasticsearch clusters, their memory allocations, and interactions with server resources. It also examines a number of shard-related metrics. It looks at indexing, query efficiency, availability, and response times. It tracks JVM and thread pools as well.
The Dynatrace monitoring system sets expected performance levels on each factor that it monitors. These are constantly tweaked through a machine-learning process in order to reduce the number of false alarms. If performance deviates from that expected standard, Dynatrace generates an alert and sends it out as a notification in the form of an email or SMS message.
Who is it recommended for?
This package is aimed at the users of cloud systems but it can also monitor on-premises resources. The Infrastructure Monitoring plan is considerably cheaper than the Full Stack Monitoring service. Both of these plans provide Elasticsearch monitoring. The charging structure for both plans is applied as a metered service.
Pros:
- Enhanced Visualization: Offers highly customizable dashboards ideal for detailed monitoring in enterprise environments.
- Platform Agnostic: Cloud-based functionality allows for seamless operation across various platforms.
- Intelligent Analysis: Utilizes AI for baseline determination and anomaly detection, improving operational efficiency.
Cons:
- Complexity for Smaller Networks: Its extensive features may be overwhelming for smaller organizations or networks.
Dynatrace is a subscription service and it is tailored in a number of plans. The Full-stack Monitoring edition includes the ability to monitor Elasticsearch. This also includes performance monitoring for applications and underlying services. Dynatrace is available for a 15-day free trial.
6. Opsview
Opsview is a system monitoring tool that can be run on-premises or accessed as a SaaS platform. The base package of Opsview can be extended by plugins, which are called “opspacks”. There is an opspack for Elasticsearch monitoring.
Key Features:
- Performance Tracking: Monitors Elasticsearch performance metrics including availability and response times.
- Memory Oversight: Detailed JVM memory monitoring to ensure optimal performance.
- Consolidated Views: Offers unified reporting for easy access to key performance indicators.
Why do we recommend it?
Opsview is an application and infrastructure monitoring package. As with the other systems on this list, Opsview can be expensed by plug-ins. In the case of Opsviews, these extra tools are called opspacks. There is an opspack for Elasticsearch monitoring. The on-premises version runs on Linux.
The system will enroll all of your Elasticsearch implementations and consolidate performance metrics in an overview screen. You then have the option to drill down and check out each instance individually.
The Elasticsearch monitoring system in Opsview tests for the availability of Elasticsearch instances and their overall response times.
The Opsview system will display statistics on clusters and nodes and also monitor JVM and server resource performance and availability. The service particularly focuses on the different types of memory that Elasticsearch needs.
Opsview compiles an application dependency map. This is repeatedly rechecked to include any new relationships. This paves the groundwork for rapid root cause analysis if performance issues arise anywhere in the system – not just in Elasticsearch.
The Opsview monitoring system raises an alert if resources run short or if performance drops. These conditions trigger notifications to technicians and kick-off system problem identification routines.
Who is it recommended for?
This system is available in an SMB edition for small businesses. Larger organizations have the choice of an on-premises package for Linux and a SaaS package that is delivered from the cloud. The tool is a strong competitor to the other Elasticsearch monitoring options on this list.
Pros:
- Monitoring Versatility: Supports a wide array of monitoring capabilities including network and application performance.
- User-Friendly Interface: Boasts a clean, intuitive interface that simplifies monitoring tasks.
- Customizable Solutions: Provides a high degree of customization to meet specific monitoring needs.
Cons:
- Additional Requirements: Monitoring certain elements requires the full Opsview Monitor system, limiting standalone functionality.
Opsview is offered in three editions. These are SMB, Enterprise, and Opsview Cloud. SMB is tailored to small businesses and Enterprise is for larger organizations. Both of these plans are on-premises packages for installation on Linux servers. Opsview Cloud is a hosted SaaS system. All versions have the same functions and can be expanded by the Elasticsearch opspack. Ask for a demo of the cloud service.
Elasticsearch monitoring tools FAQs
Is Elasticsearch a monitoring tool?
Elasticsearch is a data search engine that can be used to perform any type of data analysis. One of the usages of this tool is to search through log files to extract performance data or information on potential security threats. So, Elasticsearch can be used for monitoring. However, it is not a fully-fledged monitoring system, it is a tool that can be used to construct a monitoring service.
How do I monitor Elasticsearch?
You can actually use Elasticsearch to monitor Elasticsearch. This process requires you to collect status messages from your Elasticsearch instances, process them through Logstash into a series of records and then search through those records to extract and compile performance data. However, it is a lot easier to a pre-written monitoring tool to track the performance of your Elasticsearch projects.
Is Kibana a monitoring tool?
Kibana is a data visualization tool that can display records output by an Elasticsearch engine and Logstash. So, Kibana can be a component of a monitoring system. However, the Kibana is not an out-of-the-box monitoring tool.
