Elastic stack in docker

March 8th 2023

Elastic stack is a popular suite of open-source software used for real-time search, analysis, and visualization of large datasets. It consists of four major components: Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana, and Beats. Elastic stack can be deployed on various platforms including cloud, on-premises, and containers. Docker containers provide a convenient way to deploy Elastic stack components in a lightweight, portable, and isolated environment.

In this article, we will discuss the benefits of running Elastic stack in Docker containers and the steps involved in setting up Elastic stack in Docker containers.

Benefits of Running Elastic Stack in Docker Containers

Portability: Docker containers provide a convenient way to package and distribute Elastic stack components. You can create a Docker image that includes all the necessary components and dependencies, and then run it on any Docker host without worrying about compatibility issues.
Isolation: Docker containers provide a lightweight and isolated environment for running Elastic stack components. Each container runs in its own namespace, which means that it has its own file system, network stack, and process space. This isolation ensures that a failure in one container does not affect the other containers running on the same host.
Scalability: Docker containers make it easy to scale Elastic stack components horizontally. You can deploy multiple containers of the same component and distribute the load across them using load balancers. This approach ensures that you can handle increasing traffic and data volumes without downtime or performance degradation.
Efficiency: Docker containers provide a lightweight and efficient way to run Elastic stack components. Containers share the same kernel and libraries as the host, which means that they require less disk space and memory than virtual machines.

Setting up Elastic Stack in Docker Containers

Setting up Elastic stack in Docker containers involves the following steps:

Install Docker: The first step is to install Docker on your host machine. Docker provides installation instructions for various platforms including Windows, Mac, and Linux. Once you have installed Docker, you can verify the installation by running the following command in a terminal:

docker --version

Create a Docker network: The next step is to create a Docker network that will be used by Elastic stack components to communicate with each other. You can create a network by running the following command:

docker network create elastic

Create a Docker volume: Elastic stack components require persistent storage to store data and configurations. You can create a Docker volume that will be used to store this data by running the following command:

docker volume create elastic_data

Create a Docker Compose file: Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications. You can create a Docker Compose file that will define the Elastic stack components and their configurations. The following is an example Docker Compose file that defines Elasticsearch, Kibana, and Logstash:

version: '3'

services:
  elasticsearch:
    image: docker.elastic.co/elasticsearch/elasticsearch:7.10.2
    container_name: elasticsearch
    environment:
      - node.name=elasticsearch
      - discovery.seed_hosts=elasticsearch
      - cluster.initial_master_nodes=elasticsearch
      - bootstrap.memory_lock=true
      - "ES_JAVA_OPTS=-Xms512m -Xmx512m"
    ulimits:
      memlock:
        soft: -1
        hard: -1
    volumes:
      - elastic_data:/usr/share/elasticsearch/data
    ports:
      - 9200:9200
      - 9300:9300
    networks:
      - elastic

  kibana:
    image: docker.elastic.co/kibana/kibana:7.10.2
    container_name: kibana
    environment:

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