Configure Packetbeat to use X-Pack securityedit

If you want Packetbeat to connect to a cluster that has X-Pack security enabled, there are extra configuration steps:

  1. Configure authentication credentials.

    To send data to a secured cluster through the elasticsearch output, Packetbeat needs to authenticate as a user who can manage index templates, monitor the cluster, create indices, and read and write to the indices it creates.

  2. Grant users access to Packetbeat indices.

    To search the indexed Packetbeat data and visualize it in Kibana, users need access to the indices Packetbeat creates.

  3. Configure Packetbeat to use encrypted connections.

    If encryption is enabled on the cluster, you need to enable HTTPS in the Packetbeat configuration.

  4. Set the password for the built-in monitoring user.

    Packetbeat uses the beats_system user to send monitoring data to Elasticsearch. If you plan to monitor Packetbeat in Kibana and have not yet set up the password, set it up now.

For more information about X-Pack security, see Securing the Elastic Stack.