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Graylog vs Logstash: What are the differences?

Introduction

In the world of log management and analysis, two popular tools are Graylog and Logstash. While both tools serve the purpose of managing and analyzing log data, there are key differences that set them apart. In this Markdown code, we will explore these differences and provide a concise comparison between Graylog and Logstash.

  1. Data Collection: Graylog focuses on centralized log management and offers various methods for data collection. It supports multiple protocols like GELF, Syslog, and HTTP, making it versatile in terms of log data collection. On the other hand, Logstash is more of a log aggregator and can collect logs from different sources. It uses a Plugin-based architecture that allows customization for data ingestion.

  2. Data Processing: Graylog offers powerful data processing capabilities such as pipeline rules and message decoration. It allows users to process log data in real-time, enriching it with relevant information or transforming it. Logstash, on the other hand, also provides data processing features but relies more on its filter plugins. These plugins perform operations like filtering, parsing, and modifying log events before they are stored or indexed.

  3. Alerting and Notifications: Graylog has built-in alerting functionality that allows users to define conditions and trigger notifications based on log events. It provides flexible options like email, Slack, or webhooks for sending notifications. Logstash, on the other hand, does not have built-in alerting capabilities. Users need to rely on external tools like Elasticsearch Watcher or Continuous Integration (CI) systems for alerting and notifications.

  4. User Interface: Graylog provides a web-based user interface that is user-friendly and intuitive. It offers features like search, visualization, and dashboards to easily analyze log data. Logstash, being a data processing tool, does not have a dedicated user interface. It is mainly a command-line tool used for data ingestion and processing, requiring users to manage configurations manually.

  5. Scalability and Performance: Graylog is designed to scale horizontally, allowing users to add more nodes to handle increasing log volumes. It uses Elasticsearch as the backend for storing and indexing logs, providing a scalable and high-performance solution. Logstash, on the other hand, can also scale horizontally but may require additional infrastructure to handle large data volumes efficiently. It relies on plugins like Elasticsearch for storing and indexing logs.

  6. Ease of Deployment: Graylog offers easy deployment options through pre-built virtual machines, Docker containers, or package installations. It provides a streamlined installation process and offers a TurnKey Linux-based virtual machine for quick setup. Logstash, being part of the Elastic Stack, can be deployed using Elasticsearch's deployment options. It requires more configuration and setup compared to Graylog.

In Summary, Graylog and Logstash have distinct differences in terms of data collection, data processing, alerting, user interface, scalability, and ease of deployment. These differences should be considered when choosing a log management tool based on specific requirements.

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Pros of Graylog
Pros of Logstash
  • 19
    Open source
  • 13
    Powerfull
  • 8
    Well documented
  • 6
    Alerts
  • 5
    User authentification
  • 5
    Flexibel query and parsing language
  • 3
    Alerts and dashboards
  • 3
    User management
  • 3
    Easy query language and english parsing
  • 2
    Easy to install
  • 1
    Manage users and permissions
  • 1
    A large community
  • 1
    Free Version
  • 69
    Free
  • 18
    Easy but powerful filtering
  • 12
    Scalable
  • 2
    Kibana provides machine learning based analytics to log
  • 1
    Great to meet GDPR goals
  • 1
    Well Documented

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Cons of Graylog
Cons of Logstash
  • 1
    Does not handle frozen indices at all
  • 4
    Memory-intensive
  • 1
    Documentation difficult to use

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What is Graylog?

Centralize and aggregate all your log files for 100% visibility. Use our powerful query language to search through terabytes of log data to discover and analyze important information.

What is Logstash?

Logstash is a tool for managing events and logs. You can use it to collect logs, parse them, and store them for later use (like, for searching). If you store them in Elasticsearch, you can view and analyze them with Kibana.

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What companies use Graylog?
What companies use Logstash?
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What tools integrate with Graylog?
What tools integrate with Logstash?

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Blog Posts

May 21 2019 at 12:20AM

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What are some alternatives to Graylog and Logstash?
Splunk
It provides the leading platform for Operational Intelligence. Customers use it to search, monitor, analyze and visualize machine data.
Loggly
It is a SaaS solution to manage your log data. There is nothing to install and updates are automatically applied to your Loggly subdomain.
Kibana
Kibana is an open source (Apache Licensed), browser based analytics and search dashboard for Elasticsearch. Kibana is a snap to setup and start using. Kibana strives to be easy to get started with, while also being flexible and powerful, just like Elasticsearch.
Elasticsearch
Elasticsearch is a distributed, RESTful search and analytics engine capable of storing data and searching it in near real time. Elasticsearch, Kibana, Beats and Logstash are the Elastic Stack (sometimes called the ELK Stack).
Nagios
Nagios is a host/service/network monitoring program written in C and released under the GNU General Public License.
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