A centralized logging system collects logs from multiple containers, forwards them to a shared store, and makes them searchable from one interface. A practical Docker setup uses Fluentd for collection, Elasticsearch for storage, and Kibana for search. section 19.3
A Docker-based setup follows this workflow:
- Start Fluentd and the Elasticsearch-Kibana stack with Docker Compose. section 19.3
- Opt containers into centralized logging with Docker’s Fluentd logging driver. section 19.3
- Create a Kibana data view using the fluentd* index pattern and @timestamp field. section 19.3
- Search and filter structured log documents containing fields such as container name, container ID, and timestamp. section 19.3
Run a container with Fluentd logging
Start the logging stack, then run a timecheck container with --log-driver=fluentd. Open Kibana at localhost:5601/app/discover and search the collected logs. section 19.3
cd ch19/exercises/fluentd # run Fluentd publishing the standard port and using a config file: docker run -d -p 24224:24224 ` --name fluentd -v "$(pwd)/conf:/fluentd/etc" ` -e FLUENTD_CONF=stdout.conf ` diamol/fluentd:2e # now run a timecheck container set to use Docker's Fluentd log driver: docker run -d --log-driver=fluentd ` --name timecheck5 ` diamol/ch19-timecheck:2e-v3 # check the timecheck container logs: docker logs timecheck5 # and check the Fluentd container logs: docker logs --tail 1 fluentd
Use the runnable commands to start Fluentd, configure its container, and verify logs with docker logs. section 19.3
