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How to Send On Premises Kubernetes Logs to Stackdriver

Google’s Stackdriver is a powerful tool for managing and analyzing logs, especially when working with Kubernetes. However, if you’re running Kubernetes on-premises, you might be wondering how to send your logs to Stackdriver. This guide will walk you through the process step-by-step.
By Saturn Cloud | | Miscellaneous

How to Send On Premises Kubernetes Logs to Stackdriver

Google’s Stackdriver is a powerful tool for managing and analyzing logs, especially when working with Kubernetes. However, if you’re running Kubernetes on-premises, you might be wondering how to send your logs to Stackdriver. This guide will walk you through the process step-by-step.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure you have the following:

  • A Google Cloud Platform (GCP) account
  • An on-premises Kubernetes cluster
  • kubectl command-line tool installed and configured
  • Google Cloud SDK installed

Step 1: Setting Up Stackdriver

First, you’ll need to set up Stackdriver in your GCP account.

gcloud components update
gcloud auth login
gcloud config set project [YOUR_PROJECT_ID]

Next, enable the Stackdriver API:

gcloud services enable logging.googleapis.com

Step 2: Installing Fluentd

Fluentd is an open-source data collector that we’ll use to send logs from Kubernetes to Stackdriver. Install Fluentd on your Kubernetes cluster using the following command:

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fluent/fluentd-kubernetes-daemonset/master/fluentd-daemonset-stackdriver.yaml

Step 3: Configuring Fluentd

After installing Fluentd, you’ll need to configure it to send logs to Stackdriver. Open the Fluentd configuration file in your favorite text editor:

kubectl edit configmap fluentd

In the <match **> section, replace @type stdout with @type google_cloud.

Also, add your GCP project ID in the <system> section:

<system>
  project_id "[YOUR_PROJECT_ID]"
</system>

Save and close the file.

Step 4: Restarting Fluentd

To apply the changes, restart the Fluentd pods:

kubectl delete pod -n kube-system -l k8s-app=fluentd

Step 5: Verifying the Setup

Finally, verify that logs are being sent to Stackdriver. In the GCP console, navigate to Logging > Logs Explorer. You should see logs from your on-premises Kubernetes cluster.

Conclusion

Sending on-premises Kubernetes logs to Stackdriver is a straightforward process that involves setting up Stackdriver, installing and configuring Fluentd, and verifying the setup. This setup allows you to leverage the powerful log management and analysis features of Stackdriver for your on-premises Kubernetes cluster.

Remember, monitoring and logging are crucial aspects of managing a Kubernetes cluster. They provide insights into the cluster’s performance and help identify and troubleshoot issues. With Stackdriver, you can easily analyze and visualize your Kubernetes logs, making it an invaluable tool for any data scientist working with Kubernetes.

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