description	Batches `log` events to a generic HTTP endpoint.

http sink

The http sink batches log events to a generic HTTP endpoint.

Example

{% code-tabs %} {% code-tabs-item title="vector.toml (simple)" %}

[sinks.my_sink_id]
  # REQUIRED - General
  type = "http" # must be: "http"
  inputs = ["my-source-id"]
  uri = "https://10.22.212.22:9000/endpoint"
  
  # REQUIRED - requests
  encoding = "ndjson" # enum: "ndjson" or "text"
  
  # OPTIONAL - Batching
  batch_size = 1049000 # default, bytes
  batch_timeout = 5 # default, seconds

{% endcode-tabs-item %} {% code-tabs-item title="vector.toml (advanced)" %}

[sinks.my_sink_id]
  # REQUIRED - General
  type = "http" # must be: "http"
  inputs = ["my-source-id"]
  uri = "https://10.22.212.22:9000/endpoint"
  
  # REQUIRED - requests
  encoding = "ndjson" # enum: "ndjson" or "text"
  
  # OPTIONAL - General
  healthcheck = true # default
  healthcheck_uri = "https://10.22.212.22:9000/_health" # no default
  
  # OPTIONAL - Batching
  batch_size = 1049000 # default, bytes
  batch_timeout = 5 # default, seconds
  
  # OPTIONAL - Requests
  rate_limit_duration = 1 # default, seconds
  rate_limit_num = 10 # default
  request_in_flight_limit = 10 # default
  request_timeout_secs = 30 # default, seconds
  retry_attempts = 10 # default
  retry_backoff_secs = 10 # default, seconds
  
  # OPTIONAL - Basic auth
  [sinks.my_sink_id.basic_auth]
    password = "password"
    user = "username"
  
  # OPTIONAL - Buffer
  [sinks.my_sink_id.buffer]
    type = "memory" # default, enum: "memory" or "disk"
    max_size = 104900000 # no default, bytes, relevant when type = "disk"
    num_items = 500 # default, events, relevant when type = "memory"
    when_full = "block" # default, enum: "block" or "drop_newest"
  
  # OPTIONAL - Headers
  [sinks.my_sink_id.headers]
    X-Powered-By = "Vector" # example
  
  # OPTIONAL - Tls
  [sinks.my_sink_id.tls]
    ca_path = "/path/to/certificate_authority.crt" # no default
    crt_path = "/path/to/host_certificate.crt" # no default
    key_pass = "PassWord1" # no default
    key_path = "/path/to/host_certificate.key" # no default
    verify_certificate = true # default
    verify_hostname = true # default

{% endcode-tabs-item %} {% endcode-tabs %}

Options

basic_auth

optional type: table

Options for basic authentication.

basic_auth.password

required type: string example: "password"

The basic authentication password.

basic_auth.user

required type: string example: "username"

The basic authentication user name.

batch_size

optional default: 1049000 type: int unit: bytes

The maximum size of a batch before it is flushed. See Buffers & Batches for more info.

batch_timeout

optional default: 5 type: int unit: seconds

The maximum age of a batch before it is flushed. See Buffers & Batches for more info.

buffer

optional type: table

Configures the sink specific buffer.

buffer.type

optional default: "memory" type: string

The buffer's type / location. disk buffers are persistent and will be retained between restarts.

The field is an enumeration and only accepts the following values:

Value	Description
`"memory"` (default)	Stores the sink's buffer in memory. This is more performant (~3x), but less durable. Data will be lost if Vector is restarted abruptly.
`"disk"`	Stores the sink's buffer on disk. This is less performance (~3x), but durable. Data will not be lost between restarts.

buffer.when_full

optional default: "block" type: string

The behavior when the buffer becomes full.

The field is an enumeration and only accepts the following values:

Value	Description
`"block"` (default)	Applies back pressure when the buffer is full. This prevents data loss, but will cause data to pile up on the edge.
`"drop_newest"`	Drops new data as it's received. This data is lost. This should be used when performance is the highest priority.

buffer.max_size

optional no default type: int unit: bytes example: 104900000

The maximum size of the buffer on the disk. Only relevant when type = "disk".

buffer.num_items

optional default: 500 type: int unit: events

The maximum number of events allowed in the buffer. Only relevant when type = "memory".

encoding

required type: string

The encoding format used to serialize the events before outputting.

The field is an enumeration and only accepts the following values:

Value	Description
`"ndjson"`	Each event is encoded into JSON and the payload is new line delimited.
`"text"`	Each event is encoded into text via the `message` key and the payload is new line delimited.

headers

optional type: table

Options for custom headers.

headers.*

required type: string example: X-Powered-By = "Vector"

A custom header to be added to each outgoing HTTP request.

healthcheck

optional default: true type: bool

Enables/disables the sink healthcheck upon start. See Health Checks for more info.

healthcheck_uri

optional no default type: string example: "https://10.22.212.22:9000/_health"

A URI that Vector can request in order to determine the service health. See Health Checks for more info.

rate_limit_duration

optional default: 1 type: int unit: seconds

The window used for the request_rate_limit_num option See Rate Limits for more info.

rate_limit_num

optional default: 10 type: int

The maximum number of requests allowed within the rate_limit_duration window. See Rate Limits for more info.

request_in_flight_limit

optional default: 10 type: int

The maximum number of in-flight requests allowed at any given time. See Rate Limits for more info.

request_timeout_secs

optional default: 30 type: int unit: seconds

The maximum time a request can take before being aborted. It is highly recommended that you do not lower value below the service's internal timeout, as this could create orphaned requests, pile on retries, and result in deuplicate data downstream.

retry_attempts

optional default: 10 type: int

The maximum number of retries to make for failed requests. See Retry Policy for more info.

retry_backoff_secs

optional default: 10 type: int unit: seconds

The amount of time to wait before attempting a failed request again. See Retry Policy for more info.

tls

optional type: table

Configures the TLS options for connections from this sink.

tls.ca_path

optional no default type: string example: "/path/to/certificate_authority.crt"

Absolute path to an additional CA certificate file, in DER or PEM format (X.509).

tls.crt_path

optional no default type: string example: "/path/to/host_certificate.crt"

Absolute path to a certificate file used to identify this connection, in DER or PEM format (X.509) or PKCS#12. If this is set and is not a PKCS#12 archive, key_path must also be set.

tls.key_path

optional no default type: string example: "/path/to/host_certificate.key"

Absolute path to a certificate key file used to identify this connection, in DER or PEM format (PKCS#8). If this is set, crt_path must also be set.

tls.key_pass

optional no default type: string example: "PassWord1"

Pass phrase used to unlock the encrypted key file. This has no effect unless key_pass above is set.

tls.verify_certificate

optional default: true type: bool

If true (the default), Vector will validate the TLS certificate of the remote host. Do NOT set this to false unless you understand the risks of not verifying the remote certificate.

tls.verify_hostname

optional default: true type: bool

If true (the default), Vector will validate the configured remote host name against the remote host's TLS certificate. Do NOT set this to false unless you understand the risks of not verifying the remote hostname.

uri

required type: string example: "https://10.22.212.22:9000/endpoint"

The full URI to make HTTP requests to. This should include the protocol and host, but can also include the port, path, and any other valid part of a URI.

Input/Output

The http sink batches log up to the batch_size or batch_timeout options. When flushed, Vector will write to a generic HTTP endpoint. The encoding is dictated by the encoding option. For example:

POST <host>/_bulk HTTP/1.1
Host: <host>
Content-Type: application/x-ndjson
Content-Length: 654

{ "index" : { "_index" : "<index>" } }
{"timestamp": 1557932537, "message": "GET /roi/evolve/embrace/transparent", "host": "Stracke8362", "process_id": 914, "remote_addr": "30.163.82.140", "response_code": 504, "bytes": 29763} 
{ "index" : { "_index" : "<index>" } }
{"timestamp": 1557933548, "message": "PUT /value-added/b2b", "host": "Wiza2458", "process_id": 775, "remote_addr": "30.163.82.140", "response_code": 503, "bytes": 9468}
{ "index" : { "_index" : "<index>" } }
{"timestamp": 1557933742, "message": "DELETE /reinvent/interfaces", "host": "Herman3087", "process_id": 775, "remote_addr": "43.246.221.247", "response_code": 503, "bytes": 9700}

How It Works

Authentication

HTTP authentication is controlled via the Authorization header which you can set with the headers option. For convenience, Vector also supports the basic_auth.username and basic_auth.password options which handle setting the Authorization header for the base access authentication scheme.

Buffers & Batches

The http sink buffers & batches data as shown in the diagram above. You'll notice that Vector treats these concepts differently, instead of treating them as global concepts, Vector treats them as sink specific concepts. This isolates sinks, ensuring services disruptions are contained and delivery guarantees are honored.

Batches are flushed when 1 of 2 conditions are met:

The batch age meets or exceeds the configured batch_timeout (default: 5 seconds).
The batch size meets or exceeds the configured batch_size (default: 1049000 bytes).

Buffers are controlled via the buffer.* options.

Delivery Guarantee

This component offers an at least once delivery guarantee if your pipeline is configured to achieve this.

Environment Variables

Environment variables are supported through all of Vector's configuration. Simply add ${MY_ENV_VAR} in your Vector configuration file and the variable will be replaced before being evaluated.

You can learn more in the Environment Variables section.

Health Checks

Health checks ensure that the downstream service is accessible and ready to accept data. This check is performed upon sink initialization. In order to run this check you must provide a value for the healthcheck_uri option.

If the health check fails an error will be logged and Vector will proceed to start. If you'd like to exit immediately upon health check failure, you can pass the --require-healthy flag:

vector --config /etc/vector/vector.toml --require-healthy

And finally, if you'd like to disable health checks entirely for this sink you can set the healthcheck option to false.

Rate Limits

Vector offers a few levers to control the rate and volume of requests to the downstream service. Start with the rate_limit_duration and rate_limit_num options to ensure Vector does not exceed the specified number of requests in the specified window. You can further control the pace at which this window is saturated with the request_in_flight_limit option, which will guarantee no more than the specified number of requests are in-flight at any given time.

Please note, Vector's defaults are carefully chosen and it should be rare that you need to adjust these. If you found a good reason to do so please share it with the Vector team by opening an issie.

Retry Policy

Vector will retry failed requests (status == 429, >= 500, and != 501). Other responses will not be retried. You can control the number of retry attempts and backoff rate with the retry_attempts and retry_backoff_secs options.

Troubleshooting

The best place to start with troubleshooting is to check the Vector logs. This is typically located at /var/log/vector.log, then proceed to follow the Troubleshooting Guide.

If the Troubleshooting Guide does not resolve your issue, please:

Check for any open http_sink issues.
If encountered a bug, please file a bug report.
If encountered a missing feature, please file a feature request.
If you need help, join our chat/forum community. You can post a question and search previous questions.

Resources

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http sink

Example

Options

basic_auth

basic_auth.password

basic_auth.user

batch_size

batch_timeout

buffer

buffer.type

buffer.when_full

buffer.max_size

buffer.num_items

encoding

headers

headers.*

healthcheck

healthcheck_uri

rate_limit_duration

rate_limit_num

request_in_flight_limit

request_timeout_secs

retry_attempts

retry_backoff_secs

tls

tls.ca_path

tls.crt_path

tls.key_path

tls.key_pass

tls.verify_certificate

tls.verify_hostname

uri

Input/Output

How It Works

Authentication

Buffers & Batches

Delivery Guarantee

Environment Variables

Health Checks

Rate Limits

Retry Policy

Troubleshooting

Resources