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AWS ElasticSearch Setup

Adam Gerhart

This is the first of a two-part post on getting Amazon’s version of ElasticSearch set up in AWS.  We go over the basics of setting up an AWS ES cluster and then tackle supplying the cluster with data via Logstash in our next post.


Amazon has taken all the fun (read: difficulty) out of creating an ElasticSearch cluster.  Instead of installs, configurations, and server management, we have been relegated to filling out forms and clicking buttons!  What a world we live in.

From the AWS console, you can find ‘Elasticsearch Service’ under ‘Analytics’.

es-icon

At the top of the ES Dashboard is a giant ‘Create New Domain’ button.  Do what it says and click!

create-domain

Define Domain

Enter a name.  I used ‘logs’, since that is what we are storing.  Then select the latest version of ES.

Configure Cluster

This is where you can branch out a bit.  Select the number of nodes, EC2 instance type, and preferred storage.  For this small use case, I only went with the defaults.  If you have a lot of data, scale up your storage.  For a large user base, you’ll want a few more instances than just one.

Set up Access Policy

Now you are on your own.  Will this be public facing data?  Accessible from only your network?  A few IPs?  Unfortunately AWS ES, as of this writing, does not have VPC support, so your ability to restrict access is solely dependent on access settings.  The good news is that Amazon does provide you with a few template options. 

confirm

Once you are done, Confirm and create, and you are good to go!  Congrats on your new ElasticSearch cluster!

In the next post on this topic we will dive into Logstash setup.