Matthew Capra is a Technical Support Specialist and has spent nearly a year with Nagios. In this conversation, we dive into one of his contributions to the Nagios Exchange he’s titled Nagios Log Server Export.
Colby Wegter: What was the need you identified that this plugin could solve?
Matthew Capra: Several users of Nagios Log Server were looking for some way to export their data in other formats for other uses. While this is a planned feature for a future version of Nagios Log Server, I felt that a stand-alone application would function better for large amounts of data.
CW: In basic terms, what does the plugin do?
MC: This plugin allows users to get the results of an Elasticsearch query and store them as raw data in CSV, JSON, and plain-text formats.
CW: Who would find this plugin useful?
MC: Users who, on a fairly infrequent basis, need to take the data provided by Nagios Log Server and feed it into other analysis applications used within their organization (SIEM systems, Big Data, etc.).
CW: Would the mechanics of this plugin have any applications on other software? How?
MC: All this application does is take existing Elasticsearch data and switch it around a bit. Though it has not been tested against other Elastic stack applications, the concept by itself is fairly simple and theoretically applicable to any application that uses an Elasticsearch database for data collection.
CW: When utilizing this plugin, are there any additional troubleshooting tips you could share?
MC: Check your query first! If specific errors are encountered while using this application, please raise an issue on the Github page. (https://github.com/mcapra/nagios-nlsexport/)
CW: What would you consider are some of the biggest benefits of Nagios Exchange?
MC: Many common problems that technicians face have already been solved and the Nagios Exchange provides a platform for sharing those solutions. It’s invaluable as a device.
CW: Any plans to contribute new plugins or add-ons in the future?
MC: This application initially started as a project for migrating an OSS Elastic stack’s data and configurations to Nagios Log Server, though that project may be quite a ways out from completion.
CW: What do you hope this plugin accomplishes for the community on a broader scale?
MC: I hope this application allows people to get more out of their Nagios Log Server setup and enables them to more fluidly integrate the software with existing solutions.