Forwarders

Forwarders collect data from a source and send it to Observe. They offer additional features, such as the ability to aggregate data from multiple sources or perform lightweight transformations. Forwarders can be useful when the original source does not have a way to send data to Observe, such as a process that only generates a local log file.

A forwarder consists of a process that collects data from a source and forwards it to a given destination.

Forwarders may perform additional functions, such as:

  • Aggregation of data from multiple inputs

  • Filtering and processing of data in flight

  • Routing to multiple destinations

  • Buffering and retransmission handling

This section documents how to configure different forwarders to stream data to Observe.