Log management tools play crucial roles in the company’s security framework. Without the tools, enterprises may be vulnerable to security issues due to a lack of visibility of events and actions occurring in the company. The tools that can be used to log events are abounding. What can you do to select the best tool? Which one is better than the two leading log management software solutions either Splunk, or ELK (Elastic Stack)? Let’s stack and compare Splunk against ELK to select the best tool.
What exactly is Splunk?
Splunk is also known by some as “Google to log data files”. The log data created by any device or system within the IT place is collected and then fed to Splunk. It improves the quality of it and provides significant insights in the log data via alerts chart, graphs, and alerts.
Three main components of Splunk include its indexer, forwarder and the head of search. Forwarder transferred data to indexer. Indexer is able to respond to queries.
What exactly is ELK?
ELK is the acronym for Elasticsearch, Kibana and Logstash. ELK comprises a variety of tools for software, such as Elasticsearch (log tool for searching) and Logstash as well as Kibana(data visualization tool). In total, these three tools form a full analytic tool.
Differentialities between ELK and Splunk
Pricing and Support
Splunk: It is an exclusive software that comes with a cost. It’s not cheap but it comes with many advantages. If you want to log basic information make use of Splunk lightweight.
ELK: It is open source, meaning it’s what can proviron do to the body completely free.
Characteristics and Execution
Loading Data
Splunk will accept any kind of information in any form i.e. JSON or csv, or any type of log. In the ELK logstash, it is the responsible party for processing data. Logstash does not support all types of data. It is necessary to use plugins with the data types that are supported in logstash. However, with logstash it is challenging to trace issues because it doesn’t use a standard terminology for configuration.
Furthermore, for ELK In addition, we have to determine prior to injecting them into the system. For Splunk it is able to pre-configured configurations. Additionally, in the realm of GUI as well, Splunk is superior to ELK because of its intuitive and user-friendly design.
New updates release rate
Both offer regular updates that fix bugs as well as improving their software by adding new things. Splunk is there now with the 7.1 version, and ELK is with the 6.4 version.
Splunk generally has a release cycle every quarter. On the next hand, ELK shared their new characteristics more quickly than the previous. It raises questions in my head regarding what the level of quality is in ELK’s build release.
Businesses that work with these tools
Many high-end companies use Splunk to manage their logs. Splunk provides its services to around 12000 customers. The majority of them are on the Fortune hundred list. Here are a few companies that use Splunk.
The Community Documentation and Support
Splunk has a huge user base and its group is huge. On these forums you’ll be able to find the answers to all your questions. Additionally, Splunk also has a developer community. Thus, the Splunk license will give accessibility to the groups, as well as their support for enterprises.
ELK is an open-source program. However, they also provide paid support. This is the “freemium” model for software. There are many open source groups that support ELK that provide support and solutions to your queries.
Extensibility and API
Splunk offers an RESTful API that has more than 200 endpoints that allow access to every feature in the software. Additionally, this API is well enough, which allows the process to be easier and quicker. It also provides product SDKs for several popular languages.
ELK Stack was developed to be a shared search and analyze engine based on JSON and RESTful APIs that are standard in the industry. ELK provides pre-built clients to build custom applications using a variety of languages, including Java, Python, NET and more.
Study Curve
The learning curves for both of these tools is steep for both tools. For both products, you need to know about Regex as well as scripting languages, and TCP/IP. However, when checking Splunk the curve of ELK is flat since there are a lot of resources accessible online because ELK has an open source software platform. Splunk has a trial time as well as extensive and helpful documentation. Even though its latest courses are expensive. Check out this Splunk Installation and configuration to learn more.
Conclusion
While Splunk along with ELK are fantastic tools for managing logs The choice of tool should be based on the customer’s particular needs, their structure and the cost. Any smaller or median business with limited funds, it is recommended to go with ELK while larger companies would be better off with Splunk. ELK.
If Splunk is something you are interested in, visit the Splunk certification training that provides all-year access to the videos as well as training materials.
