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    Simple Log Service:Install Logtail on a Linux server

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    Simple Log Service:Install Logtail on a Linux server

    Last Updated:Dec 09, 2024

    If you want to use a Simple Log Service project to collect server logs, you must install Logtail. This topic describes how to install, update, and uninstall Logtail on a Linux server.

    Limits

    Important

    If your server has low specifications or your operating system runs an earlier version, compatibility issues may occur when you install Logtail version 2.0. In this case, other software cannot run as expected. We recommend that you download Logtail V1.8.7 and run the ./logtail.sh install ${region_id} -v 1.8.7 command to install Logtail.

    • You can install Logtail on servers that run one of the following x86-64 Linux operating systems:

      • Alibaba Cloud Linux 2 and Alibaba Cloud Linux 3

      • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

      • CentOS Linux 6, CentOS Linux 7, and CentOS Linux 8

      • Debian GNU/Linux 8, Debian GNU/Linux 9, Debian GNU/Linux 10, Debian GNU/Linux 11, and Debian GNU/Linux 12

      • Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 24.04

      • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15

      • openSUSE Leap 15.1, openSUSE Leap 15.2, and openSUSE Leap 42.3

      • Linux operating systems based on GNU C Library version 2.5 or later

        Note

        For Logtail later than version 2.0, GNU C Library version 2.6 or later is required.

      • Linux operating systems that support the SSE4.2 and AVX instruction sets (Logtail later than version 2.0)

    • You can install Logtail on servers that run one of the following ARM64 Linux operating systems:

      • Alibaba Cloud Linux 3.2 for ARM

      • Anolis OS 8.2 for ARM or later

      • CentOS Linux 8.4 for ARM

      • Ubuntu 20.04 and Ubuntu 24.04 for ARM

      • Debian GNU/Linux 11.2 for ARM

      • Linux operating systems that support ARMv8.2-A (Logtail later than version 2.0)

    Install Logtail

    Important

    • Install Logtail online

      Network type

      Scenario

      Alibaba Cloud internal network

      The ECS instance that is used and your Simple Log Service project reside in the same region.

      Internet

      • The ECS instance that is used and your Simple Log Service project reside in different regions.

      • The server that is used is from a third-party cloud service provider or in a data center.

      Transfer acceleration

      The server that is used is from a third-party cloud service provider outside China or in a data center outside China. Data transfer over the Internet may cause high network latency and unstable connections. In this case, we recommend that you use the transfer acceleration feature to transfer logs.

      Note

      When you install Logtail online, Logtail is automatically installed based on the operating system of your server. You do not need to select a network type.

      Alibaba Cloud internal network (classic network or VPC)

      • The region in which the ECS instance resides is not identified.

        Download the Logtail installation script over the Internet and then configure the auto parameter to install Logtail. After you configure the auto parameter in the installation command, the Logtail installation script automatically obtains and uses the metadata of the ECS instance to identify the region of the ECS instance. For more information about the metadata of ECS instances, see Overview of ECS instance metadata.

        1. Download the Logtail installation script over the Internet to the working directory of the ECS instance. The download operation consumes approximately 10 KB of Internet traffic. 

          wget http://logtail-release-cn-hangzhou.oss-cn-hangzhou.aliyuncs.com/linux64/logtail.sh -O logtail.sh; chmod +x logtail.sh

        2. Configure the auto parameter to install Logtail. The Logtail installation package for a specific region is automatically downloaded over an Alibaba Cloud internal network. The download operation does not consume Internet traffic. 

          ./logtail.sh install auto

      • The region in which the ECS instance resides is identified.

        Obtain the value of the ${region_id} parameter for the region in which the ECS instance resides. Replace the ${region_id} parameter with the obtained value and run the installation command.

        Important

        For more information about the value of the ${region_id} parameter for each region, see Supported regions. For example, the value of the ${region_id} parameter for the China (Hangzhou) region is cn-hangzhou. 

        wget http://logtail-release-${region_id}.oss-${region_id}-internal.aliyuncs.com/linux64/logtail.sh -O logtail.sh; chmod +x logtail.sh; ./logtail.sh install ${region_id}

        Download the Logtail installation script over an Alibaba Cloud internal network and install Logtail. The download operation does not consume Internet traffic.

      Internet

      Obtain the value of the Simple Log Service parameter for the region in which the Simple Log Service project resides. Replace the ${region_id} parameter with the obtained value and run the installation command.

      Important

      For more information about the value of the ${region_id} parameter for each region, see Supported regions. For example, the value of the ${region_id} parameter for the China (Hangzhou) region is cn-hangzhou. 

      wget http://logtail-release-${region_id}.oss-${region_id}.aliyuncs.com/linux64/logtail.sh -O logtail.sh; chmod +x logtail.sh; ./logtail.sh install ${region_id}-internet

      Transfer acceleration

      Obtain the value of the Simple Log Service parameter for the region in which the Simple Log Service project resides. Replace the ${region_id} parameter with the obtained value and run the installation command.

      Important

      For more information about the value of the ${region_id} parameter for each region, see Supported regions. For example, the value of the ${region_id} parameter for the China (Hangzhou) region is cn-hangzhou. 

      wget http://logtail-release-${region_id}.oss-${region_id}.aliyuncs.com/linux64/logtail.sh -O logtail.sh; chmod +x logtail.sh; ./logtail.sh install ${region_id}-acceleration

    • Install Logtail offline

      1. Download the installation script and installation package on a server that can access the Internet.

        Important

        For more information about the value of the ${region_id} parameter for each region, see Supported regions. For example, the value of the ${region_id} parameter for the China (Hangzhou) region is cn-hangzhou.

        1. Obtain the value of the Simple Log Service parameter for the region in which the Simple Log Service project resides. Replace the ${region_id} parameter with the obtained value and run the following command to download the installation script: 

          wget http://logtail-release-${region_id}.oss-${region_id}.aliyuncs.com/linux64/logtail.sh

        2. Obtain the value of the Simple Log Service parameter for the region in which the Simple Log Service project resides. Replace the ${region_id} parameter with the obtained value and run the following command to download the installation package:

          • Installation package (x86-64)

            wget http://logtail-release-${region_id}.oss-${region_id}.aliyuncs.com/linux64/logtail-linux64.tar.gz

          • Installation package (ARM)

            wget http://logtail-release-${region_id}.oss-${region_id}.aliyuncs.com/linux64/aarch64/logtail-linux64.tar.gz

      2. Copy the installation script and installation package to the server on which you want to install Logtail.

      3. Obtain the value of the Simple Log Service parameter for the region in which the Simple Log Service project resides. Replace the ${region_id} parameter with the obtained value and run the installation command.

        Important

        For more information about the value of the ${region_id} parameter for each region, see Supported regions. For example, the value of the ${region_id} parameter for the China (Hangzhou) region is cn-hangzhou.

        • Internet

          chmod +x logtail.sh; ./logtail.sh install-local ${region_id}-internet

        • Internal network

          chmod +x logtail.sh; ./logtail.sh install-local ${region_id}

        • Transfer acceleration

          chmod +x logtail.sh; ./logtail.sh install-local ${region_id}-acceleration

    Start and stop Logtail

    • Run the following command to start Logtail:

      sudo /etc/init.d/ilogtaild start

    • Run the following command to stop Logtail:

      sudo /etc/init.d/ilogtaild stop

    View the status and version of Logtail

    • View the status of Logtail

      Run the following command to view the status of Logtail: 

      sudo /etc/init.d/ilogtaild status

      If the following information is returned, Logtail is installed: 

      ilogtail is running

      If Logtail is not in the Running state, uninstall Logtail and then reinstall Logtail.

    • View the version of Logtail

      Go to the installation directory of Logtail and open the /usr/local/ilogtail/app_info.json file. The value of the logtail_version field is the version of Logtail. Run the following command to view the version of Logtail: 

      cat /usr/local/ilogtail/app_info.json

      Output

      {
   "UUID" : "0DF18E97-0F2D-486F-B77F-*********",
   "hostname" : "david*******",
   "instance_id" : "F4FAFADA-F1D7-11E7-846C-00163E30349E_*********_1515129548",
   "ip" : "**********",
   "logtail_version" : "0.16.30",
   "os" : "Linux; 2.6.32-220.23.2.ali1113.el5.x86_64; #1 SMP Thu Jul 4 20:09:15 CST 2013; x86_64",
   "update_time" : "2020-01-05 13:19:08"
}

    Update Logtail

    Important

    • If you want to update Logtail, you can run the upgrade command. If you run the install command to update Logtail, an overwrite installation is performed. The system uninstalls the current version of Logtail, deletes related directories such as /usr/local/ilogtail, and then installs a new version of Logtail. If the installation is successful, Logtail automatically runs and is added as a startup program.

    • Logtail is temporarily stopped during the update. No log data is lost. After Logtail is updated, only the configuration files and the checkpoint files are retained. Other files are overwritten.

    • Update Logtail online

      You can use the Logtail installation script logtail.sh to update Logtail. The installation script automatically selects an update method based on the configurations of Logtail that is installed.

      1. Obtain the value of the Simple Log Service parameter for the region in which the Simple Log Service project resides. Replace the ${region_id} parameter with the obtained value and run the following commands to update Logtail:

        Important

        For more information about the value of the ${region_id} parameter for each region, see Supported regions. For example, the value of the ${region_id} parameter for the China (Hangzhou) region is cn-hangzhou. 

        wget http://logtail-release-${region_id}.oss-${region_id}.aliyuncs.com/linux64/logtail.sh -O logtail.sh; chmod +x logtail.sh
sudo ./logtail.sh upgrade

      2. Check the update result.

        The following sample result indicates that the upgrade is successful: 

        stop successfully
Stop logtail successfully.
Upgrading logtail files ...
Upgrade logtail files successfully.
Starting logtail ...
ilogtail is running
Upgrade logtail successfully.
{
        "UUID" : "XXXXXXXX-XXXX",
        "compiler" : "GCC 9.3.1",
        "hostname" : "xxx",
        "instance_id" : "XXXXXXXX-XXXX_172.16.0.75_1730950372",
        "ip" : "172.16.0.75",
        "logtail_version" : "2.0.8",
        "os" : "Linux; 5.10.134-13.an8.x86_64; #1 SMP Mon Jan 9 10:39:46 CST 2023; x86_64",
        "update_time" : "2024-11-07 11:32:52"
}

    • Update Logtail offline

      1. Download the installation script and installation package on a server that can access the Internet.

        Important

        For more information about the value of the ${region_id} parameter for each region, see Supported regions. For example, the value of the ${region_id} parameter for the China (Hangzhou) region is cn-hangzhou.

        1. Obtain the value of the Simple Log Service parameter for the region in which the Simple Log Service project resides. Replace the ${region_id} parameter with the obtained value and run the following command to download the installation script: 

          wget http://logtail-release-${region_id}.oss-${region_id}.aliyuncs.com/linux64/logtail.sh

        2. Obtain the value of the Simple Log Service parameter for the region in which the Simple Log Service project resides. Replace the ${region_id} parameter with the obtained value and run the following command to download the installation package:

          • Installation package (x86-64)

            wget http://logtail-release-${region_id}.oss-${region_id}.aliyuncs.com/linux64/logtail-linux64.tar.gz

          • Installation package (ARM)

            wget http://logtail-release-${region_id}.oss-${region_id}.aliyuncs.com/linux64/aarch64/logtail-linux64.tar.gz

      2. Copy the installation script and installation package to the server on which you want to install Logtail.

      3. Run the following command to update Logtail: 

        chmod +x logtail.sh; ./logtail.sh upgrade-local

    Uninstall Logtail

    Important

    For more information about the value of the ${region_id} parameter for each region, see Supported regions. For example, the value of the ${region_id} parameter for the China (Hangzhou) region is cn-hangzhou.

    Obtain the value of the Simple Log Service parameter for the region in which the Simple Log Service project resides. Replace the ${region_id} parameter with the obtained value and run the following command to uninstall Logtail: 

    wget http://logtail-release-${region_id}.oss-${region_id}.aliyuncs.com/linux64/logtail.sh -O logtail.sh; chmod +x logtail.sh; ./logtail.sh uninstall

    Scenarios

    • Simple Log Service projects and servers belong to the same account and reside in the same region

      We recommend that you use Simple Log Service with Operation Orchestration Service (OOS) to automatically install Logtail on ECS instances that reside in the same region as your Simple Log Service projects. For more information, see Install Logtail on ECS instances.

      If automatic installation does not meet your requirements, you can manually install Logtail based on this topic.

    • Simple Log Service projects and servers belong to the same account but reside in different regions

      The following figure shows the configuration process.

      image

      You must install Logtail over the Internet. Then, you must create a machine group in a Simple Log Service project and configure Logtail to collect logs. For more information, see Create a machine group, and Collect text logs from servers.

      If you install Logtail over the classic network or a VPC, you can modify the network parameters in the ilogtail_config.json file to configure Logtail to collect logs across regions. For more information, see Alibaba Cloud internal network (classic network or VPC).

      1. Modify the network parameters in the /usr/local/ilogtail/ilogtail_config.json file.

        For example, your project resides in the China (Chengdu) region and your ECS instance resides in the China (Hangzhou) region. Modify the parameters based on the following code:

        {
  "config_server_address" : "http://logtail.cn-chengdu.log.aliyuncs.com",
  "data_server_list" :
  [
    {
      "cluster" : "cn-chengdu",
      "endpoint" : "cn-chengdu.log.aliyuncs.com"
    }
  ],
  ...
}

      2. You must restart Logtail after the configuration file is modified. 

        sudo /etc/init.d/ilogtaild restart

    • Simple Log Service projects and servers belong to different accounts

      In this scenario, the server on which you want to install Logtail belongs to an Alibaba Cloud account that is different from the account of your Simple Log Service projects or resides in a data center or a third-party cloud environment. The following figure shows the configuration process.

      image

      You must install Logtail over the Internet. Then, you must use the ID of Account A to configure a user identifier and configure a custom user identifier. For more information, see Configure a user identifier. Then, you must create a custom identifier-based machine group in the Simple Log Service project of Account A and configure Logtail to collect logs. For more information, see Create a custom identifier-based machine group, Collect text logs from servers, and Use Logtail to collect logs across Alibaba Cloud accounts.

    FAQ

    1. How do I check whether Logtail is installed?

      You can view the status of Logtail to check whether Logtail is installed on your server. For more information, see View the status of Logtail.

    2. After Logtail is installed, the heartbeat status of my machine group that is created for the Logtail configuration is FAIL. What do I do?

      If heartbeat status is FAIL after a Logtail configuration is created, you can run the following command to view the version of Logtail. Then, update Logtail to check whether the heartbeat status becomes normal. 

      cat /usr/local/ilogtail/app_info.json

    3. After Logtail is installed, Logtail starts to collect logs. However, a status code indicating that logs fail to be collected is returned. What do I do?

      Logtail aggregates collected logs and sends the aggregated logs to Simple Log Service. If logs fail to be sent to Simple Log Service, Logtail determines whether to send the logs again or to stop sending the logs based on the error message. For more information, see Send logs.