How To Install Elasticsearch X-Pack

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How to install Elasticsearch X-Pack?

Basic Configuration: Installation prerequisite

  • Java JRE, reasonably new, 64bit preferred
  • A new System variable must be created after Java JRE has been installed, JAVA_HOME, it must point to the JRE installation folder.
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  1. Create the Elasticsearch installation folders, for example:
  • C:\elasticsearch
  • C:\elasticsearch\data
  • C:\elasticsearch\logs
  • C:\elasticsearch\config
  • C:\elasticsearch\config\certs
Unblock the Elasticsearch MSI installer, if necessary.

  1. Start the Elasticsearch installation using the MSI and select the previously created folders to be used by the installer.

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Most of the time the defaults presented in the second screen are alright. This will install Elasticsearch as a service running under the Local System account and start the service at system boot and once the installation finishes.

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  1. Third installation screen allows users to customize the basic installation settings.

The most important are:

  1. Cluster name, it is used id a single instance is installed. Can be any unique string, should not be the same as other Elasticsearch cluster names unless this node is wanted to be added to that cluster
  2. Node name, usually the host name is used here.
  3. Roles, usually all three options are selected.
  4. Memory, it is the amount of memory given to Java, should be at least 2GB, in a production environment should be around 50% of total system memory.
  5. Network host, should be the machine FQDN.
  6. HTTP and Transport ports, should be left at default values unless there is a specific need to change them.
  7. Discovery, for a single node installation can be left blank, for a three node cluster must be set to 2.
  8. Unicast hosts, for a single node installation can be left blank, for a cluster installation the FQDN of all cluster nodes must be entered.

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  1. The next installation screen can be left unchanged, most of the time. Select here the extra plugins needed.

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  1. Select the Basic option and click on the install button to go with the free version of Elasticsearch, or select Trial as the license type and customize some X-Pack installation options.

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  1. Selecting the Trial license allows the selection of X-Pack non free security settings. It is recommended to set the passwords for the built-in users now, those users are elastic, kibana and logstash

  1. Click on Install

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  1. A security prompt may come up, click on Yes and start the installation process, it should finish in a couple of minutes. When the installer finishes, the screen below will be shown:

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  1. Click on “Open Elasticsearch in the browser” and Exit

  1. A browser window will open and the authentication to Elasticsearch is needed. Use the username elastic and the password set up earlier.

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  1. Depending on the browser used, there is a possibility to be asked to open or save a file( Internet Explorer), or the following screen will be shown:

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This means the installation finished successfully and Elasticsearch is now running.

Note: Above instructions are specific to Elasticsearch version 6 .