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Run Cribl Edge in a Docker Container

You can easily deploy and run Cribl Edge from a container image into a Docker container, making it simple to integrate Cribl Edge into your existing containerized environments.

In this article, you’ll learn how to pull the Cribl Edge Docker image, configure it, and manage its lifecycle within your containerized environment.

Add a Docker Node from the Cribl Edge UI
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As a best practice, we recommend using the UI to create and copy/paste the bootstrap script for adding a Docker node. See our documentation on how to Add a New Edge Node with a Bootstrap Script.

Start the Container with a Docker Command
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For a single-instance deployment, start the container with the Docker command below:

docker run -d -e CRIBL_EDGE=1 \
 -p 9420:9420 \
 -v /var/run/appscope:/var/run/appscope \
 -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
 -v /:/hostfs:ro \
 --privileged \
 --restart unless-stopped \
 --name cribl-edge \
 cribl/cribl:latest

For a distributed deployment, edit the Docker command below to replace INSERT_TOKEN with a unique, secure token value. Then start the container with the revised command.

docker run -d \
 --privileged \
 -e CRIBL_DIST_MODE=managed-edge \
 -e CRIBL_DIST_LEADER_URL=tcp://INSERT_TOKEN@leaderhere:4200?group=fleet_name
 -e "CRIBL_EDGE=1" 
 -v /var/run/appscope:/var/run/appscope \
 -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
 -v /:/hostfs:ro \
 -p 9420:9420
 --restart unless-stopped \
 --name cribl-edge \
 cribl/cribl:latest

With a Leader on Cribl.Cloud, encryption is enabled by default. Set the hybrid worker’s CRIBL_DIST_LEADER_URL environment variable to begin with the tls:// protocol. For example:

CRIBL_DIST_LEADER_URL=tls://<token>@logstream-<tenant>.cribl.cloud:4200

Once that’s running, the UI displays on http://localhost:9420/

The -v /var/run/appscope:/var/run/appscope \ line exposes the Unix domain socket for the AppScope Source so that it’s accessible to the scope application on the host, and in other containers that mount that same directory. See Running AppScope With Cribl Edge in a Docker Container in the AppScope documentation.

You can now start configuring Cribl Edge with Sources and Destinations, or start creating Routes and Pipelines.

Find Edge Nodes Running in a Container
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Edge Nodes running in a container report additional metadata about the container to the Leader. This helps you quickly identify which of your Edge Nodes are running in a container from the Leader UI and map them to the appropriate Fleets.

When Cribl Edge is running in a container, you will see the hostOs property in events collected by the System State Source. This object will contain properties about the container when they’re available, such as:

  • arch
  • cpu_count
  • cpu_speed_mhz
  • cpu_type
  • interfaces
  • memory
  • platform
  • release
  • hostname
  • timezone

From the Mappings menu, you will also see the hostOs property in the Edge Node info panel. This object will include the id, addresses, and version of the container when available.

interfaces is a set of key-value pairs that contain an array of CIDR values.

Run Cribl Edge as a Non-Root User
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You can run the Cribl image as a non-root user within a container using Docker’s --user option or the user setting in Compose. You can specify any desired UID (User ID).

To ensure correct functionality, you must set the CRIBL_VOLUME_DIR environment variable to a location the non-root user can write to. This is because the software requires write permissions to directories like /opt/cribl/state, /opt/cribl/log, and /opt/cribl/local. Failure to set CRIBL_VOLUME_DIR will result in a warning and potential functional issues.

If you mount a persistent volume, setting CRIBL_VOLUME_DIR to the mount point is strongly recommended for optimal performance and reliability. While /tmp/cribl_data might be used, a dedicated persistent volume ensures data integrity and prevents potential data loss or corruption.

We recommend specifying CRIBL_VOLUME_DIR whenever running as a non-root user to avoid unexpected behavior.

See example below:

docker run -d \
 -u 999:999
 -e CRIBL_DIST_MODE=managed-edge \
 -e CRIBL_DIST_LEADER_URL=tcp://INSERT_TOKEN@leaderhere:4200?group=fleet_name
 -e "CRIBL_EDGE=1" 
 -e CRIBL_VOLUME_DIR=/tmp/
 -v /var/run/appscope:/var/run/appscope \
 -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
 -v /:/hostfs:ro \
 -p 9420:9420
 --restart unless-stopped \
 --name cribl-edge \
 cribl/cribl:latest

To prevent issues with Cribl file operations, /opt/cribl and all its subdirectories must reside on the same device. Mounting separate devices within /opt/cribl is not recommended. For external storage needs, such as lookups or Persistent Queues (PQs), create a completely separate directory outside of /opt/cribl. While /opt/cribl is the default installation path, Cribl can be installed to other locations if necessary.

Override Default Ports
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You can override default ports in the following configuration files:

  • Edge UI port (9420): Default definitions for host, port, and other settings are set in $CRIBL_HOME/default/cribl/cribl.yml, and can be overridden by defining alternatives in $CRIBL_HOME/local/cribl/cribl.yml.

  • Data Ports, for example HTTP In (10080), TCPJSON in (10420) have default definitions for host, port and other settings defined in $CRIBL_HOME/default/cribl/inputs.yml, and can be overridden by defining alternatives in $CRIBL_HOME/local/cribl/inputs.yml.

In the case of an API port conflict, the process will retry binding for 10 minutes before exiting.

Update the Docker Image and the Packaged OS
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For details, see the following topics:

Shut Down Docker Containers
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To shut down Docker containers that are running Cribl Edge, use docker stop instead of docker kill. This allows Docker to shut down the container cleanly. When you run docker stop for your Cribl Edge containers, the following happens:

  • The container runs cribl stop and waits for all cribl processes to exit before shutting down.
  • Docker waits up to 10 seconds by default. If this is not enough time for your processes to exit, you can increase the default time using docker stop -t 30 <container>. Replace the number 30 in this example with the amount of time you need, in seconds.

Troubleshooting
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  • When you deploy containers via Kubernetes in managed-edge mode, this Node will – after applying the first config bundle from the Leader – listen on the Fleet’s configured API Server Settings > Host.

  • If you have Fleets running Edge Nodes with version 4.8.2 and older, you can encounter failing health checks that require specific API server configuration. See Common Challenges on the Edge for more information.

Cribl University offers a course titled How to Install & Configure Edge Using Docker that illustrates the installation steps. To follow the direct course link, first log into your Cribl University account. (To create an account, select the Sign up link. You’ll need to click through a short Terms & Conditions presentation, with chill music, before proceeding to courses – but Cribl’s training is always free of charge.) Once logged in, check out other useful Cribl Edge courses.