OS and System Requirements
For a successful Cribl Stream deployment, verify that your system meets the minimum hardware and software specifications outlined below.
Leader Node Requirements
Given the Leader’s critical role in coordinating Worker instances, we recommend deploying it on a stable and highly available infrastructure.
All the quantities listed below are minimum requirements.
| Specification | Requirements |
|---|---|
| OS |
|
| System |
|
| Git | git must be available on the Leader Node. See details below. |
| Browser Support | The five most-recent versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge. |
Worker Node and Single-Instance Requirements
This section outlines the requirements for deploying Worker Nodes and Single-instance deployments. For a deeper understanding of these concepts, see Worker Nodes and Single-instance deployments.
Requirements
The Worker Node requirements are identical to Single-instance deployments. All quantities listed below are minimum requirements.
| Specification | Requirements |
|---|---|
| OS |
|
| System |
|
| Git | git must be available on the Leader Node. See details below. |
| SELinux Support | enforcing mode is supported, but not required. |
Requirements Considerations
Keep the following considerations in mind:
Cloud VM Recommendations
To fulfill the requirements using cloud-based virtual machines, see Recommended AWS, Azure, and GCP Instance Types.
Core Equivalency
We consider 1 physical core to be equivalent to:
- 2 virtual/hyperthreaded CPUs (vCPUs) on Intel/Xeon or AMD processors
- 1 (higher-throughput) vCPU on Graviton2/ARM64 processors
Memory Requirements
- Each Worker Process can consume memory up to its maximum heap size, plus Node.js overhead, and additional memory that scales with configuration (e.g., Destination type and number).
- Ensure your total host memory allocation covers the memory usage of all Worker Processes and OS requirements.
- Continuously monitor Node memory usage, especially after configuration changes.
- For additional details, see Estimating Number of Cores.
Since version 4.13, due to an upgrade of the Node.js version used by Cribl Stream, baseline memory usage may increase on hosts that are not memory-constrained, because the new Node.js version is more conservative with memory release.
Capacity Planning
See Sizing and Scaling for capacity planning details.
Set Capabilities for Cribl Stream
If Cribl Stream needs to listen on low ports 1–1024, it will need privileged access. You can set Linux capabilities that grant Cribl Stream sufficient rights to perform specific privileged tasks, based on kernel privilege. To run Cribl Stream as non-root user, consider setting the following capabilities:
| Set Linux Capabilities | Permissions |
|---|---|
CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE | Allows Cribl Stream to push Sources that bind to TCP/UDP port numbers below 1024. |
CAP_DAC_READ_SEARCH | Allows the cribl user to access the File Monitor Source’s Manual mode feature. This capability bypasses the default Linux permissions for files and directories. |
CAP_SYS_PTRACE | Allows the cribl user to scan open files for running processes, and to access the File Monitor Source’s Auto-mode feature. |
For details about setting these capabilities, see Persisting Overrides.
Set the CRIBL_HOME Environment Variable
The CRIBL_HOME env is available in the Cribl Stream application, but not on your terminal. If you want to use $CRIBL_HOME, you can:
- Assign it once, using the
exportcommand:export CRIBL_HOME=/opt/cribl - Set it as a default, by adding it to your to your terminal profile file.
Version Control with git
Cribl Stream requires git (version 1.8.3.1 or higher) to be available locally on the host where the Leader Node will run. Configuration changes must be committed to git before they’re deployed.
If you don’t have git installed, see Git Documentation for details on how to get started.
The Leader Node uses git to:
- Manage configuration versions across Worker Groups.
- Provide users with an audit trail of all configuration changes.
- Allow users to display diffs between current and previous config versions.
Port Requirements
Configure firewalls on Leader and Worker hosts to allow outbound HTTPS connections to
https://cdn.cribl.ioon port 443 during installation.Refer to the list of required ports for Distributed deployments to function, and verify that they are continously open.
If your network requires a proxy, configure your system proxy settings as described in System Proxy Configuration. Be sure to exclude cluster communication from the proxy to avoid performance issues.
Cribl prioritizes S3 downloads for Worker Nodes, with automatic fallback and firewall allowlisting tips for optimal performance. See, Optimized Bundle Delivery from S3 for details.
FIPS Mode Requirements
Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) is a set of US government standards and guidelines for information security. You can deploy Cribl Stream in FIPS mode. This mainly restricts the cryptographic algorithms used within Cribl Stream, and also enforces stricter password requirements.
To learn about system and password requirements, as well as instructions for running Cribl Stream in FIPS mode, refer to the FIPS Mode document.