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MeshAccessLog

With the MeshAccessLog policy you can easily set up access logs on every data plane proxy in a mesh.

This policy uses a new policy matching algorithm. Do not combine with TrafficLog.

This guide assumes you have already configured your observability tools to work with Kuma. If you haven’t, see the observability docs.

`targetRef` support matrix

`targetRef.kind`	top level	to	from
`Mesh`	✅	✅	✅
`MeshSubset`	✅	❌	❌
`MeshService`	✅	✅	❌
`MeshServiceSubset`	✅	❌	❌

To learn more about the information in this table, see the matching docs.

Configuration

Format

Kuma gives you full control over the format of the access logs.

The shape of a single log record is defined by a template string that uses command operators to extract and format data about a TCP connection or an HTTP request.

For example:

%START_TIME% %KUMA_SOURCE_SERVICE% => %KUMA_DESTINATION_SERVICE% %DURATION%

%START_TIME% and %KUMA_SOURCE_SERVICE% are examples of available command operators.

All command operators defined by Envoy are supported, along with additional command operators defined by Kuma:

Command Operator	Description
`%KUMA_MESH%`	Name of the mesh in which traffic is flowing.
`%KUMA_SOURCE_SERVICE%`	Name of a `service` that is the `source` of traffic.
`%KUMA_DESTINATION_SERVICE%`	Name of a `service` that is the `destination` of traffic.
`%KUMA_SOURCE_ADDRESS_WITHOUT_PORT%`	Address of a `Dataplane` that is the `source` of traffic.
`%KUMA_TRAFFIC_DIRECTION%`	Direction of the traffic, `INBOUND`, `OUTBOUND`, or `UNSPECIFIED`.

All additional access log command operators are valid to use with both TCP and HTTP traffic.

Internally, Kuma determines traffic protocol based on the value of kuma.io/protocol tag on the inbound interface of a destination Dataplane.

There are two types of format, plain and json.

Plain accepts a string with command operators and produces a string output.

JSON accepts a list of key-value pairs that produces a valid JSON object.

It is up to the user to decide which format type to use. Some system will automatically parse JSON logs and allow you to filter and query based on available keys.

If a command operator is specific to HTTP traffic, such as %REQ(X?Y):Z% or %RESP(X?Y):Z%, in the case of TCP traffic it will be replaced by a symbol “-” for plain and a null value for json. You can set the format.omitEmptyValues boolean option to change this to "" for plain and omit them entirely for json.

Plain

The default format string for TCP traffic is:

[%START_TIME%] %RESPONSE_FLAGS% %KUMA_MESH% %KUMA_SOURCE_ADDRESS_WITHOUT_PORT%(%KUMA_SOURCE_SERVICE%)->%UPSTREAM_HOST%(%KUMA_DESTINATION_SERVICE%) took %DURATION%ms, sent %BYTES_SENT% bytes, received: %BYTES_RECEIVED% bytes

The default format string for HTTP traffic is:

[%START_TIME%] %KUMA_MESH% "%REQ(:METHOD)% %REQ(X-ENVOY-ORIGINAL-PATH?:PATH)% %PROTOCOL%" %RESPONSE_CODE% %RESPONSE_FLAGS% %BYTES_RECEIVED% %BYTES_SENT% %DURATION% %RESP(X-ENVOY-UPSTREAM-SERVICE-TIME)% "%REQ(X-FORWARDED-FOR)%" "%REQ(USER-AGENT)%" "%REQ(X-REQUEST-ID)%" "%REQ(:AUTHORITY)%" "%KUMA_SOURCE_SERVICE%" "%KUMA_DESTINATION_SERVICE%" "%KUMA_SOURCE_ADDRESS_WITHOUT_PORT%" "%UPSTREAM_HOST%"

Example configuration:

format:
  plain: '[%START_TIME%] %BYTES_RECEIVED%'

Example output:

[2016-04-15T20:17:00.310Z] 154

JSON

Example configuration:

format:
  json:
    - key: "start_time"
      value: "%START_TIME%"
    - key: "bytes_received"
      value: "%BYTES_RECEIVED%"

Example output:

{
  "start_time": "2016-04-15T20:17:00.310Z",
  "bytes_received": "154"
}

TCP configuration with default fields:

format:
  json:
    - key: "start_time"
      value: "%START_TIME%"
    - key: "response_flags"
      value: "%RESPONSE_FLAGS%"
    - key: "kuma_mesh"
      value: "%KUMA_MESH%"
    - key: "kuma_source_address_without_port"
      value: "%KUMA_SOURCE_ADDRESS_WITHOUT_PORT%"
    - key: "kuma_source_service"
      value: "%KUMA_SOURCE_SERVICE%"
    - key: "upstream_host"
      value: "%UPSTREAM_HOST%"
    - key: "kuma_destination_service"
      value: "%KUMA_DESTINATION_SERVICE%"
    - key: "duration_ms"
      value: "%DURATION%"
    - key: "bytes_sent"
      value: "%BYTES_SENT%"
    - key: "bytes_received"
      value: "%BYTES_RECEIVED%"

HTTP configuration with default fields:

format:
  json:
    - key: "start_time"
      value: "%START_TIME%"
    - key: "kuma_mesh"
      value: "%KUMA_MESH%"
    - key: 'method'
      value: '"%REQ(:METHOD)%'
    - key: "path"
      value: "%REQ(X-ENVOY-ORIGINAL-PATH?:PATH)%"
    - key: 'protocol'
      value: '%PROTOCOL%'
    - key: "response_code"
      value: "%RESPONSE_CODE%"
    - key: "response_flags"
      value: "%RESPONSE_FLAGS%"
    - key: "bytes_received"
      value: "%BYTES_RECEIVED%"
    - key: "bytes_sent"
      value: "%BYTES_SENT%"
    - key: "duration_ms"
      value: "%DURATION%"
    - key: "upstream_service_time"
      value: "%RESP(X-ENVOY-UPSTREAM-SERVICE-TIME)%"
    - key: 'x_forwarded_for'
      value: '"%REQ(X-FORWARDED-FOR)%"'
    - key: 'user_agent'
      value: '"%REQ(USER-AGENT)%"'
    - key: 'request_id'
      value: '"%REQ(X-REQUEST-ID)%"'
    - key: 'authority'
      value: '"%REQ(:AUTHORITY)%"'
    - key: "kuma_source_service"
      value: "%KUMA_SOURCE_SERVICE%"
    - key: "kuma_destination_service"
      value: "%KUMA_DESTINATION_SERVICE%"
    - key: "kuma_source_address_without_port"
      value: "%KUMA_SOURCE_ADDRESS_WITHOUT_PORT%"
    - key: "upstream_host"
      value: "%UPSTREAM_HOST%"

Backends

A backend determines where the logs end up.

TCP

A TCP backend streams logs to a server via TCP protocol. You can configure a TCP backend with an address:

backends:
  - tcp:
      address: 127.0.0.1:5000

File

A file backend streams logs to a text file. You can configure a file backend with a path:

backends:
  - file:
      path: /dev/stdout

OpenTelemetry

An OpenTelemetry (OTel) backend sends data to an OpenTelemetry server. You can configure an OpenTelemetry backend with an endpoint, attributes (which contain additional information about the log) and body (can be a string message, including multi-line, or it can be a structured data). Attributes and endpoints can use placeholders described in the format section.

backends:
  - openTelemetry:
      endpoint: otel-collector:4317
      body:
        kvlistValue:
          values:
            - key: "mesh"
              value:
                stringValue: "%KUMA_MESH%"
      attributes:
        - key: "start_time"
          value: "%START_TIME%"

Body

Body is of type any (defined here) and can be one of the following forms:

body:
  stringValue: "%KUMA_MESH%"

body:
  boolValue: true

body:
  intValue: 123

body:
  doubleValue: 1.2

body:
  bytesValue: aGVsbG8=

body:
  arrayValue:
    values:
      - stringValue: "%KUMA_MESH%"

body:
  kvlistValue:
    values:
      - key: "mesh"
        value:
          stringValue: "%KUMA_MESH%"

Examples

Log outgoing traffic from specific frontend version to a backend service

Kubernetes
Universal

apiVersion: kuma.io/v1alpha1
kind: MeshAccessLog
metadata:
  name: default
  namespace: kuma-system
  labels:
    kuma.io/mesh: default # optional, defaults to `default` if it isn't configured
spec:
  targetRef:
    kind: MeshServiceSubset
    name: frontend
    tags:
      version: canary
  to:
    - targetRef:
        kind: MeshService
        name: backend_kuma-demo_svc_8080
      default:
        backends:
          - file:
              path: /dev/stdout

Apply the configuration with kubectl apply -f [..].

type: MeshAccessLog
name: default
mesh: default
spec:
  targetRef:
    kind: MeshServiceSubset
    name: frontend
    tags:
      version: canary
  to:
    - targetRef:
        kind: MeshService
        name: backend
      default:
        backends:
          - file:
              path: /dev/stdout

Apply the configuration with kumactl apply -f [..] or with the HTTP API.

Logging to multiple backends

This configuration logs to three backends: TCP, file and OpenTelemetry.

Kubernetes
Universal

apiVersion: kuma.io/v1alpha1
kind: MeshAccessLog
metadata:
  name: default
  namespace: kuma-system
  labels:
    kuma.io/mesh: default # optional, defaults to `default` if it isn't configured
spec:
  targetRef:
    kind: Mesh
  from:
    - targetRef:
        kind: Mesh
      default:
        backends:
          - tcp:
              address: 127.0.0.1:5000
              format:
                json:
                  - key: "start_time"
                    value: "%START_TIME%"
          - file:
              path: /dev/stdout
              format:
                plain: '[%START_TIME%]'
          - openTelemetry:
              endpoint: otel-collector:4317
              body:
                kvlistValue:
                  values:
                    - key: "mesh"
                      value:
                        stringValue: "%KUMA_MESH%"
              attributes:
                - key: "start_time"
                  value: "%START_TIME%"

Apply the configuration with kubectl apply -f [..].

type: MeshAccessLog
name: default
mesh: default
spec:
  targetRef:
    kind: Mesh
  from:
    - targetRef:
        kind: Mesh
      default:
        backends:
          - tcp:
              address: 127.0.0.1:5000
              format:
                json:
                  - key: "start_time"
                    value: "%START_TIME%"
          - file:
              path: /dev/stdout
              format:
                plain: '[%START_TIME%]'
          - openTelemetry:
              endpoint: otel-collector:4317
              body:
                kvlistValue:
                values:
                  - key: "mesh"
                    value:
                      stringValue: "%KUMA_MESH%"
              attributes:
                - key: "start_time"
                  value: "%START_TIME%"

Apply the configuration with kumactl apply -f [..] or with the HTTP API.

apiVersion: kuma.io/v1alpha1
kind: MeshAccessLog
metadata:
  name: default
  namespace: kuma-system
  labels:
    kuma.io/mesh: default # optional, defaults to `default` if it isn't configured
spec:
  targetRef:
    kind: Mesh
  from: # delete this section if you don't want to log incoming traffic
    - targetRef:
        kind: Mesh
      default:
        backends:
          - file:
              path: /dev/stdout
  to: # delete this section if you don't want to log outgoing traffic
    - targetRef:
        kind: Mesh
      default:
        backends:
          - file:
              path: /dev/stdout

Apply the configuration with kubectl apply -f [..].

type: MeshAccessLog
name: default
mesh: default
spec:
  targetRef:
    kind: Mesh
  from: # delete this section if you don't want to log incoming traffic
    - targetRef:
        kind: Mesh
      default:
        backends:
          - file:
              path: /dev/stdout
  to: # delete this section if you don't want to log outgoing traffic
    - targetRef:
        kind: Mesh
      default:
        backends:
          - file:
              path: /dev/stdout

Apply the configuration with kumactl apply -f [..] or with the HTTP API.

Logging traffic going outside the Mesh

To target ExternalServices, use MeshService as the targetRef kind with name set to
the kuma.io/service value.

To target other non-mesh traffic, for example passthrough traffic, use Mesh as the targetRef kind. In this case, %KUMA_DESTINATION_SERVICE% is set to external.

Select a built-in gateway

You can select a built-in gateway using the kuma.io/service value. A current limitation is that traffic routed from a gateway to a service is logged by that gateway as having destination "*".

MeshAccessLog

targetRef support matrix

Configuration

Format

Plain

JSON

Backends

TCP

File

OpenTelemetry

Body

Examples

Log outgoing traffic from specific frontend version to a backend service

Logging to multiple backends

Log all incoming and outgoing traffic

Logging traffic going outside the Mesh

Select a built-in gateway

All policy options

`targetRef` support matrix