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[apm] Improve instructions for monitoring APM on premise #4749

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colleenmcginnis Jan 7, 2025
8f2485b
update fleet guide link to current
colleenmcginnis Jan 7, 2025
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23 changes: 9 additions & 14 deletions docs/en/observability/apm/monitor-apm-server/monitor.asciidoc
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Expand Up @@ -24,6 +24,15 @@ To learn how, see {ref}/configuring-metricbeat.html[Collect {es} monitoring data
Alternatively, open the **{stack-monitor-app}** app in {kib} and follow the in-product guide.
****

[WARNING]
====
*Only use this option if you have _not_ yet enrolled {agent}.*
If you edit and re-enroll {agent}, you will likely lose the state of the agent.

If you have already enrolled the {agent}, consider using the Fleet UI to change the agent's HTTP monitoring endpoint
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Ideally we would have:

  • For versions pre 8.15 we have to say:
*This procedure works only if you've _not_ yet enrolled {agent}.*
If you've already enrolled {agent}, you'll need to re-enroll {agent} and you'll lose the state of the agent.
  • For version 8.15 and more recent
Use the Fleet UI to change the agent's HTTP monitoring endpoint using {fleet-guide}/agent-policy.html#advanced-agent-monitoring-settings[Advanced agent monitoring settings].

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Also, I would invite a developer / engineer to test this flow if possible.

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@simitt is someone from your team available to take a look at this recommendation?

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@raultorrecilla know better about the team's availability.

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Hello, I've taken the time to test this and it works. I'm leaving a comment below for a catch...

using {fleet-guide}/agent-policy.html#advanced-agent-monitoring-settings[Advanced agent monitoring settings].
====

. Enable monitoring of {agent} by adding the following settings to your `elastic-agent.yml` configuration file:
+
--
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -86,8 +95,6 @@ When complete, your `modules.d/beat-xpack.yml` file should look similar to this:
period: 10s
hosts: ["http://localhost:6791"]
basepath: "/processes/apm-server-default"
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@lucabelluccini lucabelluccini Jun 13, 2025 •
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This is actually not true...
The basepath has to match the component ID of the APM Integration.

For example, if ones creates an APM Integration policy and its ID is 7b12d130-018d-4fa8-908b-80a677e7cfce, then the basepath has to be set to basepath: "/processes/apm-7b12d130-018d-4fa8-908b-80a677e7cfce.

How to tell a user how to get the component ID? I do not know the fastest solution, but it might be:

  • Go to Fleet UI
  • Go to the Elastic Agent policy which contains the APM Package Integration policy
  • Go in Actions / View Policy
  • Search for the id of the integration apm
  • Use the id, prefixing it with apm-

Or... from command line...

 elastic-agent status --output full | grep apm

Will show up:

   ├─ apm-7b12d130-018d-4fa8-908b-80a677e7cfce <------ this one
   │  ├─ apm-7b12d130-018d-4fa8-908b-80a677e7cfce
   │  └─ apm-7b12d130-018d-4fa8-908b-80a677e7cfce-1720f832-262b-43fa-a3fd-0629bcb3d530

The only situation the APM Integration has apm-server-default is when the integration is created via kibana.yml and the ID is provided by the user, which is quite rare.

username: remote_monitoring_user
password: your_password
----

.. Do not change the `module` name or `xpack.enabled` boolean;
Expand All @@ -107,18 +114,6 @@ If you configured {agent} to use encrypted communications, you must access
it via HTTPS. For example, use a `hosts` setting like `https://localhost:5066`.

.. APM Server metrics are exposed at `/processes/apm-server-default`. Add this location as the `basepath`.

.. Set the `username` and `password` settings as required by your
environment. If Elastic {security-features} are enabled, you must provide a username
and password so that {metricbeat} can collect metrics successfully:

... Create a user on the {es} cluster that has the
`remote_monitoring_collector` {ref}/built-in-roles.html[built-in role].
Alternatively, if it's available in your environment, use the
`remote_monitoring_user` {ref}/built-in-users.html[built-in user].

... Add the `username` and `password` settings to the beat module configuration
file.
--

. Optional: Disable the system module in the {metricbeat}.
Expand Down