---
title: Use Metricbeat to send monitoring data
description: In 7.3 and later, you can use Metricbeat to collect data about Metricbeat and ship it to the monitoring cluster. The benefit of using Metricbeat instead...
url: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/beats/metricbeat/monitoring-metricbeat-collection
products:
  - Beats
  - Metricbeat
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Generally available
  - Elastic Stack: Generally available
---

# Use Metricbeat to send monitoring data
In 7.3 and later, you can use Metricbeat to collect data about Metricbeat and ship it to the monitoring cluster. The benefit of using Metricbeat instead of internal collection is that the monitoring agent remains active even if the Metricbeat instance dies.
Because you’ll be using Metricbeat to *monitor* Metricbeat, you’ll need to run two instances of Metricbeat: a main instance that collects metrics from the system and services running on the server, and a second instance that collects metrics from Metricbeat only. Using a separate instance as a monitoring agent allows you to send monitoring data to a dedicated monitoring cluster. If the main agent goes down, the monitoring agent remains active.
If you’re running Metricbeat as a service, this approach requires extra work because you need to run two instances of the same installed  service concurrently. If you don’t want to run two instances concurrently, use [internal collection](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/beats/metricbeat/monitoring-internal-collection) instead of using Metricbeat.
To collect and ship monitoring data:
1. [Configure the shipper you want to monitor](#configure-shipper)
2. [Install and configure Metricbeat to collect monitoring data](#configure-metricbeat)


## Configure the shipper you want to monitor

1. Enable the HTTP endpoint to allow external collection of monitoring data:
   Add the following setting in the Metricbeat configuration file (`metricbeat.yml`):
   ```yaml
   http.enabled: true
   ```
   By default, metrics are exposed on port 5066. If you need to monitor multiple Beats shippers running on the same server, set `http.port` to expose metrics for each shipper on a different port number:
   ```yaml
   http.port: 5067
   ```
2. Disable the default collection of Metricbeat monitoring metrics.
   Add the following setting in the Metricbeat configuration file (`metricbeat.yml`):
   ```yaml
   monitoring.enabled: false
   ```
   For more information, see [Monitoring configuration options](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/beats/metricbeat/configuration-monitor).
3. Configure host (optional).
   If you intend to get metrics using Metricbeat installed on another server, you need to bind the Metricbeat to host’s IP:
   ```yaml
   http.host: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
   ```
4. Configure cluster UUID.
   The cluster UUID is necessary if you want to see Beats monitoring in the Kibana stack monitoring view. The monitoring data will be grouped under the cluster for that UUID. To associate Metricbeat with the cluster UUID, set:
   ```yaml
   monitoring.cluster_uuid: "cluster-uuid"
   ```
5. Start Metricbeat.


## Install and configure Metricbeat to collect monitoring data

1. The next step depends on how you want to run Metricbeat:
   - If you’re running as a service and want to run a separate monitoring instance, take the the steps required for your environment to run two instances of Metricbeat as a service. The steps for doing this vary by platform and are beyond the scope of this documentation.
- If you’re running the binary directly in the foreground and want to run a separate monitoring instance, install Metricbeat to a different path. If necessary, set `path.config`, `path.data`, and `path.log` to point to the correct directories. See [Directory layout](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/beats/metricbeat/directory-layout) for the default locations.
2. Enable the `beat-xpack` module in Metricbeat.
   For example, to enable the default configuration in the `modules.d` directory, run the following command, using the correct command syntax for your OS:
   ```sh
   metricbeat modules enable beat-xpack
   ```
   For more information, see [Configure modules](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/beats/metricbeat/configuration-metricbeat) and [beat module](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/beats/metricbeat/metricbeat-module-beat).
3. Configure the `beat-xpack` module in Metricbeat.
   The `modules.d/beat-xpack.yml` file contains the following settings:
   ```yaml
   - module: beat
     metricsets:
       - stats
       - state
     period: 10s
     hosts: ["http://localhost:5066"]
     #username: "user"
     #password: "secret"
     xpack.enabled: true
   ```
   Set the `hosts`, `username`, and `password` settings as required by your environment. For other module settings, it’s recommended that you accept the defaults.
   By default, the module collects Metricbeat monitoring data from `localhost:5066`. If you exposed the metrics on a different host or port when you enabled the HTTP endpoint, update the `hosts` setting.
   To monitor multiple Beats agents, specify a list of hosts, for example:
   ```yaml
   hosts: ["http://localhost:5066","http://localhost:5067","http://localhost:5068"]
   ```
   If you configured Metricbeat to use encrypted communications, you must access it via HTTPS. For example, use a `hosts` setting like `https://localhost:5066`.
   If the Elastic security features are enabled, you must also provide a user ID and password so that Metricbeat can collect metrics successfully:
   1. Create a user on the Elasticsearch cluster that has the `remote_monitoring_collector` [built-in role](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/elasticsearch/roles). Alternatively, if it’s available in your environment, use the `remote_monitoring_user` [built-in user](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/deploy-manage/users-roles/cluster-or-deployment-auth/built-in-users).
2. Add the `username` and `password` settings to the beat module configuration file.
4. Optional: Disable the system module in the Metricbeat.
   By default, the [system module](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/beats/metricbeat/metricbeat-module-system) is enabled. The information it collects, however, is not shown on the **Stack Monitoring** page in Kibana. Unless you want to use that information for other purposes, run the following command:
   ```sh
   metricbeat modules disable system
   ```
5. Identify where to send the monitoring data.
   <tip>
   In production environments, we strongly recommend using a separate cluster (referred to as the *monitoring cluster*) to store the data. Using a separate monitoring cluster prevents production cluster outages from impacting your ability to access your monitoring data. It also prevents monitoring activities from impacting the performance of your production cluster.
   </tip>
   For example, specify the Elasticsearch output information in the Metricbeat configuration file (`metricbeat.yml`):
   ```yaml
   output.elasticsearch:
     # Array of hosts to connect to.
     hosts: ["http://es-mon-1:9200", "http://es-mon2:9200"] 

     # Optional protocol and basic auth credentials.
     #protocol: "https"
     #api_key:  "id:api_key" 
     #username: "elastic"
     #password: "changeme"
   ```
   If you configured the monitoring cluster to use encrypted communications, you must access it via HTTPS. For example, use a `hosts` setting like `https://es-mon-1:9200`.
   <important>
   The Elasticsearch monitoring features use ingest pipelines. The cluster that stores the monitoring data must have at least one node with the `ingest` role.
   </important>
   If the Elasticsearch security features are enabled on the monitoring cluster, you must provide a valid user ID and password so that Metricbeat can send metrics successfully:
   1. Create a user on the monitoring cluster that has the `remote_monitoring_agent` [built-in role](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/elasticsearch/roles). Alternatively, if it’s available in your environment, use the `remote_monitoring_user` [built-in user](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/deploy-manage/users-roles/cluster-or-deployment-auth/built-in-users).
   <tip>
   If you’re using index lifecycle management, the remote monitoring user requires additional privileges to create and read indices. For more information, see [*Grant users access to secured resources*](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/beats/metricbeat/feature-roles).
   </tip>
2. Add the `username` and `password` settings to the Elasticsearch output information in the Metricbeat configuration file.
   For more information about these configuration options, see [Configure the Elasticsearch output](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/beats/metricbeat/elasticsearch-output).
6. [Start Metricbeat](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/beats/metricbeat/metricbeat-starting) to begin collecting monitoring data.
7. [View the monitoring data in Kibana](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/deploy-manage/monitor/stack-monitoring/kibana-monitoring-data).