---
title: Logstash connection doesn't work
description: You may have configured Logstash or Winlogbeat incorrectly. To resolve the issue: Make sure that Logstash is running and you can connect to it. First,...
url: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/reference/beats/winlogbeat/connection-problem
products:
  - Beats
  - Winlogbeat
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Generally available
  - Elastic Stack: Generally available
---

# Logstash connection doesn't work
You may have configured Logstash or Winlogbeat incorrectly. To resolve the issue:
- Make sure that Logstash is running and you can connect to it. First, try to ping the Logstash host to verify that you can reach it from the host running Winlogbeat. Then use either `nc` or `telnet` to make sure that the port is available. For example:
  ```shell
  ping <hostname or IP>
  telnet <hostname or IP> 5044
  ```
- Verify that the config file for Winlogbeat specifies the correct port where Logstash is running.
- Make sure that the Elasticsearch output is commented out in the config file and the Logstash output is uncommented.
- Confirm that the most recent [Beats input plugin for Logstash](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/lsr/plugins-inputs-beats) is installed and configured. Note that Beats will not connect to the Lumberjack input plugin. To learn how to install and update plugins, see [Working with plugins](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/reference/logstash/working-with-plugins).