Lab
Cloud

Encrypt the Elasticsearch Transport Network

No matter what technology we are working with, we always need to be mindful of security. Big data platforms are certainly no exception, as they can contain massive amounts of sensitive data that must be protected. Elasticsearch has made securing your cluster very easy with native security configurations and tools to ensure that your data is only accessible to authorized users. In this hands-on lab, you will do the following: * Encrypt the transport network of an Elasticsearch cluster * Enable user authentication in Elasticsearch * Set built-in Elasticsearch user passwords

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Path Info

Level

Intermediate

Duration

1h 30m

Last updated

May 12, 2025

Challenge

Configure transport network encryption.

Using the Secure Shell (SSH), log in to each node as cloud_user via the public IP address.

Become the root user with:

sudo su -

Add the following to /etc/elasticsearch/elasticsearch.yml on each node:

# --------------------------------- Security -----------------------------------
#
xpack.security.enabled: true
xpack.security.transport.ssl.enabled: true
xpack.security.transport.ssl.verification_mode: certificate
xpack.security.transport.ssl.keystore.path: certificate.p12
xpack.security.transport.ssl.truststore.path: certificate.p12

Challenge

Restart Elasticsearch.
Start Elasticsearch with:
```
systemctl start elasticsearch
```

Challenge

Set the password for each built-in user.

Set the built-in user passwords using the elasticsearch-setup-passwords utility on the master-1 node:

/usr/share/elasticsearch/bin/elasticsearch-setup-passwords interactive

Use the following passwords:

User: elastic
Password: elastic_566

User: apm_system
Password: apm_system_566

User: kibana
Password: kibana_566

User: logstash_system
Password: logstash_system_566

User: beats_system
Password: beats_system_566

User: remote_monitoring_user
Password: remote_monitoring_user_566

Author

Pluralsight Skills

Pluralsight Skills gives leaders confidence they have the skills needed to execute technology strategy. Technology teams can benchmark expertise across roles, speed up release cycles and build reliable, secure products. By leveraging our expert content, skill assessments and one-of-a-kind analytics, keep up with the pace of change, put the right people on the right projects and boost productivity. It's the most effective path to developing tech skills at scale.

What's a lab?

Hands-on Labs are real environments created by industry experts to help you learn. These environments help you gain knowledge and experience, practice without compromising your system, test without risk, destroy without fear, and let you learn from your mistakes. Hands-on Labs: practice your skills before delivering in the real world.

Provided environment for hands-on practice

We will provide the credentials and environment necessary for you to practice right within your browser.

Guided walkthrough

Follow along with the author’s guided walkthrough and build something new in your provided environment!

Did you know?

On average, you retain 75% more of your learning if you get time for practice.

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