Apm-server

Apm-server is the server receives data from the Elastic APM agents and stores the data into a datastore like Elasticsearch.

Overview

The APM Server receives data from APM agents and transforms them into Elasticsearch documents.

It works by exposing an HTTP server to which agents post the APM data they collect.

APM Server is built with the Beats framework, and as such it leverages its functionality.

Security

APM Server exposes an HTTP endpoint and as with anything that opens ports on your servers, you should be careful about who can connect to it. Firewall rules are recommended to ensure only authorized systems can connect.

Secret token

You can configure a secret token to authorize requests to the APM Server, and ensure that only your agents can send data to your APM servers. Both the agents and the APM servers have to be configured with the same secret token.

Note

Secret tokens provide security only when used in combination with SSL/TLS. Secret tokens are not applicable for RUM, as they would be publicly exposed.