Elasticsearch for Apache Hadoop 2.1 is a general availability release that enhances Hadoop workflows with a real-time search and analytics engine, built on feedback from four successful beta versions. This release introduces significant improvements, including native integration with Apache Spark and Storm, enabling efficient indexing and analysis of data directly from Spark and exposing Elasticsearch as a Spout or Bolt in Storm topologies. It also includes security enhancements, such as SSL/TLS encryption and PKI authentication, and introduces Elasticsearch-on-YARN for deploying clusters within a YARN environment. The update supports Spark versions 1.0 through 1.4 and offers enhanced functionality like JSON document returns, document metadata retrieval, and selective field inclusion/exclusion for data transformation. The release maintains backward compatibility and is certified with major platforms like CDH, HDP, and MapR, providing users with a single JAR file for straightforward upgrades and no external dependencies.