Pros and cons of five enterprise-ready log forwarding patterns

Distributed logging often involves sending application logs directly to a backend, but this can lead to issues such as backpressure, latencies, and network connectivity problems. To address these challenges, decoupling the log forwarder from the application can enhance system reliability. This approach allows for complex processing to occur separately, provides flexibility with buffering, and supports various network protocols and output formats. Five enterprise-ready patterns for log forwarding are discussed, emphasizing the use of tools like Fluentd and Fluent Bit for integration with logging backends like New Relic. The patterns range from co-located forwarders using file tailers or sockets to separately located forwarders with load balancing, each with its advantages and potential drawbacks. Additionally, log interpretation and routing patterns can be applied to enrich, filter, and route logs strategically. The article highlights the importance of a resilient logging infrastructure to handle anomalies and ensure observability, offering practical configurations and considerations for selecting and deploying log forwarders.