> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.controlplane.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Fluentd

> Configure log shipping from Control Plane to a Fluentd endpoint over the forward protocol.

## Overview

[Fluentd](https://www.fluentd.org/) is an open source data collector that unifies log collection and consumption, commonly used to aggregate logs from many sources into a single destination.

Control Plane can ship org logs directly to a Fluentd endpoint using the [forward protocol](https://docs.fluentbit.io/manual/pipeline/outputs/forward).

Follow the steps below to configure log shipping to Fluentd.

## Step 1 - Prerequisites

* **Fluentd Endpoint**: A reachable hostname for your Fluentd server, configured to accept `forward` input.
* **Port**: Fluentd's forward input defaults to port `24224`.

## Step 2 - Configure External Logging

External logging can be configured by using either the [UI Console](#enable-logging-using-the-ui-console) or [CLI](#enable-logging-using-the-cli).

### Enable Logging using the UI Console

1. From the Control Plane Console UI, click on `Org` in the left menu.
2. Click `External Logs` in the middle context menu.
3. Select `Fluentd` and fill out the required fields.
4. Click `Save`.
5. After the configuration is complete, log entries will begin forwarding to your Fluentd endpoint within a few minutes.

### Enable Logging using the CLI

The external logging configuration can be created / updated using the CLI's `cpln org patch ORG_NAME -f FILE.yaml` command.

Below is an example of an [Org](/reference/org) manifest (in YAML). Edit and save the YAML as a file and use it as an input to the CLI's `cpln org patch ORG_NAME -f FILE.yaml` command.

* Substitute: `ORG_NAME`, `HOST_NAME`, and possibly the port.

```yaml YAML theme={null}
kind: org
name: ORG_NAME
spec:
  logging:
    fluentd:
      host: HOST_NAME
      port: 24224
```

* `host` - Required.
* `port` - Optional. Defaults to `24224`.