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[[configuration-general]]
=== General

The general section of the +{beatname_lc}.yml+ config file contains configuration options for the Beat and some
general settings that control its behaviour.

Here is an example configuration:

[source,yaml]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
name: "my-shipper"
tags: ["service-X", "web-tier"]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

==== General Options

You can specify the following options:

===== name

The name of the Beat. If this option is empty, the `hostname` of the server is
used. The name is included as the `beat.name` field in each published transaction. You can
use the name to group all transactions sent by a single Beat.

Example:

[source,yaml]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
name: "my-shipper"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

===== tags

A list of tags that the Beat includes in the `tags` field of each published
transaction. Tags make it easy to group servers by different logical properties.
For example, if you have a cluster of web servers, you can add the "webservers"
tag to the Beat on each server, and then use filters and queries in the Kibana
web interface to get visualisations for the whole group of servers.

Example:

[source,yaml]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
tags: ["my-service", "hardware", "test"]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[libbeat-configuration-fields]]
===== fields

Optional fields that you can specify to add additional information to the
output. Fields can be scalar values, arrays, dictionaries, or any nested
combination of these. By default, the fields that you specify here will be
grouped under a `fields` sub-dictionary in the output document. To store the
custom fields as top-level fields, set the `fields_under_root` option to true.

Example:

[source,yaml]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
fields: {project: "myproject", instance-id: "574734885120952459"}
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

===== fields_under_root

If this option is set to true, the custom <<libbeat-configuration-fields>> are
stored as top-level fields in the output document instead of being grouped under
a `fields` sub-dictionary. If the custom field names conflict with other field
names, then the custom fields overwrite the other fields.

Example:

[source,yaml]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
fields_under_root: true
fields:
  instance_id: i-10a64379
  region: us-east-1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

===== refresh_topology_freq

deprecated[5.0.0]

The refresh interval of the topology map in
seconds. In other words, this setting specifies how often each Beat publishes its
IP addresses to the topology map. The default is 10 seconds.

===== topology_expire

deprecated[5.0.0]

The expiration time for the topology in seconds. This is useful in case a Beat
stops publishing its IP addresses. The IP addresses are removed automatically
from the topology map after expiration.

This setting is used only by the Redis output. The other outputs don't support
expiring entries.

The default is 15 seconds.

===== queue_size

The internal queue size for single events in the processing pipeline. The default
value is 1000.

===== bulk_queue_size

(DO NOT TOUCH) The internal queue size for bulk events in the processing pipeline. The default value is 0.

===== max_procs

Sets the maximum number of CPUs that can be executing simultaneously. The
default is the number of logical CPUs available in the system.

===== geoip.paths

deprecated[5.0.0, Please use the https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/plugins/master/ingest-geoip.html[Geoip processor in Ingest Node] or the https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/logstash/current/plugins-filters-geoip.html[Logstash GeoIP filter] instead]

This configuration option is currently used by Packetbeat only and it will be removed in version 6.0.

The paths to search for GeoIP databases. The Beat loads the first installed GeoIP database
that if finds. Then, for each transaction, the Beat exports the GeoIP location of the client.

The recommended values for geoip.paths are `/usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity.dat`
and `/usr/local/var/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity.dat`.

If no paths are configured, GeoIP is disabled.

Example:

[source,yaml]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
geoip:
  paths:
    - "/usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity.dat"
    - "/usr/local/var/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity.dat"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Important*: For GeoIP support to function correctly, the
https://dev.maxmind.com/geoip/legacy/geolite/[GeoLite City database] is required.


