Install Vector via MSI

MSI refers to the file format and command line utility for the Windows Installer. Windows Installer (previously known as Microsoft Installer) is an interface for Microsoft Windows that is used to install and manage software on Windows systems. This page will cover installing and managing Vector through the MSI package repository.

Installation

0.11.X
Vector daemon deployment strategyVector daemon deployment strategy
1. Your service logs to STDOUT
STDOUT follows the 12 factor principles.
2. STDOUT is captured
STDOUT is captured by your platform.
3. Vector collects & fans-out data
Vector collects data from your platform.

The agent role is designed to collect all data on a single host. Vector runs as a background process and interfaces with a host-level APIs for data collection. By default, Vector will collect logs via Vector's file source and metrics via the host_metrics source, but it is recommended to adjust your pipeline as necessary using Vector's sources, transforms, and sinks.

  1. Install Vector

    powershell Invoke-WebRequest https://packages.timber.io/vector/0.11.X/vector-x64.msi -OutFile vector-0.11.X-x64.msi && \
        msiexec /i vector-0.11.X-x64.msi /quiet

  2. Configure Vector

    cat <<-VECTORCFG > C:\Program Files\Vector\config\vector.toml
    # Vector's API for introspection
    [api]
    enabled = true
    address = "127.0.0.1:8686"
    

    # Host-level logs
    [sources.logs]
    type = "file"
    include = [ "/var/log/**/*.log" ]
    

    # Host-level metrics (cpu, memory, disk, etc)
    [sources.host_metrics]
    type = "host_metrics"
    

    # Vector's own internal metrics
    [sources.internal_metrics]
    type = "internal_metrics"
    

    # --> Add transforms here to parse, enrich, and process data
    

    # print all events, replace this with your desired sink(s)
    # https://vector.dev/docs/reference/sinks/
    [sinks.out]
    type = "console"
    inputs = [ "logs", "host_metrics", "internal_metrics" ]
    encoding.codec = "json"
    VECTORCFG

  3. Start Vector

    C:\Program Files\Vector\bin\vector --config C:\Program Files\Vector\config\vector.toml

  4. Observe Vector

    vector top
    explain this command

Deployment

Vector is an end-to-end observability data platform designed to deploy under various roles. You mix and match these roles to create topologies. The intent is to make Vector as flexible as possible, allowing you to fluidly integrate Vector into your infrastructure over time. The deployment section demonstrates common Vector topologies:

Common Deployment Topologies

Administration

0.11.X

Start

C:\Program Files\Vector\bin\vector --config C:\Program Files\Vector\config\vector.toml
explain this command

Observe

vector top
explain this command

Uninstall

0.11.X
msiexec /x {7FAD6F97-D84E-42CC-A600-5F4EC3460FF5} /quiet
explain this command
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