In this meetup, we'll do a deeper dive into using and writing regular expressions within grok filters that parse log lines in Logstash. Do NOT tell your business bosses this is what you'll be doing at this meetup, however. And, do not show them what RegEx looks like! Their eyes may glaze over, and they may start avoiding you in the hallways and at the water cooler. Instead, tell them that we're practicing how to convert unreadable raw data from machines into Elastic search, where it becomes actionable business information poised to help the company be stronger, smarter, faster. (If you have a white board handy, draw a revenue chart that looks like a hockey stick; you'll have a new golfing pal!) In all seriousness: Our regional Elastic techno-wonk, Mike H, has developed a fascinating presentation about how to bend Logstash to do your will, how to grok/regex a custom log file format, how not to worry when log lines fail to parse, and how to make log data balance a ball on its nose and do cute party tricks... Mike will do a hands-on demo and take questions. You'll also get copies of the data for your own machinations and amusement as well. Here are some links to preview beforehand, for the so motivated: https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/logstash/current/plugins-filters-grok.html (no warranty about these, but they look neat):
