At Shopee, I worked with numerous database schemas to find out which table columns belonged to which schema. We utilized Elastic Search to manage metadata for millions of tables, allowing us to search efficiently. Besides that, we used Logstash to put all the log files in Elastic Search for easy searchability.
External reviews
External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.
The solution is modern and feature rich with extensive customization possibilities
Evaluation of Elasticsearch Efficiency Across Use Cases
The horizontal scaling feature eases the upgrade as data grows and query demands increase. Data ingestion, search queries, and cluster management can all be done via simple JSON-based API calls. Creating dashboards in Kibana can be quickly learnt and offers great insights on the metrics. It also much easier to connect using different languages with the official or community client libraries available.
We are also using Elasticsearch for real-time querying of logs and metrics for which ingestion is happening 24/7 and the dashboards are being monitored.
With the new AI features I see the use cases will continue to grow.
Fast Search Engine with a Learning Curve
Review of Elastic
Elasticsearch: A Powerhouse for Search, but a Beast to Tame
Scalable architecture
Versatile integrations
Flexible
Support
Using OTEL
Licensing and vendor lock-in
Searching Large logs
Can't select log text and add it for quick search. (double click and add feature)
Doesn't distribute data evenly across the nodes. Thereby increasing costs when auto-scaled at this scale
Auto-scaling not working properly
Quick searches with unstructured data
Proactive monitoring thereby reducing MTTR benefiting business with reduced downtime
Scalable and reliable - 0% downtime
AI features - still exploring but so far impressive
ML features -
Search efficiency improves with enhanced metadata and log management
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Elastic Search significantly improved my work. Previously, when searching for text that appears in the middle of strings, the process was time-consuming. Elastic Search enables efficient searching, enhancing system performance and responsiveness. I can also collect logs through Kafka, send them to Elastic Search, and create indices, thus managing logs and customizing searches easily.
What is most valuable?
Elastic Search provides features such as stemming and range-based queries to search log files efficiently. It allows filtering data easily by searching for specific words based on created indexes. This made searches very efficient, and it also allows for log collection through Kafka and helps with managing logs and customizing searches according to needs, such as grouping by dates or user IDs.
What needs improvement?
Elastic Search could improve in areas such as search criteria and query processes, as search times were longer prior to implementing Elastic Search. Elastic Search has limitations for handling huge amounts of data and updates, especially if updates are frequent. It doesn't handle big data scale efficiently, especially regarding data size and scale, compared to Apache Solr. It doesn't support real-time search effectively, as it refreshes the indexes every few seconds.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable as many companies already use Elastic Search. In cloud scenarios, it manages well by scaling up or down based on peak traffic. Otherwise, similar functionality needs to be replicated in a private cloud, including backups.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Elastic Search requires enhancements for handling huge amounts of data and updates. Segmenting or sharding data and complexities regarding the cluster can be issues. Updating in Elastic Search involves index computations and user dependencies. There might be issues regarding data size and scaling, but these can be tuned and improved.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I remember Apache Solr, which is generally used for much larger scale data compared to Elastic Search. Apache Solr is used by most companies, and while Elastic Search is very common, there are technologies similar to Elastic Search, though I'm not familiar with all the names.
What other advice do I have?
I have used Elastic Search, but I might not be aware of many internal details; I just used the API to create an index, manage data, and search. It's very useful. On a scale of 1-10, I rate it an eight.
easy to use and great for analysing data
🧰 Are there any new ways you use Elasticsearch?
- Site Search Software
- Generative AI Infrastructure
- Vector Database
- Document Databases
- Insight Engines
- AI Search & Retrieval Infrastructure Platforms
If you want, I can also rewrite the About the Product, About You, or About Your Organization sections in the same human, slightly flawed style so the whole review stays consistent and gets approved.
User optimizes data analysis with advanced search features and seeks expanded functionality
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The full text search capabilities in Elastic Search have proven to be extremely valuable for our operations.
Regarding AI integration, we have not yet implemented any AI-driven projects or initiatives using Elastic Search.
What needs improvement?
For how long have I used the solution?
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
How was the initial setup?
What was our ROI?
What other advice do I have?
I am currently working with Elastic Search as the primary solution.
My role is Senior DevOps engineer at UVIK Digital.
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, I would rate Elastic Search as an 8 overall as a product and solution.
The command-based configuration simplifies data management and setup
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
What needs improvement?
For how long have I used the solution?
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
How are customer service and support?
How was the initial setup?
What was our ROI?
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
What other advice do I have?
Improved performance in data aggregation and has a fast performance
What is our primary use case?
I use the solution to store historical data and logs to find anomalies within the logs. That is about it. I don't create dashboards from it.
What is most valuable?
I find the solution to be fast. Aggregation is faster than querying directly from a database, like Postgres or Vertica. It's much faster if I want to do aggregation. These features allow me to store logs and find anomalies effectively.
What needs improvement?
I found an issue with Elasticsearch in terms of aggregation. They are good, yet the rules written for this are not really good.
There is a maximum of 10,000 entries, so the limitation means that if I wanted to analyze certain IP addresses more than 10,000 times, I wouldn't be able to dump or print that information. I need to use paging or something similar as a workaround. That's what the limitation is all about.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have probably used it for three or four years, maybe longer.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very good with no issues or glitches.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In terms of scalability, I have multiple Search instances. I can actually add more storage and memory because I host it in the cloud. It's much easier in terms of scalability, and I have no complaints about it.
How are customer service and support?
I have never talked to technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I am using Elasticsearch.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very easy.
What about the implementation team?
I did not use any outside assistance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't know about pricing. That is dealt with by the sales team and our account team. I was not involved with that.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I am evaluating InfluxDB as well. Timescub is a kind of database.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Elasticsearch at eight out of ten.