We use Cribl for multiple purposes. One key use is migration to Splunk Cloud. Traditionally, we used Splunk as an intermediate forwarder but switched to Cribl for this role. Cribl collects and sends the logs directly to the cloud, forwarding all data to Splunk Cloud.

Another advantage is the ability to extract only the necessary data visually rather than handling it in Splunk's Props. You can see the changes you're making and directly onboard specific logs, avoiding the need to onboard all data.

Additionally, Cribl offers other valuable features. For instance, you can replay data from an edge device, store your daily data in a stream, and replay specific event data into Splunk if a security incident occurs. This targeted replay allows for analysis without onboarding all data into Splunk, providing a significant cost-saving benefit.

You deploy the pops and see it effectively on the page. There are functions that you can deploy in the pipeline, and you can sample that particular function. For instance, if I'm deploying a function like an A or JSON function, I can test it live before deploying it into production. This allows us to play with the data and verify if the outcome is as expected, ensuring that the processed data matches the anticipated raw data amount.

Additionally, if you want to push an upgrade in the recent four-star version, you can update all other worker groups directly from the master rather than updating each part separately. You can instruct the master to push the update to all other workers, eliminating the need to push the update to individual nodes.

Cribl has a good community base, but unlike some vendors like Splunk, which has many TAs, Cribl doesn't have as many packs available. They need to focus on developing more custom packs for various vendors so that their solutions can be used more effectively. This will help users identify which logs are necessary and which are not.

I have been using Cribl for the past three years. We are using the V4.1.2 of the solution.

Cribl is a pretty stable product.

Support is quite good. If you notice an issue and report a case, they respond promptly. If there is a problem, they raise it internally, develop a fix, and push it to production immediately. Their turnaround time is also critical.

The initial setup is easy if it is planned.

It's cheaper than Splunk.

Cribl has had a positive impact on reducing the need for multiple support services. It simplifies collecting log data from various cloud vendors in a single place, which is much easier than configuring, managing, and maintaining a database for a Splunk add-on. Cribl has made it easier to handle log data.

It takes about two months to get fully up to speed. Cribl provides free training and offers sandboxes for practice, allowing you to gain the necessary knowledge. Once trained, you can start working right away.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

In my previous organization, I did not get a very good opportunity to explore Cribl. Right now, I am in a different company. I have started to use the tool for my client. I started using Cirbl in my company to leverage Splunk's licenses. We use Cribl to massage the data, trim it, reduce it, and drop any unwanted data. It has been really worth it to have Cribl in our environment to save on Splunk licenses. Also, it is easy to connect the different sources, and you can create the routes. So you can connect from anywhere to anywhere. It is like a connector between the clouds or any kind of source and the Splunk. There are a lot of things, so I am still learning Cribl. Cribl is giving its certifications for free and has not yet started charging people for it. I think it has been seven years since Cribl has come into the boom. I also registered for the next level of courses with Cribl since it is free and is also used widely across companies. Most of the companies are using Cribl right now. After Cisco acquired Splunk, I believe Splunk's licensing costs might increase. People who already have a Splunk environment in their companies or organizations might expect a rise in price because it is merged with Cisco. In the future, Splunk's certification costs will also go high. I think Cribl will come into the picture, and people with Cribl's experience will have good opportunities.

Currently, cyber threats, security threats, and vulnerabilities have become more common. Every day, you see more than two or three vulnerabilities coming out, and every company is thinking about its security. When every organization thinks about its security, it expands its security devices, such as firewalls, EDR devices, or whatever devices are related to security. Companies are expanding their security solutions in their data centers or cloud platforms. What is happening is that because of these security devices, people are unable to ignore any kind of log that is coming into our environment. When you talk about security devices, the amount of data they produce per hour, five minutes, or per day is huge. As the entire world is moving towards cybersecurity to protect their environment, the number of security devices in the environment is also increasing. A lot of logs and huge data are coming into the picture, and companies have to think about every log. They don't have or are not able to ignore any log, so when this is the case, companies might have 10 TB or 10 GB per day invested into Splunk. In the future, if you want to secure your environment and you are installing security devices, you will have a burst of logs. If you have to purchase 30 TB of license with Splunk, but in Cribl, everything can be managed within 15 TB of license or 20 TB of license. I can leverage all the security logs talking to the security teams that can be ignored and even the ones that cannot be ignored.

As of now, there are some environments where some organizations are still on legacy infrastructure, so they are still in virtual environments and are using old versions of devices. Some companies bought Splunk, while others bought Cribl for a very low-priced license. There are some protocols to connect from Cribl to Splunk. I understand Cribl has come into the market very recently, but the tool might have had a picture in its mind where organizations might also have some legacy infrastructure. In the future, with our protocols or our level of architecture, Cribl should not come and say that it is not compatible with them. If Cribl is the reason because I have to change my environment, then I will have to end up investing more.

There are some organizations where the end machines have forwarders that forward the data to Cribl, and from it, the data is forwarded to Splunk. This is how general architecture works. There are two methods of connection between Cribl and Splunk. One is the S2S protocol, which collects logs from Cribl or sends data between Cribl and Splunk. There is another method called HTTP Event Collector (HEC) and HTTPS protocol. With Cribl, connecting to Splunk mostly uses the S2S protocol. The tool supports all the latest devices and platform devices, like all the latest operating systems. There are some organizations where there is legacy infrastructure or if they are still on the old platforms. Companies using old platforms have to consider HTTP Event Collector (HEC), and then they have to change their infrastructure setup in order to fulfill that setup. In order to have Google and Splunk set up in my organization, if I have to change my existing infrastructure connectivity or setup, that might incur more cost or more investment for me to have Cribl and Splunk. Cribl should provide compatibility, or else the tool's developers should speak to the people of such organizations and understand the challenges. Cribl could have developed some version that can give backward compatibility.

I have been using Cribl for two years. I am a user of the tool.

I think it is a stable product. According to my observations, people who have five to six years of experience can add more value. However, you will have bugs in any product. You will never know what happens. I rate the stability an eight out of ten.

I never got the chance to contact the solution's technical support, but my counterpart, who is a direct employee in the company, had contacted Cribl's support team, and it seems we get pretty good support.

I never used anything before Cribl.

When it comes to the product's installation phase, it is not tough for people who have good knowledge. I would like to highlight a similarity between Splunk and Cribl. Their official site's documentation makes even a layman's job easy. Just following the documentation, they can install the tool, but they still have to do it under some supervision.

The solution is deployed on the cloud and on an on-premises model. When you talk to the tool's global support, you can have the cloud version provided as a SaaS solution, or you can also have an enterprise-level version where you can have it in your own environment. If you have your own data center setup, you can buy Cribl's enterprise version, and you can install it, so it all depends on the requirements.

The tool is worth the investment.

I would not say it is a cheaply priced tool as it has been doing wonders in the market. The tool has been budget-friendly for organizations. It would be good if people get into that data analytics area and understand the usage of Cribl and use it wisely. I wouldn't say it is a cheap product or it is of a higher price. I would say it is really a helpful tool for any mid-level company.

I am not really sure if there are any competitors to Cribl at the moment. I would say Cribl had used its marketing strategy in a better way to advertise its brand than its competitors, and maybe that is why every company thought about it more. I did not see that much advertisement from Datadog. Most of the people still don't know about Datadog.

Datadog is famous for application performance monitoring. I would disagree with those who use it to reduce their costs, as most people would prefer to use Cribl. Cribl's major agenda is to reduce the need for Splunk licenses.

In my company, Splunk’s team uses Cribl to reduce its current number of licenses. My client does not have a very big IT infrastructure, so they have a very small infrastructure, and that may be why more people are not using it. In my previous organization, there were a lot of people who were using Cribl, where they could log their data easily.

If your organization has a lot of security data and wants to expand cybersecurity to protect your organization, and if you are using Splunk and want to reduce Splunk licenses, as Splunk has been in the market for a longer time, I recommend using Cribl. Cribl is also expanding its technology into observability and can also show dashboards or do some data analytics like that. If you talk about expenditures or investments, like if a company has a lot of money to invest, then it is okay. If a company has a very low budget, then it is good to start off with Cribl for data analytics.

For beginners, Cribl would be a tough subject because before using the tool, they need to understand the cloud, AWS, and the different data sources. Beginners won't understand what AWS or S3 is, why they need to connect them both, why they have to reduce the logs, or what the use of logs is. Cribl can be a tough subject for a person or a fresher who just passed out of college. It also depends on the background of the person using the tool. For example, if someone has taken computer networks as a major subject or has a specialization in networks, cloud management, or cloud computing, using Cribl would be a cakewalk.

You totally need to understand why you need Cribl, and so it all depends on your requirements. If my requirement is to work on log analytics, I would rate Cribl a nine out of ten. If my company is not much worried about the data analytics concept, then I would not use Cribl. Overall, I rate the tool a nine out of ten.