IBM Cloud Object Storage

IBM Cloud Long-Term Storage

Synopsis

Creates a target that writes log messages to IBM Cloud Object Storage buckets with support for various file formats and authentication methods. The target handles large file uploads efficiently with configurable rotation based on size or event count.

Schema

- name: <string>
  description: <string>
  type: ibmcos
  pipelines: <pipeline[]>
  status: <boolean>
  properties:
    key: <string>
    secret: <string>
    region: <string>
    endpoint: <string>
    part_size: <numeric>
    bucket: <string>
    buckets:
      - bucket: <string>
        name: <string>
        format: <string>
        compression: <string>
        extension: <string>
        schema: <string>
    name: <string>
    format: <string>
    compression: <string>
    extension: <string>
    schema: <string>
    max_size: <numeric>
    batch_size: <numeric>
    timeout: <numeric>
    field_format: <string>
    interval: <string|numeric>
    cron: <string>
    debug:
      status: <boolean>
      dont_send_logs: <boolean>

Configuration

The following fields are used to define the target:

Field	Required	Default	Description
name	Y		Target name
description	N	-	Optional description
type	Y		Must be ibmcos
pipelines	N	-	Optional post-processor pipelines
status	N	true	Enable/disable the target

IBM Cloud Object Storage Credentials

Field	Required	Default	Description
key	Y	-	IBM Cloud Object Storage HMAC access key ID
secret	Y	-	IBM Cloud Object Storage HMAC secret access key
region	Y	-	IBM Cloud region (e.g., us-south, eu-gb, jp-tok)
endpoint	Y	-	IBM COS endpoint URL (e.g., https://s3.us-south.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud)

Connection

Field	Required	Default	Description
part_size	N	5	Multipart upload part size in megabytes (minimum 5MB)
timeout	N	30	Connection timeout in seconds
field_format	N	-	Data normalization format. See applicable Normalization section

Files

Field	Required	Default	Description
bucket	N*	-	Default IBM COS bucket name (used if buckets not specified)
buckets	N*	-	Array of bucket configurations for file distribution
buckets.bucket	Y	-	IBM COS bucket name
buckets.name	Y	-	File name template
buckets.format	N	"json"	Output format: json, multijson, avro, parquet
buckets.compression	N	-	Compression algorithm. See Compression below
buckets.extension	N	Matches format	File extension override
buckets.schema	N*	-	Schema definition file path (required for Avro and Parquet formats)
name	N	"vmetric.{{.Timestamp}}.{{.Extension}}"	Default file name template when buckets not used
format	N	"json"	Default output format when buckets not used
compression	N	-	Default compression when buckets not used
extension	N	Matches format	Default file extension when buckets not used
schema	N	-	Default schema path when buckets not used
max_size	N	0	Maximum file size in bytes before rotation
batch_size	N	100000	Maximum number of messages per file

* = Either bucket or buckets must be specified. When using buckets, schema is conditionally required for Avro and Parquet formats.

note

When max_size is reached, the current file is uploaded to IBM COS and a new file is created. For unlimited file size, set the field to 0.

Scheduler

Field	Required	Default	Description
interval	N	realtime	Execution frequency. See Interval for details
cron	N	-	Cron expression for scheduled execution. See Cron for details

Debug Options

Field	Required	Default	Description
debug.status	N	false	Enable debug logging
debug.dont_send_logs	N	false	Process logs but don't send to target (testing)

Details

The IBM Cloud Object Storage target provides enterprise-grade cloud storage integration with comprehensive file format support. IBM COS offers high durability (99.999999999%), security features, and flexible storage classes for cost optimization.

Authentication

Requires IBM Cloud Object Storage HMAC credentials. HMAC credentials can be created through the IBM Cloud console and provide programmatic access to COS buckets.

Endpoint Configuration

IBM Cloud Object Storage uses region-specific endpoints. The endpoint format is typically https://s3.<region>.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud where <region> corresponds to your chosen IBM Cloud region.

Available Regions

IBM Cloud Object Storage is available in multiple regions worldwide:

Region Code	Location
us-south	Dallas, USA
us-east	Washington DC, USA
eu-gb	London, UK
eu-de	Frankfurt, Germany
jp-tok	Tokyo, Japan
au-syd	Sydney, Australia

File Formats

Format	Description
json	Each log entry is written as a separate JSON line (JSONL format)
multijson	All log entries are written as a single JSON array
avro	Apache Avro format with schema
parquet	Apache Parquet columnar format with schema

Compression

Some formats support built-in compression to reduce storage costs and transfer times. When supported, compression is applied at the file/block level before upload.

Format	Default	Compression Codecs
JSON	-	Not supported
MultiJSON	-	Not supported
Avro	zstd	deflate, snappy, zstd
Parquet	zstd	gzip, snappy, zstd, brotli, lz4

File Management

Files are rotated based on size (max_size parameter) or event count (batch_size parameter), whichever limit is reached first. Template variables in file names enable dynamic file naming for time-based partitioning.

Bucket Routing

The target supports flexible bucket routing through pipeline configuration or explicit bucket settings:

Configuration-based routing: Define multiple buckets in the target configuration, each with its own format, compression, and schema settings. Logs are routed to specific buckets based on configuration.

Pipeline-based routing: Use the bucket field in pipeline processors to dynamically route logs to different buckets at runtime. This enables conditional routing based on log content, source, or other attributes.

Catch-all routing: When a log doesn't match any specific bucket configuration or when no bucket field is set in the pipeline, logs are routed to the catch-all bucket (configured via the bucket field in target properties).

Routing priority:

1. Pipeline bucket field (highest priority)
2. Configured buckets in buckets array (if bucket name matches)
3. Default bucket field (catch-all, lowest priority)

This multi-level routing enables flexible data distribution strategies, such as routing different log types to different buckets based on content analysis, source system, severity level, or any other runtime decision.

Templates

The following template variables can be used in file names:

Variable	Description	Example
{{.Year}}	Current year	2024
{{.Month}}	Current month	01
{{.Day}}	Current day	15
{{.Timestamp}}	Current timestamp in nanoseconds	1703688533123456789
{{.Format}}	File format	json
{{.Extension}}	File extension	json
{{.Compression}}	Compression type	zstd
{{.TargetName}}	Target name	my_logs
{{.TargetType}}	Target type	ibmcos
{{.Table}}	Bucket name	logs

Multipart Upload

Large files automatically use multipart upload protocol with configurable part size (part_size parameter). Default 5MB part size balances upload efficiency and memory usage.

Multiple Buckets

Single target can write to multiple IBM COS buckets with different configurations, enabling data distribution strategies (e.g., raw data to one bucket, processed data to another).

Schema Requirements

Avro and Parquet formats require schema definition files. Schema files must be accessible at the path specified in the schema parameter during target initialization.

Storage Classes

IBM Cloud Object Storage supports multiple storage classes for cost optimization. Choose the appropriate class based on data access patterns and retention requirements.

Examples

Basic Configuration

The minimum configuration for a JSON IBM COS target:

targets:
  - name: basic_ibm_cos
    type: ibmcos
    properties:
      key: "0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef"
      secret: "fedcba9876543210fedcba9876543210fedcba98"
      region: "us-south"
      endpoint: "https://s3.us-south.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud"
      bucket: "datastream-logs"

Multiple Buckets

Configuration for distributing data across multiple IBM COS buckets with different formats:

targets:
  - name: multi_bucket_export
    type: ibmcos
    properties:
      key: "0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef"
      secret: "fedcba9876543210fedcba9876543210fedcba98"
      region: "eu-gb"
      endpoint: "https://s3.eu-gb.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud"
      buckets:
        - bucket: "raw-data-archive"
          name: "raw-{{.Year}}-{{.Month}}-{{.Day}}.json"
          format: "multijson"
          compression: "gzip"
        - bucket: "analytics-data"
          name: "analytics-{{.Year}}/{{.Month}}/{{.Day}}/data_{{.Timestamp}}.parquet"
          format: "parquet"
          schema: "<schema definition>"
          compression: "snappy"

Multiple Buckets with Catch-All

Configuration for routing different log types to specific buckets with a catch-all for unmatched logs:

targets:
  - name: multi_bucket_routing
    type: ibmcos
    properties:
      key: "0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef"
      secret: "fedcba9876543210fedcba9876543210fedcba98"
      region: "us-south"
      endpoint: "https://s3.us-south.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud"
      buckets:
        - bucket: "security-logs"
          name: "security-{{.Year}}-{{.Month}}-{{.Day}}.json"
          format: "json"
        - bucket: "application-logs"
          name: "app-{{.Year}}-{{.Month}}-{{.Day}}.json"
          format: "json"
      bucket: "general-logs"
      name: "general-{{.Timestamp}}.json"
      format: "json"

Parquet Format

Configuration for daily partitioned Parquet files:

targets:
  - name: parquet_analytics
    type: ibmcos
    properties:
      key: "0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef"
      secret: "fedcba9876543210fedcba9876543210fedcba98"
      region: "jp-tok"
      endpoint: "https://s3.jp-tok.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud"
      bucket: "analytics-lake"
      name: "events/year={{.Year}}/month={{.Month}}/day={{.Day}}/part-{{.Timestamp}}.parquet"
      format: "parquet"
      schema: "<schema definition>"
      compression: "snappy"
      max_size: 536870912

High Reliability

Configuration with enhanced settings:

targets:
  - name: reliable_ibm_cos
    type: ibmcos
    pipelines:
      - checkpoint
    properties:
      key: "0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef"
      secret: "fedcba9876543210fedcba9876543210fedcba98"
      region: "us-east"
      endpoint: "https://s3.us-east.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud"
      bucket: "critical-logs"
      name: "logs-{{.Timestamp}}.json"
      format: "json"
      timeout: 60
      part_size: 10

With Field Normalization

Using field normalization for standard format:

targets:
  - name: normalized_ibm_cos
    type: ibmcos
    properties:
      key: "0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef"
      secret: "fedcba9876543210fedcba9876543210fedcba98"
      region: "eu-de"
      endpoint: "https://s3.eu-de.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud"
      bucket: "normalized-logs"
      name: "logs-{{.Timestamp}}.json"
      format: "json"
      field_format: "cim"

Debug Configuration

Configuration with debugging enabled:

targets:
  - name: debug_ibm_cos
    type: ibmcos
    properties:
      key: "0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef"
      secret: "fedcba9876543210fedcba9876543210fedcba98"
      region: "au-syd"
      endpoint: "https://s3.au-syd.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud"
      bucket: "test-logs"
      name: "test-{{.Timestamp}}.json"
      format: "json"
      debug:
        status: true
        dont_send_logs: true