Briefly, this error occurs when Elasticsearch is unable to execute bulk operations due to reasons like insufficient memory, incorrect data format, or a network issue. To resolve this, you can increase the JVM heap size to provide more memory, ensure the data being indexed is in the correct format, or check your network connectivity. Also, consider breaking down your bulk request into smaller chunks to reduce the load on the server.
This guide will help you check for common problems that cause the log ” error executing bulk ” to appear. To understand the issues related to this log, read the explanation below about the following Elasticsearch concepts: plugin, bulk.
Overview
In Elasticsearch, when using the Bulk API it is possible to perform many write operations in a single API call, which increases the indexing speed. Using the Bulk API is more efficient than sending multiple separate requests. This can be done for the following four actions:
- Index
- Update
- Create
- Delete
Examples
The bulk request below will index a document, delete another document, and update an existing document.
POST _bulk
{ "index" : { "_index" : "myindex", "_id" : "1" } }
{ "field1" : "value" }
{ "delete" : { "_index" : "myindex", "_id" : "2" } }
{ "update" : {"_id" : "1", "_index" : "myindex"} }
{ "doc" : {"field2" : "value5"} }Notes
- Bulk API is useful when you need to index data streams that can be queued up and indexed in batches of hundreds or thousands, such as logs.
- There is no correct number of actions or limits to perform on a single bulk call, but you will need to figure out the optimum number by experimentation, given the cluster size, number of nodes, hardware specs etc.
Log Context
Log “error executing bulk” classname is Watcher.java.
We extracted the following from Elasticsearch source code for those seeking an in-depth context :
}
}
@Override
public void afterBulk(long executionId; BulkRequest request; Exception failure) {
logger.error("error executing bulk"; failure);
}
}; client.threadPool())
.setFlushInterval(SETTING_BULK_FLUSH_INTERVAL.get(settings))
.setBulkActions(SETTING_BULK_ACTIONS.get(settings))
.setBulkSize(SETTING_BULK_SIZE.get(settings))
