Skip to main content

Architecture

Elasticsearch operates as a distributed system with the following key components:

  • Cluster: A collection of one or more nodes that together hold your entire data

  • Node: A single server that is part of your cluster, stores data, and participates in indexing and search capabilities

  • Index: A collection of documents with similar characteristics

  • Shard: A subset of an index that can be distributed across multiple nodes

  • Replica: A copy of a shard that provides redundancy and increases search capacity

System Requirements​

Hardware Requirements

  • Memory: Minimum 8GB RAM, recommended 32GB+ for production

  • CPU: Multi-core processors recommended (4+ cores)

  • Storage: SSD storage highly recommended for production workloads

  • Network: Gigabit network connectivity for multi-node clusters

Software Requirements​

  • Operating System: Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+, CentOS 8+, RHEL 8+), macOS, Windows

  • Java: OpenJDK 21 or Oracle JDK 21 (bundled with Elasticsearch)

  • Available Ports: 9200 (HTTP), 9300 (transport)