# Configure filebeat as listening acceptor, logstash as initiator

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/configure-filebeat-as-listening-acceptor-logstash-as-initiator/145145>\
**Category:** Beats\
**Tags:** filebeat\
**Created:** [August 20, 2018, 11:07am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/configure-filebeat-as-listening-acceptor-logstash-as-initiator/145145 "2018-08-20T11:07:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![\_Alex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/54ee81/32.png) [@\_Alex](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/_Alex)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 11:07am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/configure-filebeat-as-listening-acceptor-logstash-as-initiator/145145/1 "2018-08-20T11:07:27Z")

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Hi all,

Is it possible to configure Filebeat to listen on a port and have Logstash connect to it, rather than the other way round?

In the configuration section of the docs, I can see Filebeat can be configured as an initiator:

```
 output.logstash:
  hosts: ["127.0.0.1:5044"]

```

Leaving off the port just uses the default, this suggests that Filebeat must be the initiator and Logstash the acceptor.

I am asking due to some corporate policies, the server where Filebeat is running cannot initiate outbound connectivity to our Logstash server.

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**Author:** ![pierhugues](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/pierhugues/32/48383_2.png) [@pierhugues](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/pierhugues)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/configure-filebeat-as-listening-acceptor-logstash-as-initiator/145145/2 "2018-08-21T17:50:21Z")

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@alex\_ this is not currently possible, Filebeat can only initiate a remote connection. This behavior is common because beats are usually installed on the edge machine with no port open and the collector (Logstash) cannot connect to them.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![\_Alex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/54ee81/32.png) [@\_Alex](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/_Alex)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/configure-filebeat-as-listening-acceptor-logstash-as-initiator/145145/3 "2018-08-21T19:40:51Z")

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OK - thanks for the information. I can rearchitect to ensure the logstash server is in a location where it can be accessed by filebeat.

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/configure-filebeat-as-listening-acceptor-logstash-as-initiator/145145/4 "2018-09-18T19:40:54Z")

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