# ES 5.0 cluster question

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-5-0-cluster-question/64945>\
**Category:** Elasticsearch\
**Created:** [November 3, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-5-0-cluster-question/64945 "2016-11-03T20:36:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sbecker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f05b48/32.png) [@sbecker](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/sbecker)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-5-0-cluster-question/64945/1 "2016-11-03T20:36:42Z")

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I've just set a relk stack with 3 master nodes, 2 data nodes, and 1 client node that talks to kibana. All 6 nodes are in the cluster. I read that my logstash instances need to talk to the data nodes directly. The stack is functioning but I'm curious what role the 3 masters are playing if I'm talking directly to the data nodes?

Also, should my ES cluster be behind a proxy?

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**Author:** ![warkolm](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/warkolm/32/39224_2.png) [@warkolm](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/warkolm)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 8:39pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-5-0-cluster-question/64945/2 "2016-11-03T20:39:47Z")

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If you have clients, let LS talk to them.

> [@sbecker](#):
>
> what role the 3 masters are playing

They provide stability and resilience for your cluster.

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**Author:** ![sbecker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f05b48/32.png) [@sbecker](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/sbecker)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-5-0-cluster-question/64945/3 "2016-11-04T17:56:36Z")

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Thank you for the reply. Can you point me to a best practices diagram for ES cluster?

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**Author:** ![warkolm](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/warkolm/32/39224_2.png) [@warkolm](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/warkolm)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-5-0-cluster-question/64945/4 "2016-11-04T22:49:59Z")

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Not sure we have diagrams around that sorta thing.

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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:** [July 5, 2017, 10:06pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-5-0-cluster-question/64945/5 "2017-07-05T22:06:24Z")

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