# What is my actual index\_buffer\_size? **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [May 4, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-is-my-actual-index-buffer-size/17339 "2014-05-04T19:28:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![R\_Toma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e480ec/32.png) [@R\_Toma](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/R_Toma)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-is-my-actual-index-buffer-size/17339/1 "2014-05-04T19:28:14Z")
Hi group, Anyone know how to query the actuel index\_buffer\_size? I have searched thru the \_cluster/stats output, but cannot find it. Using 3-node ES 1.0.1 for a logsearch platform (lots of logstash bulking, less kibana querying) with fresh indices every day, I have indices.memory.index\_buffer\_size=50% for a total heap of 32GB. I have a believe 50% is far too high, but cannot find a metric to prove this. Any help is appreciated! Regards, Renzo -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/808da292-513c-491a-a3ac-fb220125cb74%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/808da292-513c-491a-a3ac-fb220125cb74%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). ---
**Author:** ![jprante](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/jprante/32/44941_2.png) [@jprante](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/jprante)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-is-my-actual-index-buffer-size/17339/2 "2014-05-04T21:43:36Z")
You can not measure the actual index\_buffer\_size by API. It is a dynamic setting, ES adapts its size regularly in the background, depending on indexing activity. The number is a maximum estimated value. 50% is a good value for bulk indexing in comparison to the default 10%. It means, indexing service is allowed to allocate up to 50% of the available heap memory of a node for buffering data (mostly large docs). Note, it does not mean that always 50% of all the heap memory is reserved and not available any more for other components. It is just a high water mark for the indexing service, just one step in the whole indexing process. There are more knobs that are also important for bulk indexing performance. Jörg On Sun, May 4, 2014 at 9:28 PM, R. Toma [renzo.toma@gmail.com](mailto:renzo.toma@gmail.com) wrote: > Hi group, > > Anyone know how to query the actuel index\_buffer\_size? > I have searched thru the \_cluster/stats output, but cannot find it. > > Using 3-node ES 1.0.1 for a logsearch platform (lots of logstash bulking, > less kibana querying) with fresh indices every day, I have > indices.memory.index\_buffer\_size=50% for a total heap of 32GB. > > I have a believe 50% is far too high, but cannot find a metric to prove > this. > > Any help is appreciated! > > Regards, > Renzo > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "elasticsearch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). > To view this discussion on the web visit > [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/808da292-513c-491a-a3ac-fb220125cb74%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/808da292-513c-491a-a3ac-fb220125cb74%40googlegroups.com)[https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/808da292-513c-491a-a3ac-fb220125cb74%40googlegroups.com?utm\_medium=email&utm\_source=footer](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/808da292-513c-491a-a3ac-fb220125cb74%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer) > . > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAKdsXoHZsohFeM8aup0v8noj983bok1wBS9y4%3DB-Nr7fUqGfrQ%40mail.gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAKdsXoHZsohFeM8aup0v8noj983bok1wBS9y4%3DB-Nr7fUqGfrQ%40mail.gmail.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 1:31am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-is-my-actual-index-buffer-size/17339/3 "2017-07-06T01:31:53Z")