[role="xpack"]
[[configuring-monitoring]]
= Configure monitoring in {kib}
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<titleabbrev>Configure monitoring</titleabbrev>
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If you enable the {monitor-features} in your cluster, there are a few methods
available to collect metrics about {kib}:

* <<monitoring-elastic-agent,{agent} collection>>: Uses a single agent to gather
logs and metrics. Can be managed from a central location in {fleet}.

* <<monitoring-metricbeat,{metricbeat} collection>>: Uses a lightweight {beats}
shipper to gather metrics. May be preferred if you have an existing investment
in {beats} or are not yet ready to use {agent}.

* <<monitoring-kibana,Legacy collection>>: Uses internal collectors to gather
metrics. Not recommended. If you have previously configured legacy collection
methods, you should migrate to using {agent} or {metricbeat}.

You can also use {kib} to
<<monitoring-data,visualize monitoring data from across the {stack}>>.

To learn about monitoring in general, see
{ref}/monitor-elasticsearch-cluster.html[Monitor a cluster].