OpenSearch Cluster Access Methods

There are many ways to connect to an OpenSearch cluster. Select the most appropriate access method based on the programming language you prefer. The various access methods support different types of network configurations. The cluster access addresses vary depending on the network configuration you choose. Select an appropriate network configuration method based on your network environment.

Access Methods

**Table 1** Cluster access methods
Access Method	Scenario	Details
OpenSearch Dashboards (recommended)	A graphical user interface Instance monitoring Data management Language-irrelevant	Logging In to an OpenSearch Cluster Using OpenSearch Dashboards
Cerebro		Logging In to an OpenSearch Cluster Through Cerebro
Open-source Elasticsearch API	Run Curl commands to access and manage OpenSearch clusters.	Accessing an OpenSearch Cluster Using cURL Commands
LDAP Authentication	Enable Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) authentication for an OpenSearch cluster.	Accessing an OpenSearch Cluster Using LDAP

Network Configuration

Configure the network of the OpenSearch cluster, and ensure that you have a server that can connect to the cluster's network. Obtain the cluster access address. With the exception of Kibana and Cerebro, which support one-click cluster access so there is no need to provide the cluster address, the cluster address needs to be provided for all other access methods.

**Table 2** Network configuration for the cluster
Network Environment	Access Method	Scenario	Details
Private network	Private IP address	Obtain the IP address of each node from the cluster information page, and access the cluster by connecting to one of these IP addresses directly. How to obtain: In the navigation pane on the left, choose Clusters. In the cluster list, obtain the IP address of the cluster you want to access from the Private Network Address column. Generally, the IP address format is <host>:<port> or <host>:<port>,<host>:<port>. If the cluster has only one node, the IP address and port number of this one node are displayed, for example, 10.62.179.32:9200. If the cluster has multiple nodes, the IP addresses and port numbers of all nodes are displayed, for example, 10.62.179.32:9200,10.62.179.33:9200.	This is the default method.
Private network	IP address or private domain name of the VPC endpoint	Configure a VPC endpoint to access the cluster from a different VPC over an internal network. Do not use this method if high performance standards are used. How to obtain: In the navigation pane on the left, choose Clusters. On the Clusters page, click the name of the cluster you want to access. The Cluster Information page is displayed. In the navigation pane, choose VPC Endpoint Service. Record the service address or private domain name of the VPC endpoint.	Configuring VPC Endpoint Service for an OpenSearch Cluster
Private network	Private IP address of a dedicated load balancer	Access the cluster through a dedicated load balancer. Use this method if high performance standards are used. How to obtain: In the navigation pane on the left, choose Clusters. On the Clusters page, click the name of the cluster you want to access. The Cluster Information page is displayed. In the navigation pane, choose Load Balancing. Record the private IP address of the load balancer.	Configuring a Dedicated Load Balancer for an OpenSearch Cluster
Public network	Public IP address	Configure a whitelist to control public network access to the cluster. Use this method only for security-mode clusters that use HTTPS. How to obtain: In the navigation pane on the left, choose Clusters. On the Clusters page, click the name of the cluster you want to access. The Cluster Information page is displayed. Record the cluster's public network address. NOTE: Use this method only for security-mode clusters that use HTTPS.	Configuring Public Network Access for an OpenSearch Cluster
Public network	Public IP address of a dedicated load balancer	Access the cluster through a dedicated load balancer. Use this method if high performance standards are used. In the navigation pane on the left, choose Clusters. On the Clusters page, click the name of the cluster you want to access. The Cluster Information page is displayed. In the navigation pane, choose Load Balancing. Record the public IP address of the load balancer.	Configuring a Dedicated Load Balancer for an OpenSearch Cluster