Many years ago, I attained my private pilot’s license. This entailed completing a very structured program, similar to how most companies introduce a product to a new user. Let’s be honest, there is a really good reason for this – to avoid the crash and burn. With flight training, it’s literal, while with products it’s a bit more figurative (except when you YOLO something into production–that can cause a crash and burn–and leave for a bad first impression). In either case, a guided approach always seems to be the best, at least on the surface.

Using the traditional approach to both, flying or trying, starts with a short, guided demo with an instructor/SE to show you the ropes and give you a sense of whether this product will be a fit for you. Once your interest is piqued, it’s time to start the real instruction, instructor-led ground school, or product technical training via some form of live or digital instruction. Then comes the hands-on stuff, either on the yoke or the keyboard to develop your ‘piloting’ skills. Then finally, and only when your instructor says you are ready, do you get to perform your 1st solo flight. It’s amazing.

Cribl Lets You Fly Solo When You Think You Are Ready

Ok, I need to step back a little and discuss what it is we do at Cribl. Cribl is about observability, the ability to take control and shape your data (and usually save money while you’re at it). We do this by offering a radical level of choice and control for shaping your data. No matter the source, the destination, or how you want to shape it, we offer a simple, yet powerful solution to optimize the processing of your observability data.

OK, ok, I admit I cut that right from our website, but what does it mean? It means we have a tremendous product suite that can Discover, Collect, Route, Transform, Shape, and even Replay all your observability data; it is agnostic to the source, the destination, the data type, and even the system of analysis.

From the get-go we offered our solutions via software download, you provision and manage your own hardware/containers, then download and deploy locally. This worked very well for many, and in fact, will continue to be their deployment of choice. However, the need for a cloud-based solution became evident very quickly, for several reasons. For a demo or Proof of Value (POV), having to provision local hardware was time-consuming and costly. Adding more infrastructure to provision, manage, and support was resource-intensive. To make it easy, we launched a cloud-based deployment option to provide customer choice in how to deploy Cribl. We call it Cribl.Cloud.

Before you head out to create an account, I recommend starting with some of our guided training to get your feet wet. If you are brand new to Cribl’s products, I recommend starting with Cribl Stream Fundamentals Lite. If you’re an experienced Cribl user, try the full Sandbox Fundamentals course, Have I mentioned yet that nowhere does anyone ask for P.O. number or credit card? Education will ALWAYS be free at Cribl. When you’re convinced, get in touch with our experts to discuss your environment.

Looking at the screenshot below you will see several training options. Using the flying analogy again, think of these as full-motion simulators – there is real data flowing that you get to shape and interact with.

Cribl.Cloud: Time To Fly

If you’ve worked through some of our sandboxes (or ready to get started with your own data), head to Cribl.Cloud and start shaping your own data just click on one of the launch buttons. You can launch a Cribl Stream or Cribl Edge instance with just a few clicks. This will launch your own instance of Cribl’s products, in essence, as your first solo flight. This is not a demo, not a trial, or time-restricted freemium package. It’s your Cribl.Cloud account forever, where you can configure your sources, and your destinations and start processing your data, up to 1TB/day for free.

Cribl Packs: Get Data Flowing Faster

We even offer Cribl Packs – these are pre-built, common configurations to help you get started. Back to flying, think of Packs like an autopilot system. Packs allow you to plug in pre-configured information on how to shape and route the data, you just sit back and enjoy the view. What if you have security or compliance concerns on where your data can go that limits your cloud options? We have you covered there too. With Cribl’s ‘hybrid’ cloud offering you get the combined advantages of running Cribl’s software in your environment and the Cribl.Cloud. With this deployment option, we host the Stream Leader in the cloud while all the workers and data processing can remain local, totally within your control to meet compliance requirements. With this option. your data will never leave your control or touch the cloud.

SOAR to New Heights with Cribl

It is a constant struggle for SecOps and SOAR teams to manage complex logging at scale and provide rapid response to threats. Combining Security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) platforms with Cribl can simplify data management and streamline incident response (IR).

Ready To Get Started?

• Ready to jump right in? Sign up at Cribl.Cloud
• Education is FREE at Cribl University
• Want to Try It with Sample Data? Launch a Sandbox
• Got a technical product question? Ask away at Cribl Curious
• Want to Chat First? Contact Us
• Want to dive into the Docs? They’re freely available 
• Want to chat with experts? Join the Cribl Community

No matter the path you take to Cribl, I guarantee it will be the most exciting data observability experience. My most exciting experience – 1.5 hours in the back seat of an F-4E

My final word: Cribl.Cloud provides simplified access to the world of Cribl. Are you still on the fence or need more info? Learn more about Cribl.Cloud or check out this blog post on understanding the benefits of starting your observability pipeline journey in the cloud.

PS: Certifications are coming very soon…