Kibana is an open source web-based analytics and visualization tool that lets you visualize the data stored in Elasticsearch using a variety of tables, maps, and charts. Using its simple interface, users can easily explore large volumes of data stored in Elasticsearch and perform advanced analysis of data in real time. In this chapter, let's explore the various components of Kibana and explore how you can use it for data analysis.

We will cover the following topics in this chapter:

• Downloading and installing Kibana
• Preparing data
• Kibana UI
• Timelion
• Using plugins