Camunda 8.7 exporter state UNRECOGNIZED

[JarlSeverin]

I’m trying to install Camunda 8.7 in Kubernetes using helm version 12.5.0
We want to use our external elasticsearch so I’ve added to our values file according to the documentation

global:
  elasticsearch:
    enabled: true
    external: true
    auth:
      username: elastic
      password: pass
    url:
      protocol: http
      host: elastic.example.com
      port: 443

elasticsearch:
  enabled: false

(using our own host etc ofc)
But when the zeebe pod starts up, in the logs, I first get

• echo ‘No exporters available.’

then after the applikation starts I get a stacktrace with
io.camunda.zeebe.broker.system - Aborting startup process due to exception during step Cluster Topology Manager
java.lang.IllegalStateException: Unknown exporter state UNRECOGNIZED

Is there something else I need to add to the values file?

[zee-bot]

Hi there!

I can see you’re encountering an issue with Camunda 8.7 and external Elasticsearch configuration. The “Unknown exporter state UNRECOGNIZED” error combined with “No exporters available” suggests there’s a configuration issue with the exporter setup.

Classification: Problem

Based on your configuration and the error messages, here are the most likely causes and solutions:

1. Password Propagation Issue

There’s a known issue where passwords aren’t always correctly propagated from Helm values to the Zeebe exporter configuration. Try using a Kubernetes secret instead:

global:
  elasticsearch:
    enabled: true
    external: true
    auth:
      username: elastic
      existingSecret: elasticsearch-credentials
      existingSecretKey: password
    url:
      protocol: http
      host: elastic.example.com
      port: 443

elasticsearch:
  enabled: false

Create the secret:

kubectl create secret generic elasticsearch-credentials --from-literal=password=your-actual-password

2. Protocol Configuration

I notice you’re using protocol: http with port: 443. Port 443 is typically used for HTTPS. Make sure your protocol matches your actual Elasticsearch setup:

• If using HTTPS: protocol: https with port: 443
• If using HTTP: protocol: http with port: 80 or 9200

3. Verify Generated Configuration

Check if the exporter configuration is properly generated in the Zeebe ConfigMap:

kubectl get configmap <zeebe-configmap-name> -o yaml

Look for the exporters section - it should contain the Elasticsearch exporter configuration with your credentials.

4. TLS Configuration

If your Elasticsearch uses TLS, you may need to add TLS configuration:

global:
  elasticsearch:
    enabled: true
    external: true
    tls:
      enabled: true
      existingSecret: <your-tls-secret>  # if using custom certificates
    auth:
      username: elastic
      existingSecret: elasticsearch-credentials
      existingSecretKey: password
    url:
      protocol: https
      host: elastic.example.com
      port: 443

Next Steps:

1. Try the Kubernetes secret approach first
2. Verify your protocol/port combination matches your Elasticsearch setup
3. Check the generated Zeebe ConfigMap for the exporter configuration
4. Review Zeebe logs for any additional error details

Could you please share:

• The exact Elasticsearch setup you’re using (HTTP vs HTTPS, port configuration)
• The generated Zeebe ConfigMap content (you can redact sensitive information)
• Any additional error logs from the Zeebe pod

This will help us pinpoint the exact cause of the issue.

References:

• Using existing Elasticsearch
• Elasticsearch exporter configuration
• Related forum discussion on password issues

[Cris_Ron]

Did you solve your problem?
I have the exact same problem with an almost identical setup(kubernetes, ElasticSearch within Kub) and getting the same error “No exporrters available”.

I enabled tls in the global ES config and I’m using Kub secrets:

elasticsearch:
    enabled: true
    external: true
    tls:
      enabled: true
      existingSecret: elastic-jks # Secret with ca.crt for Elasticsearch
    auth:
      username: ${namespace_name}
      existingSecret: ${namespace_name}
      existingSecretKey: elasticsearch-instance-secret
    url:
      protocol: ${elastic_service_protocol} # https
      host: ${elastic_service_url}          # 
      port: ${elastic_service_port}         # 9200
    prefix: ${namespace_name}-zeebe

All other apps like Tasklist, Operate… can write their indices to the ES Cluster but Zeebe not.

ES svc ist configured to listen to port 9200:

Name:                     elasticsearch
Namespace:                namespace-elastic01
Labels:                   app.kubernetes.io/component=master
                          app.kubernetes.io/instance=elasticsearch
                          app.kubernetes.io/managed-by=Helm
                          app.kubernetes.io/name=elasticsearch
                          app.kubernetes.io/version=8.16.1
                          helm.sh/chart=elasticsearch-21.4.0
Annotations:              meta.helm.sh/release-name: elasticsearch
                          meta.helm.sh/release-namespace: namespace-elastic01
Selector:                 app.kubernetes.io/component=master,app.kubernetes.io/instance=elasticsearch,app.kubernetes.io/name=elasticsearch
Type:                     ClusterIP
IP Family Policy:         SingleStack
IP Families:              IPv4
IP:                       1.1.1.1 # changed here due to sensitivity
IPs:                      1.1.1.1 # changed here due to sensitivity
Port:                     tcp-rest-api  9200/TCP
TargetPort:               rest-api/TCP
Endpoints:                10.244.1.199:9200,10.244.2.225:9200,10.244.3.89:9200
Port:                     tcp-transport  9300/TCP
TargetPort:               9300/TCP
Endpoints:                10.244.1.199:9300,10.244.2.225:9300,10.244.3.89:9300
Session Affinity:         None
Internal Traffic Policy:  Cluster
Events:                   <none>

Is this port config correct?

The Zeebe configmap looks like this:

apiVersion: v1
data:
  application.yaml: |
    zeebe:
      broker:
        exporters:
          elasticsearch:
            className: "io.camunda.zeebe.exporter.ElasticsearchExporter"
            args:
              authentication:
                username: "user01"
              url: "https://es.namespace-elastic01.svc.cluster.local:9200"
              index:
                prefix: "namespace01-zeebe"
        gateway:
          enable: true
          network:
            port: 26500
          security:
            enabled: false
            authentication:
              mode: none
        network:
          host: 0.0.0.0
          commandApi:
            port: 26501
          internalApi:
            port: 26502
          monitoringApi:
            port: "9600"
        cluster:
          clusterSize: "3"
          replicationFactor: "3"
          partitionsCount: "3"
          clusterName: namespace01-zeebe
        threads:
          cpuThreadCount: "3"
          ioThreadCount: "3"
        data:
          snapshotPeriod: "5m"
          disk:
            freeSpace:
              processing: "2GB"
              replication: "1GB"

    # Camunda Database configuration
    camunda.database:
      type: elasticsearch
      # Cluster name
      clusterName: elasticsearch
      username: "user01"
      # Elasticsearch full url
      url: "https://es.namespace-elastic01.svc.cluster.local:9200"
  broker-log4j2.xml: ""
  startup.sh: |
    #!/usr/bin/env bash
    set -eux -o pipefail

    export ZEEBE_BROKER_CLUSTER_NODEID=${ZEEBE_BROKER_CLUSTER_NODEID:-$[${K8S_NAME##*-} * 1 + 0]}

    if [ "$(ls -A /exporters/)" ]; then
      mkdir -p /usr/local/zeebe/exporters/
      cp -a /exporters/*.jar /usr/local/zeebe/exporters/
    else
      echo "No exporters available."
    fi

    if [ "${ZEEBE_RESTORE}" = "true" ]; then
      exec /usr/local/zeebe/bin/restore --backupId=${ZEEBE_RESTORE_FROM_BACKUP_ID}
    else
      exec /usr/local/zeebe/bin/broker
    fi
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  annotations:
    meta.helm.sh/release-name: namespace01
    meta.helm.sh/release-namespace: namespace01
  labels:
    app: camunda-platform
    app.kubernetes.io/component: zeebe-broker
    app.kubernetes.io/instance: namespace01
    app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: Helm
    app.kubernetes.io/name: camunda-platform
    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: camunda-platform
    app.kubernetes.io/version: 8.7.10
    helm.sh/chart: camunda-platform-12.4.0
  name: namespace01-zeebe-configuration
  namespace: namespace01
  resourceVersion: "69889002"

[Cris_Ron]

I solved this problem with adding in the JAVA_OPTIONS a truststore which holds the ElasticSearch self-signed certificate and a copy of cacert from all official certificates and the JKS format and the password. It was also helpful to deploy a bpmn file to the instance to see it working and forcing the last errors.

[nathan.loding]

@Cris_Ron - is there any feedback or suggestions you have on how to make the documentation more helpful here?