Custom Dashboards in Prometheus

Introduction

Custom dashboards are an essential part of monitoring and visualization in Prometheus. They allow users to visualize metrics and gain insights into the performance and health of their systems. This tutorial will guide you through the process of creating custom dashboards using Prometheus and Grafana, the popular open-source visualization tool.

Prerequisites

Before diving into custom dashboards, ensure you have the following prerequisites:

• Prometheus installed and running.
• Grafana installed and running.
• Basic understanding of Prometheus metrics and queries.

Setting Up Grafana

To start building custom dashboards, first, you need to set up Grafana to connect to Prometheus as a data source.

1. Add Prometheus as a Data Source

Follow these steps to add Prometheus:

1. Open Grafana in your web browser (default is http://localhost:3000).
2. Log in with the default credentials (username: admin, password: admin).
3. Navigate to Configuration > Data Sources.
4. Click on Add data source.
5. Select Prometheus from the list of available data sources.
6. In the settings, set the URL to your Prometheus server (e.g., http://localhost:9090).
7. Click on Save & Test to verify the connection.

Creating Your First Dashboard

Once you have connected Grafana to Prometheus, you can start creating your dashboard.

1. Create a New Dashboard

Follow these steps to create a new dashboard:

1. Click on the + icon on the left sidebar and select Dashboard.
2. Click on Add new panel to create a new panel.

2. Configure the Panel

To visualize metrics, you need to configure the panel:

1. In the panel editor, select the Prometheus data source.
2. In the Query field, enter your PromQL query. For example:

This query will return the rate of HTTP requests over the past 5 minutes.

3. Customize the Visualization

Grafana offers various visualization options such as graphs, tables, and single stat panels. Choose the type that best represents your data.

Saving and Sharing Your Dashboard

After creating your custom dashboard, don’t forget to save it:

1. Click on the Save icon at the top.
2. Provide a name for your dashboard.
3. Click Save.

You can also share your dashboard with others by clicking on the Share icon and copying the link.

Conclusion

Creating custom dashboards in Prometheus using Grafana is a powerful way to visualize your metrics. With the steps outlined in this tutorial, you should be able to set up your environment, create dashboards, and share them with your team. Experiment with different queries and visualization options to get the most out of your monitoring data.