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Graphite Data Source

Introduction​

Graphite is one of the most popular and powerful open-source time-series databases and visualization tools, which serves as an excellent data source for Grafana. It specializes in storing numeric time-series data and providing visualization capabilities for monitoring systems, application metrics, and infrastructure performance.

In this guide, you'll learn how to set up and configure Graphite as a data source in Grafana, understand the Graphite query language, and explore practical use cases where Graphite shines as a monitoring solution.

What is Graphite?​

Graphite consists of three main components:

  1. Carbon - A high-performance service that listens for time-series data
  2. Whisper - A simple database library for storing time-series data
  3. Graphite-Web - A Django web application that renders graphs and dashboards

As a data source for Grafana, Graphite provides a robust backend for collecting, storing, and querying numeric time-series data, which Grafana can then visualize in dashboards.

Setting Up Graphite as a Data Source​

Prerequisites​

Before you begin, ensure you have:

  • A running Grafana instance (v8.x or later recommended)
  • A running Graphite server (accessible from your Grafana instance)

Adding Graphite as a Data Source​

  1. Log in to your Grafana instance with admin privileges
  2. Navigate to Configuration > Data Sources
  3. Click on the Add data source button
  4. Search for and select Graphite

You'll see a configuration form like this:

Name: Graphite
URL: http://your-graphite-server:80
Access: Server (default)

Basic Configuration Options​

OptionDescription
NameThe name you want to give to this data source
URLThe HTTP protocol, IP, and port of your Graphite-web instance
AccessHow Grafana accesses the data source (Server or Browser)
AuthAuthentication details if your Graphite instance requires it
VersionThe version of Graphite you're connecting to

Advanced Configuration​

For more advanced setups, you can configure:

  • Graphite Version: Select the version of Graphite you're running
  • Caching: Enable caching to improve query performance
  • Custom Query Parameters: Add HTTP query parameters to all requests
  • Transport: Choose between proxy or direct connection

Understanding Graphite Queries​

Graphite uses a simple dot-delimited format for metric paths and provides powerful functions for manipulating and analyzing time-series data.

Basic Query Structure​

A basic Graphite query might look like:

servers.web01.cpu.load

This represents a hierarchical path to a specific metric, where:

  • servers is the top-level namespace
  • web01 is a specific server
  • cpu is the component being monitored
  • load is the specific metric

Using Wildcards​

Graphite supports wildcards to query multiple metrics at once:

servers.*.cpu.load

This would return the CPU load for all servers.

Common Graphite Functions​

Graphite provides many functions to transform and analyze your data:

Aggregation Functions​

# Average CPU load across all web servers
averageSeries(servers.web*.cpu.load)

# Sum of all network traffic
sumSeries(servers.*.network.*)

# Maximum memory usage
maxSeries(servers.*.memory.usage)

Transformation Functions​

# Scale a metric by 100 to get percentage
scale(servers.web01.cpu.usage, 100)

# Get the derivative (rate of change)
derivative(servers.web01.network.bytes_in)

# Calculate moving average over 10 data points
movingAverage(servers.web01.response_time, 10)

Building Grafana Dashboards with Graphite​

Let's create a simple server monitoring dashboard using Graphite as a data source.

Step 1: Create a New Dashboard​

  1. Click the + icon in the side menu
  2. Select Dashboard
  3. Click Add new panel

Step 2: Configure the Panel to Use Graphite​

  1. In the query editor, select Graphite as the data source
  2. Enter your query, for example: servers.web01.cpu.load
  3. Use the function editor to add transformations if needed

Step 3: Customize the Visualization​

  1. Choose an appropriate visualization type (line graph, gauge, etc.)
  2. Set up axes, legends, and display options
  3. Configure thresholds and alerts if desired

Practical Examples​

Example 1: System Monitoring Dashboard​

Let's create a dashboard to monitor system resources:

jsx
// Graphite Queries for Dashboard Panels

// CPU Panel
averageSeries(servers.*.cpu.usage)

// Memory Panel
servers.*.memory.used

// Disk Panel
servers.*.disk.*.used_percentage

// Network Panel
sumSeries(servers.*.network.eth0.bytes_in)

Example 2: Application Performance Monitoring​

For monitoring a web application:

jsx
// Response Time Panel
averageSeries(applications.webapp.response_time)

// Request Rate Panel
sumSeries(applications.webapp.requests_per_second)

// Error Rate Panel
sumSeries(applications.webapp.errors_per_minute)

// Database Query Time Panel
maxSeries(applications.webapp.database.query_time)

Example 3: Creating Alerts​

Grafana allows you to create alerts based on Graphite metrics:

  1. Edit a panel using Graphite data
  2. Go to the Alert tab
  3. Define conditions, for example:
    • Condition: WHEN avg() OF query(A, 5m, now) IS ABOVE 90
    • This would trigger when the 5-minute average exceeds 90
jsx
// Alert Query Example
servers.web01.cpu.usage > 90

Best Practices for Graphite in Grafana​

Naming Conventions​

Follow a consistent naming pattern for your metrics:

<environment>.<location>.<server_name>.<service>.<metric>

For example:

production.us-east.web-01.nginx.requests_per_second

Query Optimization​

  • Use wildcards sparingly, as they can impact performance
  • Leverage functions like summarize() for long time ranges
  • Use maxDataPoints parameter to control resolution

Data Retention​

Configure Whisper's retention settings appropriately:

  • High resolution (10s intervals) for recent data (24 hours)
  • Medium resolution (1m intervals) for medium-term data (7 days)
  • Low resolution (10m intervals) for long-term data (1 year)

Troubleshooting Common Issues​

No Data Appears in Graphs​

Possible causes:

  • Incorrect Graphite URL in data source settings
  • Metric path doesn't exist or contains typos
  • Time range in Grafana doesn't match data availability in Graphite

Solution:

  • Verify your metric exists using Graphite's web interface
  • Check Carbon's logs for ingestion issues
  • Test the query directly in Graphite-web

Performance Issues​

If queries are slow:

  • Reduce the use of complex functions
  • Use maxDataPoints to limit resolution
  • Consider enabling caching in the data source settings

Summary​

Graphite is a powerful time-series database that integrates seamlessly with Grafana to provide robust monitoring solutions. In this guide, you've learned:

  • How to set up Graphite as a data source in Grafana
  • The basics of Graphite's query language and functions
  • How to build effective dashboards using Graphite data
  • Best practices for organizing and querying metrics
  • Troubleshooting tips for common issues

With this knowledge, you can leverage Graphite's strengths for monitoring infrastructure, applications, and business metrics through beautiful Grafana dashboards.

Additional Resources​

Exercises​

  1. Set up a local Graphite instance and configure it as a data source in Grafana.
  2. Create a dashboard that monitors CPU, memory, and disk usage using Graphite metrics.
  3. Experiment with different Graphite functions (e.g., movingAverage, derivative, sumSeries) and observe how they transform your data.
  4. Create an alert in Grafana based on a Graphite metric exceeding a threshold.
  5. Design a dashboard for monitoring a specific application using custom metrics sent to Graphite.

If you spot any mistakes on this website, please let me know at [email protected]. I’d greatly appreciate your feedback! :)