Grafana: Powerful Monitoring & Visualization Tool
Imagine having a real-time dashboard that displays key metrics from servers, databases, and applications—all in one place. Grafana makes this possible by providing a modern, open-source platform designed for visualizing and analyzing data. Grafana runs on a dedicated server and supports a wide range of plugins, allowing you to integrate multiple data sources into a single system. This enables quick anomaly detection, helps understand root causes, and supports data-driven decision-making.
Installing Grafana via Marketplace
To deploy Grafana quickly and effortlessly, you can use pre-configured images available in Marketplace. This approach saves time and eliminates the need for manual server configuration.
Step 1: Selecting an Image Choose a ready-to-use Grafana image from the Marketplace and launch a new server based on it.
Step 2: Setting Access Parameters Set a password or configure an SSH key for secure remote access to the newly created server.
Step 3: Connecting via SSH Once the deployment is complete, connect to the server remotely: Linux/MacOS: Open the Terminal. Windows: Use PuTTY or built-in OpenSSH. Run the following command in the terminal:
ssh root@<Your-Server-IP>
On your first connection, you will see a welcome message, confirming successful access to the Grafana server.
Retrieving Grafana Login Credentials
After the first server startup, Grafana’s admin credentials are stored in the following file:
/root/password_credentials
To view the username and password, run:
cat /root/password_credentials
You will typically see:
Username: admin
Password: YourSecurePassword
These credentials will be required for logging into the Grafana web interface.
Adding Data Sources & Creating Dashboards in Grafana To start collecting and visualizing metrics, follow these steps:
Step 1: Adding a Data Source Go to Connections → Data Sources. Click "Add Data Source" and select a monitoring system (e.g., Prometheus, InfluxDB, MySQL, or others). Enter the necessary parameters (address, port, authentication details). Save the settings and test the connection to ensure everything is working correctly.
Step 2: Creating a New Dashboard Open the Dashboards section and click "New Dashboard". Click "Add New Panel" and select the metrics you want to display. Configure the labels, title, color scheme, and optionally set thresholds for alerts on critical changes. If your use case requires multiple metrics on a single graph or different widgets for specific tasks, feel free to experiment and create additional panels.
Launching Grafana & First Login After deploying Grafana (e.g., via Marketplace), check the admin credentials stored in:
/root/password_credentials
Default login details:
Username: admin
Password: YourSecurePassword
Then, open your server’s IP address in a browser:
http://11.22.77.44
After logging in, you can start setting up your monitoring dashboards!
Handling SSL Warnings & Logging into Grafana
If the browser warns about an SSL certificate, simply confirm the exception to proceed. This is normal for self-signed certificates on a new deployment. Enter your login credentials from /root/password_credentials:
Username: admin
Password: YourSecurePassword
After logging in, you will have full access to Grafana’s web interface, where you can start configuring dashboards and monitoring your infrastructure.
Important: Change the Default Admin Password
On your first login, Grafana may prompt you to change the admin password. Do not skip this step! Choose a strong and unique password to enhance security. A secure password helps prevent unauthorized access and ensures the protection of your monitoring system.
Setting Up Alerts in Grafana
To receive notifications about critical events, follow these steps:
1.Select the dashboard panel where you want to enable alerts.
2. Navigate to the Alerting section.
3. Define the metric you want to monitor.
4. Set a threshold (upper or lower limit) that will trigger the alert.
5. Choose the notification channel, such as:
Email
Slack
Telegram
Other integrations (Webhooks, PagerDuty, Microsoft Teams, etc.)
Save the settings, and Grafana will automatically send alerts when conditions are met, helping you respond quickly to potential issues.
Ensuring Security & Data Protection in Grafana Restricting Access Configure a firewall to limit access only to trusted IP addresses. Use a VPN if necessary to minimize the risk of unauthorized access. Regular Updates Keep Grafana up to date—new releases fix vulnerabilities and introduce useful features. Regular updates help enhance security and stability. Backup Strategy Store backups of Grafana’s data and configurations using built-in or external tools. This prevents data loss in case of system failures or misconfigurations.
Final Thoughts Grafana is an essential tool for monitoring your entire IT infrastructure—whether it's servers, databases, or applications. Flexible dashboards Wide plugin support User-friendly interface If you're looking for a universal solution to aggregate metrics from different systems and visually analyze them in one place, Grafana is the perfect choice. With Grafana, you can: Detect issues early Make data-driven decisions Improve the stability of your IT environment Get started with Grafana today and take full control of your infrastructure!