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diff --git a/backends/README.md b/backends/README.md index ef5baa1b..f93e60f5 100644 --- a/backends/README.md +++ b/backends/README.md @@ -1,88 +1,92 @@ # Metrics long term archiving -netdata supports backends for archiving the metrics, or providing long term dashboards, +Netdata supports backends for archiving the metrics, or providing long term dashboards, using Grafana or other tools, like this:  -Since netdata collects thousands of metrics per server per second, which would easily congest any backend -server when several netdata servers are sending data to it, netdata allows sending metrics at a lower +Since Netdata collects thousands of metrics per server per second, which would easily congest any backend +server when several Netdata servers are sending data to it, Netdata allows sending metrics at a lower frequency, by resampling them. -So, although netdata collects metrics every second, it can send to the backend servers averages or sums every +So, although Netdata collects metrics every second, it can send to the backend servers averages or sums every X seconds (though, it can send them per second if you need it to). ## features -1. Supported backends +1. Supported backends - - **graphite** (`plaintext interface`, used by **Graphite**, **InfluxDB**, **KairosDB**, - **Blueflood**, **ElasticSearch** via logstash tcp input and the graphite codec, etc) + - **graphite** (`plaintext interface`, used by **Graphite**, **InfluxDB**, **KairosDB**, + **Blueflood**, **ElasticSearch** via logstash tcp input and the graphite codec, etc) - metrics are sent to the backend server as `prefix.hostname.chart.dimension`. `prefix` is - configured below, `hostname` is the hostname of the machine (can also be configured). + metrics are sent to the backend server as `prefix.hostname.chart.dimension`. `prefix` is + configured below, `hostname` is the hostname of the machine (can also be configured). - - **opentsdb** (`telnet or HTTP interfaces`, used by **OpenTSDB**, **InfluxDB**, **KairosDB**, etc) + - **opentsdb** (`telnet or HTTP interfaces`, used by **OpenTSDB**, **InfluxDB**, **KairosDB**, etc) - metrics are sent to opentsdb as `prefix.chart.dimension` with tag `host=hostname`. + metrics are sent to opentsdb as `prefix.chart.dimension` with tag `host=hostname`. - - **json** document DBs + - **json** document DBs - metrics are sent to a document db, `JSON` formatted. + metrics are sent to a document db, `JSON` formatted. - - **prometheus** is described at [prometheus page](prometheus/) since it pulls data from netdata. + - **prometheus** is described at [prometheus page](prometheus/) since it pulls data from Netdata. - - **prometheus remote write** (a binary snappy-compressed protocol buffer encoding over HTTP used by - **Elasticsearch**, **Gnocchi**, **Graphite**, **InfluxDB**, **Kafka**, **OpenTSDB**, - **PostgreSQL/TimescaleDB**, **Splunk**, **VictoriaMetrics**, - and a lot of other [storage providers](https://prometheus.io/docs/operating/integrations/#remote-endpoints-and-storage)) + - **prometheus remote write** (a binary snappy-compressed protocol buffer encoding over HTTP used by + **Elasticsearch**, **Gnocchi**, **Graphite**, **InfluxDB**, **Kafka**, **OpenTSDB**, + **PostgreSQL/TimescaleDB**, **Splunk**, **VictoriaMetrics**, + and a lot of other [storage providers](https://prometheus.io/docs/operating/integrations/#remote-endpoints-and-storage)) - metrics are labeled in the format, which is used by Netdata for the [plaintext prometheus protocol](prometheus/). - Notes on using the remote write backend are [here](prometheus/remote_write/). + metrics are labeled in the format, which is used by Netdata for the [plaintext prometheus protocol](prometheus/). + Notes on using the remote write backend are [here](prometheus/remote_write/). - - **AWS Kinesis Data Streams** + - **AWS Kinesis Data Streams** - metrics are sent to the service in `JSON` format. + metrics are sent to the service in `JSON` format. -2. Only one backend may be active at a time. + - **MongoDB** -3. Netdata can filter metrics (at the chart level), to send only a subset of the collected metrics. + metrics are sent to the database in `JSON` format. -4. Netdata supports three modes of operation for all backends: +2. Only one backend may be active at a time. - - `as-collected` sends to backends the metrics as they are collected, in the units they are collected. - So, counters are sent as counters and gauges are sent as gauges, much like all data collectors do. - For example, to calculate CPU utilization in this format, you need to know how to convert kernel ticks to percentage. +3. Netdata can filter metrics (at the chart level), to send only a subset of the collected metrics. - - `average` sends to backends normalized metrics from the netdata database. - In this mode, all metrics are sent as gauges, in the units netdata uses. This abstracts data collection - and simplifies visualization, but you will not be able to copy and paste queries from other sources to convert units. - For example, CPU utilization percentage is calculated by netdata, so netdata will convert ticks to percentage and - send the average percentage to the backend. +4. Netdata supports three modes of operation for all backends: - - `sum` or `volume`: the sum of the interpolated values shown on the netdata graphs is sent to the backend. - So, if netdata is configured to send data to the backend every 10 seconds, the sum of the 10 values shown on the - netdata charts will be used. + - `as-collected` sends to backends the metrics as they are collected, in the units they are collected. + So, counters are sent as counters and gauges are sent as gauges, much like all data collectors do. + For example, to calculate CPU utilization in this format, you need to know how to convert kernel ticks to percentage. + + - `average` sends to backends normalized metrics from the Netdata database. + In this mode, all metrics are sent as gauges, in the units Netdata uses. This abstracts data collection + and simplifies visualization, but you will not be able to copy and paste queries from other sources to convert units. + For example, CPU utilization percentage is calculated by Netdata, so Netdata will convert ticks to percentage and + send the average percentage to the backend. + + - `sum` or `volume`: the sum of the interpolated values shown on the Netdata graphs is sent to the backend. + So, if Netdata is configured to send data to the backend every 10 seconds, the sum of the 10 values shown on the + Netdata charts will be used. Time-series databases suggest to collect the raw values (`as-collected`). If you plan to invest on building your monitoring around a time-series database and you already know (or you will invest in learning) how to convert units and normalize the metrics in Grafana or other visualization tools, we suggest to use `as-collected`. -If, on the other hand, you just need long term archiving of netdata metrics and you plan to mainly work with netdata, we suggest to use `average`. It decouples visualization from data collection, so it will generally be a lot simpler. Furthermore, if you use `average`, the charts shown in the back-end will match exactly what you see in Netdata, which is not necessarily true for the other modes of operation. +If, on the other hand, you just need long term archiving of Netdata metrics and you plan to mainly work with Netdata, we suggest to use `average`. It decouples visualization from data collection, so it will generally be a lot simpler. Furthermore, if you use `average`, the charts shown in the back-end will match exactly what you see in Netdata, which is not necessarily true for the other modes of operation. -5. This code is smart enough, not to slow down netdata, independently of the speed of the backend server. +5. This code is smart enough, not to slow down Netdata, independently of the speed of the backend server. ## configuration In `/etc/netdata/netdata.conf` you should have something like this (if not download the latest version -of `netdata.conf` from your netdata): +of `netdata.conf` from your Netdata): ``` [backend] enabled = yes | no - type = graphite | opentsdb:telnet | opentsdb:http | opentsdb:https | prometheus_remote_write | json | kinesis + type = graphite | opentsdb:telnet | opentsdb:http | opentsdb:https | prometheus_remote_write | json | kinesis | mongodb host tags = list of TAG=VALUE destination = space separated list of [PROTOCOL:]HOST[:PORT] - the first working will be used, or a region for kinesis data source = average | sum | as collected - prefix = netdata + prefix = Netdata hostname = my-name update every = 10 buffer on failures = 10 @@ -92,25 +96,25 @@ of `netdata.conf` from your netdata): send names instead of ids = yes ``` -- `enabled = yes | no`, enables or disables sending data to a backend +- `enabled = yes | no`, enables or disables sending data to a backend -- `type = graphite | opentsdb:telnet | opentsdb:http | opentsdb:https | json | kinesis`, selects the backend type +- `type = graphite | opentsdb:telnet | opentsdb:http | opentsdb:https | json | kinesis | mongodb`, selects the backend type -- `destination = host1 host2 host3 ...`, accepts **a space separated list** of hostnames, - IPs (IPv4 and IPv6) and ports to connect to. - Netdata will use the **first available** to send the metrics. +- `destination = host1 host2 host3 ...`, accepts **a space separated list** of hostnames, + IPs (IPv4 and IPv6) and ports to connect to. + Netdata will use the **first available** to send the metrics. - The format of each item in this list, is: `[PROTOCOL:]IP[:PORT]`. + The format of each item in this list, is: `[PROTOCOL:]IP[:PORT]`. - `PROTOCOL` can be `udp` or `tcp`. `tcp` is the default and only supported by the current backends. + `PROTOCOL` can be `udp` or `tcp`. `tcp` is the default and only supported by the current backends. - `IP` can be `XX.XX.XX.XX` (IPv4), or `[XX:XX...XX:XX]` (IPv6). - For IPv6 you can to enclose the IP in `[]` to separate it from the port. + `IP` can be `XX.XX.XX.XX` (IPv4), or `[XX:XX...XX:XX]` (IPv6). + For IPv6 you can to enclose the IP in `[]` to separate it from the port. - `PORT` can be a number of a service name. If omitted, the default port for the backend will be used - (graphite = 2003, opentsdb = 4242). + `PORT` can be a number of a service name. If omitted, the default port for the backend will be used + (graphite = 2003, opentsdb = 4242). - Example IPv4: + Example IPv4: ``` destination = 10.11.14.2:4242 10.11.14.3:4242 10.11.14.4:4242 @@ -122,81 +126,84 @@ of `netdata.conf` from your netdata): destination = [ffff:...:0001]:2003 10.11.12.1:2003 ``` - When multiple servers are defined, netdata will try the next one when the first one fails. This allows - you to load-balance different servers: give your backend servers in different order on each netdata. + When multiple servers are defined, Netdata will try the next one when the first one fails. This allows + you to load-balance different servers: give your backend servers in different order on each Netdata. - netdata also ships [`nc-backend.sh`](nc-backend.sh), + Netdata also ships [`nc-backend.sh`](nc-backend.sh), a script that can be used as a fallback backend to save the metrics to disk and push them to the time-series database when it becomes available again. It can also be used to monitor / trace / debug - the metrics netdata generates. + the metrics Netdata generates. For kinesis backend `destination` should be set to an AWS region (for example, `us-east-1`). -- `data source = as collected`, or `data source = average`, or `data source = sum`, selects the kind of - data that will be sent to the backend. + The MongoDB backend doesn't use the `destination` option for its configuration. It uses the `mongodb.conf` + [configuration file](mongodb/README.md) instead. -- `hostname = my-name`, is the hostname to be used for sending data to the backend server. By default - this is `[global].hostname`. +- `data source = as collected`, or `data source = average`, or `data source = sum`, selects the kind of + data that will be sent to the backend. -- `prefix = netdata`, is the prefix to add to all metrics. +- `hostname = my-name`, is the hostname to be used for sending data to the backend server. By default + this is `[global].hostname`. -- `update every = 10`, is the number of seconds between sending data to the backend. netdata will add - some randomness to this number, to prevent stressing the backend server when many netdata servers send - data to the same backend. This randomness does not affect the quality of the data, only the time they - are sent. +- `prefix = Netdata`, is the prefix to add to all metrics. -- `buffer on failures = 10`, is the number of iterations (each iteration is `[backend].update every` seconds) - to buffer data, when the backend is not available. If the backend fails to receive the data after that - many failures, data loss on the backend is expected (netdata will also log it). +- `update every = 10`, is the number of seconds between sending data to the backend. Netdata will add + some randomness to this number, to prevent stressing the backend server when many Netdata servers send + data to the same backend. This randomness does not affect the quality of the data, only the time they + are sent. -- `timeout ms = 20000`, is the timeout in milliseconds to wait for the backend server to process the data. - By default this is `2 * update_every * 1000`. +- `buffer on failures = 10`, is the number of iterations (each iteration is `[backend].update every` seconds) + to buffer data, when the backend is not available. If the backend fails to receive the data after that + many failures, data loss on the backend is expected (Netdata will also log it). -- `send hosts matching = localhost *` includes one or more space separated patterns, using ` * ` as wildcard - (any number of times within each pattern). The patterns are checked against the hostname (the localhost - is always checked as `localhost`), allowing us to filter which hosts will be sent to the backend when - this netdata is a central netdata aggregating multiple hosts. A pattern starting with ` ! ` gives a - negative match. So to match all hosts named `*db*` except hosts containing `*slave*`, use - `!*slave* *db*` (so, the order is important: the first pattern matching the hostname will be used - positive - or negative). +- `timeout ms = 20000`, is the timeout in milliseconds to wait for the backend server to process the data. + By default this is `2 * update_every * 1000`. -- `send charts matching = *` includes one or more space separated patterns, using ` * ` as wildcard (any - number of times within each pattern). The patterns are checked against both chart id and chart name. - A pattern starting with ` ! ` gives a negative match. So to match all charts named `apps.*` - except charts ending in `*reads`, use `!*reads apps.*` (so, the order is important: the first pattern - matching the chart id or the chart name will be used - positive or negative). +- `send hosts matching = localhost *` includes one or more space separated patterns, using `*` as wildcard + (any number of times within each pattern). The patterns are checked against the hostname (the localhost + is always checked as `localhost`), allowing us to filter which hosts will be sent to the backend when + this Netdata is a central Netdata aggregating multiple hosts. A pattern starting with `!` gives a + negative match. So to match all hosts named `*db*` except hosts containing `*slave*`, use + `!*slave* *db*` (so, the order is important: the first pattern matching the hostname will be used - positive + or negative). -- `send names instead of ids = yes | no` controls the metric names netdata should send to backend. - netdata supports names and IDs for charts and dimensions. Usually IDs are unique identifiers as read - by the system and names are human friendly labels (also unique). Most charts and metrics have the same - ID and name, but in several cases they are different: disks with device-mapper, interrupts, QoS classes, - statsd synthetic charts, etc. +- `send charts matching = *` includes one or more space separated patterns, using `*` as wildcard (any + number of times within each pattern). The patterns are checked against both chart id and chart name. + A pattern starting with `!` gives a negative match. So to match all charts named `apps.*` + except charts ending in `*reads`, use `!*reads apps.*` (so, the order is important: the first pattern + matching the chart id or the chart name will be used - positive or negative). -- `host tags = list of TAG=VALUE` defines tags that should be appended on all metrics for the given host. - These are currently only sent to opentsdb and prometheus. Please use the appropriate format for each - time-series db. For example opentsdb likes them like `TAG1=VALUE1 TAG2=VALUE2`, but prometheus like - `tag1="value1",tag2="value2"`. Host tags are mirrored with database replication (streaming of metrics - between netdata servers). +- `send names instead of ids = yes | no` controls the metric names Netdata should send to backend. + Netdata supports names and IDs for charts and dimensions. Usually IDs are unique identifiers as read + by the system and names are human friendly labels (also unique). Most charts and metrics have the same + ID and name, but in several cases they are different: disks with device-mapper, interrupts, QoS classes, + statsd synthetic charts, etc. + +- `host tags = list of TAG=VALUE` defines tags that should be appended on all metrics for the given host. + These are currently only sent to opentsdb and prometheus. Please use the appropriate format for each + time-series db. For example opentsdb likes them like `TAG1=VALUE1 TAG2=VALUE2`, but prometheus like + `tag1="value1",tag2="value2"`. Host tags are mirrored with database replication (streaming of metrics + between Netdata servers). ## monitoring operation -netdata provides 5 charts: +Netdata provides 5 charts: -1. **Buffered metrics**, the number of metrics netdata added to the buffer for dispatching them to the - backend server. +1. **Buffered metrics**, the number of metrics Netdata added to the buffer for dispatching them to the + backend server. -2. **Buffered data size**, the amount of data (in KB) netdata added the buffer. +2. **Buffered data size**, the amount of data (in KB) Netdata added the buffer. -3. ~~**Backend latency**, the time the backend server needed to process the data netdata sent. - If there was a re-connection involved, this includes the connection time.~~ - (this chart has been removed, because it only measures the time netdata needs to give the data - to the O/S - since the backend servers do not ack the reception, netdata does not have any means - to measure this properly). +3. ~~**Backend latency**, the time the backend server needed to process the data Netdata sent. + If there was a re-connection involved, this includes the connection time.~~ + (this chart has been removed, because it only measures the time Netdata needs to give the data + to the O/S - since the backend servers do not ack the reception, Netdata does not have any means + to measure this properly). -4. **Backend operations**, the number of operations performed by netdata. +4. **Backend operations**, the number of operations performed by Netdata. -5. **Backend thread CPU usage**, the CPU resources consumed by the netdata thread, that is responsible - for sending the metrics to the backend server. +5. **Backend thread CPU usage**, the CPU resources consumed by the Netdata thread, that is responsible + for sending the metrics to the backend server.  @@ -204,14 +211,13 @@ netdata provides 5 charts: The latest version of the alarms configuration for monitoring the backend is [here](../health/health.d/backend.conf) -netdata adds 4 alarms: +Netdata adds 4 alarms: -1. `backend_last_buffering`, number of seconds since the last successful buffering of backend data -2. `backend_metrics_sent`, percentage of metrics sent to the backend server -3. `backend_metrics_lost`, number of metrics lost due to repeating failures to contact the backend server -4. ~~`backend_slow`, the percentage of time between iterations needed by the backend time to process the data sent by netdata~~ (this was misleading and has been removed). +1. `backend_last_buffering`, number of seconds since the last successful buffering of backend data +2. `backend_metrics_sent`, percentage of metrics sent to the backend server +3. `backend_metrics_lost`, number of metrics lost due to repeating failures to contact the backend server +4. ~~`backend_slow`, the percentage of time between iterations needed by the backend time to process the data sent by Netdata~~ (this was misleading and has been removed).  - -[]() +[](<>) |