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diff --git a/backends/README.md b/backends/README.md index f93e60f56..ac0847dca 100644 --- a/backends/README.md +++ b/backends/README.md @@ -1,26 +1,25 @@ # Metrics long term archiving -Netdata supports backends for archiving the metrics, or providing long term dashboards, -using Grafana or other tools, like this: +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 -frequency, by resampling them. +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 -X seconds (though, it can send them per second if you need it to). +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 - - **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) @@ -33,12 +32,12 @@ X seconds (though, it can send them per second if you need it to). - **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)) + **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** @@ -54,32 +53,37 @@ X seconds (though, it can send them per second if you need it to). 4. Netdata supports three modes of operation for all backends: - - `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. + - `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. + - `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 + - `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`. + 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. ## configuration -In `/etc/netdata/netdata.conf` you should have something like this (if not download the latest version -of `netdata.conf` from your Netdata): +In `/etc/netdata/netdata.conf` you should have something like this (if not download the latest version of `netdata.conf` +from your Netdata): -``` +```conf [backend] enabled = yes | no type = graphite | opentsdb:telnet | opentsdb:http | opentsdb:https | prometheus_remote_write | json | kinesis | mongodb @@ -98,92 +102,87 @@ of `netdata.conf` from your Netdata): - `enabled = yes | no`, enables or disables sending data to a backend -- `type = graphite | opentsdb:telnet | opentsdb:http | opentsdb:https | json | kinesis | mongodb`, 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]`. `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). Example IPv4: -``` +```conf destination = 10.11.14.2:4242 10.11.14.3:4242 10.11.14.4:4242 ``` Example IPv6 and IPv4 together: -``` +```conf 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), - 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. + 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. For kinesis backend `destination` should be set to an AWS region (for example, `us-east-1`). The MongoDB backend doesn't use the `destination` option for its configuration. It uses the `mongodb.conf` - [configuration file](mongodb/README.md) instead. + [configuration file](../backends/mongodb/) instead. -- `data source = as collected`, or `data source = average`, or `data source = sum`, selects the kind of - data that will be sent to the backend. +- `data source = as collected`, or `data source = average`, or `data source = sum`, selects the kind of data that will + be sent to the backend. -- `hostname = my-name`, is the hostname to be used for sending data to the backend server. By default - this is `[global].hostname`. +- `hostname = my-name`, is the hostname to be used for sending data to the backend server. By default this is + `[global].hostname`. - `prefix = Netdata`, is the prefix to add to all metrics. -- `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. - -- `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). - -- `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 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 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 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). +- `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. + +- `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). + +- `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 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 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 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 @@ -194,16 +193,15 @@ Netdata provides 5 charts: 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. -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.  @@ -216,7 +214,8 @@ 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). +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).  |