Introduction:)

Today, we embark on a hands-on journey into the realm of Prometheus, focusing on the creation of a comprehensive Docker monitoring dashboard.

Prerequisites:

Before we dive into the world of container monitoring, let's ensure we have the necessary prerequisites in place.

• A EC2 Linux server running Docker with latest version of Docker Compose

• Ports 9090, 9100 and 3000 accessible from monitoring tools

• Basic Linux administration and Docker familiarity

Step to monitoring containers

1. Grafana Installation:

• Install Grafana on EC2: Follow the official Grafana installation guide to set up Grafana on your EC2 instance. Also, You can find the guide here.

• https://devxblog.hashnode.dev/setting-up-grafana-on-aws-ec2-a-step-by-step-guide

2. Docker and Docker-Compose:

• Docker Installation: Install Docker on your EC2 instance by following the official Docker installation guide for Amazon Linux.

• Docker-Compose Installation: Install Docker-Compose using the following commands:

    sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
    sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
    docker-compose --version
  

3. Prometheus, cAdvisor, and Node Exporter:

• Docker-Compose File: Create a docker-compose.yml file with configurations for Prometheus, cAdvisor, and Node Exporter.

• Prometheus Configuration: Create a Prometheus configuration file (prometheus.yml) to specify scraping targets, including cAdvisor and Node Exporter.

• Refer to the previous setup blog.

• https://devxblog.hashnode.dev/simplified-setup-prometheus-cadvisor-redis-and-node-exporter

4. Node Exporter Installation:

• Node Exporter Download: Download Node Exporter using the following command:

    wget https://github.com/prometheus/node_exporter/releases/download/v1.0.1/node_exporter-1.0.1.linux-amd64.tar.gz
  

• Node Exporter Setup: Unzip the downloaded file and run Node Exporter to start collecting system metrics.

    tar xvfz node_exporter-1.0.1.linux-amd64.tar.gz
    cd node_exporter-1.0.1.linux-amd64
    ./node_exporter &
  

5: Create Docker Containers with a Todo App

Step 1: Pull the Docker image from your Docker Hub repository

docker pull simbaa815/node-todo

Step 2: Create a Docker network

• Create a Docker network to facilitate communication between containers. You can use the following command:

    docker network create todo-net
  

  

  Using a Docker network is not strictly required, but it is a good practice for creating isolated communication channels between containers.

Step 3: Run two containers

• Run two containers with a basic todo app, each connected to the previously created network.

    docker run -d --network todo-net --name todo-app-1 your-todo-image
    docker run -d --network todo-net --name todo-app-2 your-todo-image
  

  

• You can check the running containers using:

    docker ps
  

  

6. Integrate Prometheus with Grafana server

Step 1: Access Grafana

Login to the Grafana web console using your browser. The default address is usually http://your_server_ip:3000. Log in with your Grafana credentials.

Step 2: Add Prometheus as a Data Source

1. In Grafana, navigate to the gear icon ( ☰ ) on the left sidebar and click on "Data Sources."

   

2. Click on the "Add your data source" or the "Add data source" button.

   

3. Choose "Prometheus" from the list of available data sources.

   

4. Configure the Prometheus data source:

   • Name: Provide a name for the data source (e.g., Prometheus).

     

   • HTTP: Set the URL to the Prometheus server (e.g., http://your_prometheus_server_ip:9090).

     

5. Scroll down and click on "Save & Test" to verify the connection. If the connection is successful, Grafana will display a green "Data source is working" message.

   

6: Create Dashboards and Visualizations

1. In Grafana, go to the "+" icon on the left sidebar and select "Dashboard."

   

2. Click on "Add new panel" to create a new visualization.

   

   

3. In the panel settings, choose the "Prometheus" data source you just added.

   

4. Enter a Prometheus query to retrieve the desired metrics. You can use the Prometheus Query Editor to build your queries.

   

5. Customize the visualization settings, such as axes, legends, and visualization type.

6. Click on "Apply" to save the panel settings.

Conclusion:)

In conclusion, our monitoring journey has been a success. We've established a robust infrastructure, integrating Grafana, Docker, Docker-Compose, and Prometheus to monitor our Docker containers effectively.

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