In the field of research, there is an innovative and precise method for conducting investigations, known as Prometheus - a research tool that is freely accessible and open-source. This tool can be either a software or hardware component that captures and retains information about applications and their performance over certain periods. In this manner, it allows to see how business operated at different times. The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) was the one who developed and are maintaining this system till now. Currently prometheus pairs up well with existing cloud technologies thus can be used in several situations.
In this manner, qualitative system performance is obviously presented by Prometheus leading to convenience for management analysts. This tool uses PromQL which combines policies data for better understanding together with warnings which notify us about problems before they become worse. As a result, we are able to run smooth and efficient services in the current fast paced technology world. In typical day-to-day lives, Prometheus is increasingly being used and is becoming essential in ensuring that system management is enhanced.What are metrics !!
Metrics are numerical measurements that track and analyze changes over time. Depending on what we are monitoring, they can vary – such as the request time for a web server or the number of active connections for a database. Basically, metrics help us understand various aspects of application or system performance.
Why are metrics important !!
Metrics help us understand and diagnose problems in our applications. For example, if our web application is running slowly, metrics can show us why. If we see too many requests, we can use this data to check if our current setup is overloaded and determine if we need to add more servers to improve performance.
Features of Prometheus
Multi dimensional data : Prometheus sorts and organizes time-series data using categories like jobs, instances and labels. This flexible setup allows us to easily analyze and understand data from different angles.
Flexible Query Language (PromQL) : Prometheus uses a powerful query language called PromQL, which makes it easy for us to search and analyze the collected data. This allows us to adapt Prometheus for different systems and services, to perform detailed searches and data analysis in real time.
Alerting Rules : Prometheus allows us to create rules that trigger alerts when certain conditions are met. This helps catch problems before they affect users. It also works with Alertmanager, which manages and sends these alerts.
Data Visualization : Prometheus works seamlessly with tools like Grafna, helping us create clean and visually appealing dashboards and reports. It also integrates well with Kubernetes, making it great for monitoring containerized applications and effectively visualizing data.
Scalability and Federation : Prometheus can be set up in a federated system, where multiple Prometheus instances work together. This makes it scalable and suitable for large as well as distributed systems.
Components of Prometheus
Prometheus Server : Collects and stores time series data from various sources. It keeps this information locally for analysis.
Service Discovery : Automatically discovers and monitors services without the need for manual configuration. This simplifies the setup process for monitoring.
Scrap Configuration : Specifies how and when to collect metrics from various targets. This ensures that metrics are collected at the correct intervals.
PromQL : A powerful query language used to search and analyze metrics data. It allows detailed search and aggregation of collected data.
Alert Manager : Manages and organizes alerts by duplicating and routing them to different channels such as email or Slack. It helps to manage alert notifications effectively.
PushGateway : Let short-lived or batch jobs send their metrics to Prometheus. This material is useful for jobs that don't last long enough to scrap directly.
Exporter : Convert metrics from third-party systems into a format that Prometheus can read. They help integrate various external services with Prometheus.
Architecture of prometheus
Prometheus Server collects and stores metrics data from specific sources at regular intervals, saving it automatically. This setup makes Prometheus reliable and enables it to continue operating during outages because each server operates independently.
Prometheus Server : The core system collects metrics data from various sources and stores them locally. It retrieves the data at regular intervals to keep the information up-to-date.
Client Libraries : Libraries built into applications to show metrics in a way Prometheus can read. They help applications send data to Prometheus easily.
Exporters : Prometheus understands tools that take metrics from other systems and transform them into a format. They help connect various third-party services to Prometheus.
Pushgateway : A component that collects metrics from short-lived jobs that may not be long enough for Prometheus to scrape directly. This allows temporary metrics to be pushed to Prometheus.
Alertmanager : Manages and organizes alerts from Prometheus. It groups and removes duplicates and sends alerts to the right person or system.
Web UI : A graphical interface for viewing metrics data and setting up monitoring tasks. It helps users easily access and manage collected data.
When does it fit !!
Prometheus is excellent for tracking numeric time-series data in both stable, machine-based environments and dynamic, service-oriented setups. It’s designed to be reliable even during system outages, functioning independently without needing extra infrastructure or network storage. This makes it a dependable tool for monitoring and diagnosing issues in various scenarios.
Versatile Monitoring : Prometheus is a reliable open-source tool that can monitor different parts of your application including microservices, frontend, backend, server, hardware and infrastructure such as service mesh.
Integration with Tools : Many open source tools, such as Istio (Service Mesh) and CoreDNS (Kubernetes DNS), support Prometheus directly. For services without HTTP endpoints, you can use exporters to collect metrics.
Open-Source Benefits : Prometheus is free to use, its code is available on GitHub, and we can customize it to meet your needs.
Alert Management : It includes AlertManager, which helps manage and group alerts to reduce alert fatigue, preventing us from being overwhelmed by too many notifications.
Reliability : Prometheus servers operate independently, so monitoring continues even when parts of our system are down. This is crucial for keeping track of problems during outages.
When does not !!
We value reliability with Prometheus. We can always check available statistics about our system, even if there are failures. However, if we need 100% accuracy for things like per-request billing, Prometheus might not be detailed enough. In that case, we should use another system for billing data and use Prometheus for the rest of our monitoring.
Long-Term Data Storage : Prometheus is not designed for long-term data storage. For extended storage, we can use platforms like New Relic, which retain data for more than a year.
Need for 100% Accuracy : Prometheus prioritizes reliability over absolute accuracy. For applications that require precise accuracy, such as billing systems, we may need a different tool. Prometheus balances reliability and accuracy, as the CAP theorem dictates that we cannot achieve both perfectly.
Automatic Setup : If we need a tool that automatically detects and sets up services quickly, an Observable platform can be a good choice. Prometheus requires us to manually configure services and endpoints, which can be time-consuming for large systems.
Combining Tools : We can use Prometheus with other tools like New Relic to take advantage of both: Prometheus for monitoring and New Relic for long-term storage and automated setup.
We can monitor with Prometheus
We have a detailed article on monitoring with Prometheus, but here’s a quick glance Prometheus can monitor almost everything in our system. It tracks metrics for applications, backend services, server performance, hardware, and infrastructure, providing a comprehensive view of your system’s health.
Frontend : Track application metrics such as throughput and response time. Use Blackbox Exporter to check if your website is up and running.
Backend : Monitor the status of database, API and HTTP requests. Track metrics such as request latency, log events and errors and use the JMX exporter for JVM applications.
Servers : Monitor server performance, such as average response time, using Blackbox Exporter. Track metrics for CPU usage, disk space and Apache web servers.
Hardware : Monitor hardware metrics such as CPU usage, disk usage, network bandwidth, and memory on Linux and Unix systems using Node Exporter.
Infrastructure : Oversee our entire infrastructure including hosts, applications, and containers. Monitor services like MySQL, Kafka and Cassandra to track performance and spot issues.
Overall, Prometheus is a reliable, open-source monitoring tool that collects and stores time-series data from a variety of sources. It focuses on reliability and offers features such as automatic service discovery, flexible search and alert management. For long-term storage, other tools like New Relic are better. Prometheus is not ideal for applications that require absolute precision and requires manual setup, which can be time-consuming for large systems.