python-graphite-dashgen 1

Graphite-dashgen automates the creation of Graphite dashboards

Overview

Graphite-dashgen automates the creation of Graphite dashboards. It creates per-host or per-group dashboards based on YAML configuration files. The per-host host dashboards are designed to create dashboards on existing collectd metrics. Unlike most of the alternatives below, this project seeks to use existing Graphite 0.9.9+ code.

Example

# Graphite Maintenance
# Delete stale Graphite data
0   22  *   *   *   find /opt/graphite/storage/log/ -type f -mtime +180 -delete
0   22  *   *   *   find /opt/graphite/storage/whisper/collectd/ -type f -mtime +90 -delete
0   22  *   *   *   find /opt/graphite/storage/whisper/statsd/ -type f -mtime +90 -delete
# Delete empty directories
0   23  *   *   *   find /opt/graphite/storage/log/ -type d -empty -delete
0   23  *   *   *   find /opt/graphite/storage/whisper/collectd/ -type d -empty -delete
0   23  *   *   *   find /opt/graphite/storage/whisper/statsd/ -type d -empty -delete
# Regenerate all dashboards
@daily /usr/local/sbin/dashgen.py -q -f /usr/local/etc/dashgen/dashconf.yml -f /usr/local/etc/dashgen/all_*.yml -H '*'

The crontab example above:

1. Cleans-up old graphite logs

2. Cleans-up old whisper databases

3. Regenerates per-host dashboards using the following configuration files

   1. dashconf.yml: base configuration values

   2. all_dash.yml: per-host dashboard configuration (HOST_all dashboards)

   3. all_graphs.yml: per-host graph defintions for collectd metrics

Notes

• YAML Configuration Files

  • Target entries are as close to web GUI as possible to make it easier to go back and forth

• Dashboard Types

  1. Per-Host

  2. Per-Group

• Per-Host Graphs

  • Types

    1. Host Metrics: identified by glob_verify and may contain glob_metrics

    2. Carbon Metrics: identified by carbon_match and host

  • The combination of glob_metrics and glob_verify should result in a single filesystem glob match

• String Templates

  • Named substitutions draw from target_vars. Graph definitions that contain named substitutions not in target_vars are skipped.

  • Common target_vars include:

    • ${color_combined}

    • ${color_free}

    • ${host}

    • ${metric}

• Graphite Graph Tips and Tricks

  • Lines drawn by graphite obscure the lines drawn before them. Z order is important. Consequently, many of the graphs’ metrics change color depending on their values.

  • For graphs that feature a free metric (ex. memory), that free metric is always green (green should not be included in the template’s lineColor)

Requirements

• Graphite 0.9.9+

• PyYAML (Ubuntu package: python-yaml)

To Do

• More documentation!

• Use templates with different colorList to easily differentiate graphs

• (?) should graphs be sorted by parent instead of children (ex. all disk vda graphs before any vdb graphs)

Alternatives

A slightly different (and refreshing) take on Graphite dashboards:

• Tasseo

The following projects existed before Graphite included a dashboard view:

• Etsy Dashboards

• GDash

• Graphiti

• Tattle

The Graphite 0.9.12 documentation includes a good list of related software:

• Tools That Work With Graphite

Contributors

• https://github.com/TimZehta

• https://github.com/insyte

License

• LICENSE.txt (MIT License)