DEV Community

Cover image for How to set up a system monitoring for linux server using node exporter, prometheus & grafana
coder7475
coder7475

Posted on • Edited on

How to set up a system monitoring for linux server using node exporter, prometheus & grafana

#linux #grafana #monitoring #prometheus

Monitoring your Linux VPS is essential to track system performance and prevent potential issues. In this guide, you'll learn how to set up monitoring using Node Exporter, Prometheus, and Grafana Cloud.

1. Install and Configure Node Exporter

Node Exporter collects system metrics from the Linux VPS.

Step 1: Download Node Exporter 

wget https://github.com/prometheus/node_exporter/releases/download/v1.9.0/node_exporter-1.9.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 2: Extract and Move the Binary 

tar -xvf node_exporter-1.9.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz sudo mv node_exporter-1.9.0.linux-amd64/node_exporter /usr/local/bin/
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 3: Create a System User 

sudo useradd --system --no-create-home --shell /bin/false node_exporter
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 4: Set Up Node Exporter as a Service

Create the service file:

sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/node_exporter.service
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Add the following content:

[Unit] Description=Node Exporter After=network.target Wants=network-online.target [Service] User=node_exporter Group=node_exporter Type=simple ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/node_exporter # Securtiy Settings ProtectHome=true NoNewPrivileges=true ProtectSystem=strict PrivateTmp=true PrivateDevices=true ProtectKernelTunables=true ProtectKernelModules=true ProtectControlGroups=true RestrictNamespaces=true RestrictRealtime=true RestrictSUIDSGID=true # Resources LimitNPROC=8192 LimitNOFILE=65535 LimitCORE=infinity # Restart Restart=always RestartSec=5 [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 5: Start and Enable Node Exporter 

sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl start node_exporter sudo systemctl enable node_exporter
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 6: Verify Node Exporter 

ss -aplnt | grep 9100 curl http://localhost:9100/metrics
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

2. Install and Configure Prometheus

Prometheus scrapes metrics from Node Exporter.

Step 1: Download Prometheus 

wget https://github.com/prometheus/prometheus/releases/download/v3.2.0/prometheus-3.2.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 2: Extract and Move Files 

tar -xvf prometheus-3.2.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz sudo mv prometheus-3.2.0.linux-amd64/prometheus /usr/local/bin/ sudo mv prometheus-3.2.0.linux-amd64/promtool /usr/local/bin/ sudo mkdir -p /etc/prometheus /var/lib/prometheus/data /var/lib/prometheus/query_log sudo mv prometheus-3.2.0.linux-amd64/prometheus.yml /etc/prometheus/
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 3: Edit the Configuration File 

sudo vim /etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Add:

scrape_configs: - job_name: 'node' static_configs: - targets: ['localhost:9100', 'localhost:9090'] scrape_interval: 15s scrape_timeout: 5s
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Verify the config:

promtool check config /etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 4: Set Up Prometheus as a Service 

sudo useradd -rs /bin/false prometheus
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode 
sudo chown -R prometheus:prometheus /etc/prometheus /var/lib/prometheus /usr/local/bin/prometheus /usr/local/bin/promtool sudo chmod -R 755 /var/lib/prometheus
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Create the service file:

sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/prometheus.service
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Add:

[Unit] Description=Prometheus Monitoring System Documentation=https://prometheus.io/docs/prometheus/latest/installation/ After=network-online.target Wants=network-online.target [Service] Type=simple User=prometheus Group=prometheus WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/prometheus ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/prometheus \  --config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml \  --storage.tsdb.path=/var/lib/prometheus/data \  --web.console.templates=/etc/prometheus/consoles \  --web.console.libraries=/etc/prometheus/console_libraries \  --query.lookback-delta=5m \  --enable-feature=memory-snapshot-on-shutdown # Security Settings ProtectHome=true NoNewPrivileges=true ProtectSystem=false PrivateTmp=true PrivateDevices=true ProtectKernelTunables=true ProtectKernelModules=true ProtectControlGroups=true RestrictNamespaces=true RestrictRealtime=true RestrictSUIDSGID=true # Resource Limits LimitNOFILE=65535 LimitNPROC=4096 LimitCORE=infinity # Restart Configuration Restart=always RestartSec=5 [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 5: Start and Enable Prometheus 

sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl start prometheus sudo systemctl enable prometheus
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 6: Verify Prometheus 

ss -aplnt | grep 9090 curl localhost:9090/metrics
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

3. Set Up Grafana Cloud Dashboard

Grafana visualizes metrics collected by Prometheus.

Step 1: Sign Up for Grafana Cloud

  • Create an account on Grafana Cloud.
  • Obtain your Prometheus remote write URL and API key.

Step 2: Configure Prometheus for Remote Write

Edit /etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml:

remote_write: - url: "https://prometheus-blocks-prod-us-central1.grafana.net/api/v1/write" basic_auth: username: "<your-grafana-cloud-instance-id>" password: "<your-api-key>"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 3: Restart Prometheus 

sudo systemctl restart prometheus
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 4: Import Dashboards in Grafana Cloud

4. Verify Setup

  • Access Grafana Cloud at https://<your-grafana-instance>.grafana.net.
  • View metrics such as CPU usage, memory consumption, and disk I/O in real-time.

References

  1. Installing Prometheus and Node Exporter
  2. Step-by-step guide for Prometheus and Grafana
  3. Configuring Prometheus Remote Write
  4. How to Monitor Linux Servers with Prometheus
  5. Official Prometheus Documentation

Now, your Linux VPS is fully monitored with Node Exporter, Prometheus, and Grafana Cloud. 🎉 Let me know in the comments if you have any questions! 🚀

Top comments (0)