EZ-Homelab/docs/service-docs/prometheus.md

Prometheus - Metrics Database

Table of Contents

• Overview
• What is Prometheus?
• Why Use Prometheus?
• Configuration in AI-Homelab
• Official Resources
• Educational Resources
• Docker Configuration
• Setup

Overview

Category: Monitoring & Metrics
Docker Image: prom/prometheus
Default Stack: monitoring.yml
Web UI: http://SERVER_IP:9090
Query Language: PromQL
Ports: 9090

What is Prometheus?

Prometheus is an open-source monitoring system with a time-series database. It scrapes metrics from configured targets at intervals, stores them, and allows powerful querying. Combined with Grafana for visualization, it's the industry standard for infrastructure monitoring.

Key Features

• Time-Series DB: Store metrics over time
• Pull Model: Scrapes targets
• PromQL: Powerful query language
• Service Discovery: Auto-discover targets
• Alerting: Alert on conditions
• Exporters: Monitor anything
• Highly Scalable: Production-grade
• Free & Open Source: CNCF project

Why Use Prometheus?

1. Industry Standard: Used by Google, etc.
2. Powerful Queries: PromQL flexibility
3. Exporters: Monitor everything
4. Grafana Integration: Beautiful graphs
5. Alerting: Prometheus Alertmanager
6. Reliable: Battle-tested
7. Active Development: CNCF project

Configuration in AI-Homelab

/opt/stacks/monitoring/prometheus/
  prometheus.yml      # Configuration
  data/              # Time-series data
  rules/             # Alert rules

prometheus.yml

global:
  scrape_interval: 15s
  evaluation_interval: 15s

scrape_configs:
  - job_name: 'prometheus'
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['localhost:9090']

  - job_name: 'node-exporter'
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['node-exporter:9100']

  - job_name: 'cadvisor'
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['cadvisor:8080']

  - job_name: 'docker'
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['docker-proxy:2375']

alerting:
  alertmanagers:
    - static_configs:
        - targets: ['alertmanager:9093']

Official Resources

• Website: https://prometheus.io
• Documentation: https://prometheus.io/docs
• PromQL: https://prometheus.io/docs/prometheus/latest/querying/basics
• Exporters: https://prometheus.io/docs/instrumenting/exporters

Educational Resources

YouTube Videos

1. TechWorld with Nana - Prometheus Monitoring

   • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4Sl21AKiDg
   • Complete Prometheus tutorial
   • PromQL queries explained
   • Grafana integration

2. Techno Tim - Prometheus & Grafana

   • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TJx7QTrTyo
   • Docker setup
   • Exporters configuration
   • Dashboard creation

Articles

1. Prometheus Best Practices: https://prometheus.io/docs/practices/naming
2. PromQL Guide: https://timber.io/blog/promql-for-humans

Docker Configuration

prometheus:
  image: prom/prometheus:latest
  container_name: prometheus
  restart: unless-stopped
  networks:
    - traefik-network
  ports:
    - "9090:9090"
  command:
    - '--config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml'
    - '--storage.tsdb.path=/prometheus'
    - '--storage.tsdb.retention.time=30d'
    - '--web.console.libraries=/usr/share/prometheus/console_libraries'
    - '--web.console.templates=/usr/share/prometheus/consoles'
  volumes:
    - /opt/stacks/monitoring/prometheus/prometheus.yml:/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
    - /opt/stacks/monitoring/prometheus/data:/prometheus
    - /opt/stacks/monitoring/prometheus/rules:/etc/prometheus/rules
  labels:
    - "traefik.enable=true"
    - "traefik.http.routers.prometheus.rule=Host(`prometheus.${DOMAIN}`)"

Setup

1. Start Container:

   docker compose up -d prometheus
   

2. Access UI: http://SERVER_IP:9090

3. Check Targets:

   • Status → Targets
   • Verify exporters are "UP"

4. Test Query:

   • Graph tab
   • Query: up
   • Shows which targets are up

5. Example Queries:

   # CPU usage per container
   rate(container_cpu_usage_seconds_total[5m])
   
   # Memory usage
   container_memory_usage_bytes
   
   # Disk I/O
   rate(node_disk_read_bytes_total[5m])
   
   # Network traffic
   rate(container_network_receive_bytes_total[5m])
   

Summary

Prometheus is your metrics database offering:

• Time-series metric storage
• Powerful PromQL queries
• Exporter ecosystem
• Service discovery
• Alerting integration
• Grafana visualization
• Industry standard
• Free and open-source

Perfect for:

• Infrastructure monitoring
• Container metrics
• Application metrics
• Performance tracking
• Alerting
• Capacity planning

Key Points:

• Scrapes metrics from exporters
• Stores in time-series database
• PromQL for queries
• Integrates with Grafana
• Alertmanager for alerts
• 15s scrape interval default
• 30 day retention typical

Remember:

• Configure scrape targets
• Install exporters for data sources
• Use Grafana for visualization
• Set retention period
• Monitor disk space
• Learn PromQL basics
• Regular backups

Prometheus powers your monitoring infrastructure!