October 2018 Summaries

TimeShift, a publication by Grafana Labs, highlights recent updates and events related to open-source technologies, with a focus on the Grafana platform. The issue discusses the success of the All Things Open conference, where Grafana Labs participated, and mentions the upcoming GrafanaCon LA, encouraging early ticket purchases. It covers the latest stable release, Grafana v5.3.2, detailing various bug fixes and improvements for databases like InfluxDB, Postgres, and Cloudwatch. The publication also highlights blog posts on implementing SLOs with Prometheus and Grafana, using Grafana for monitoring operations, and configuring Kubernetes clusters. Grafana Labs is hiring and announces updates to plugins like Kentik Connect Pro, Instana Datasource, and Dynatrace Datasource. Upcoming events such as OSMC 2018, InfluxDays 2018, and KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2018 are promoted, showcasing Grafana's integration of metrics, logs, and tracing for enhanced observability and incident response. The newsletter invites readers to engage with the community and share feedback.

TimeShift Issue 65 provides updates on the latest developments in Grafana, including the introduction of the new Google Stackdriver core datasource and a new Postgres query editor. The issue highlights the imminent closing of the Call for Papers for GrafanaCon and encourages early bird ticket purchases for the event scheduled in Los Angeles in February 2019. The latest stable release, Grafana v5.3.1, addresses several bug fixes across various functionalities such as rendering, filtering, and variable handling. The newsletter also discusses the integration of Stackdriver data into Grafana through a new plugin, improvements in time-series exploration with PostgreSQL/TimescaleDB, and combining Azure Monitor with Azure Log Analytics. Additionally, it sheds light on upcoming events and talks, including those that focus on the RED Method for instrumentation, the addition of logging in Grafana, and the support for the new Flux scripting language. The publication concludes with an invitation to join Grafana Labs' open positions and ends with social media engagement prompts.

Grafana v5.3 introduced a new visual query editor for the PostgreSQL datasource, developed by TimescaleDB engineers, aimed at simplifying the exploration of time-series data. This tool allows users to create queries using drop-down menus and macros without needing extensive knowledge of SQL or database schemas, enhancing the accessibility of dynamic dashboards and visualizations. The integration of TimescaleDB with Grafana aligns with the open-source community ethos, supporting use cases across various industries, including IoT and DevOps. The query editor facilitates trend analysis through aggregation and window functions, offers gap-filling capabilities, and supports complex queries by combining SQL with visual tools. TimescaleDB's specific functionalities, such as time_bucket, are leveraged for more efficient time-series data management. The editor's features enable sharing customizable dashboards across organizations, further promoting data-driven insights. Both Grafana and TimescaleDB remain open-source, encouraging wider adoption and community contribution.

Grafana Labs has been actively preparing for the release of Grafana v5.3, which includes new features such as Stackdriver as a core datasource and a new graphical query editor for Postgres. The upcoming GrafanaCon event in Los Angeles, scheduled for February 2019, will focus on talks related to Grafana and the open-source monitoring ecosystem, with early bird tickets now available. The blogosphere highlights include a deep dive into Grafana v5.3's new features and guidance on setting up monitoring dashboards with Prometheus and Grafana. Additionally, a webinar is scheduled to explore the latest features of Graphite 1.1, and Grafana Labs is expanding their team with new open positions. Upcoming events where Grafana-related talks will be presented include All Things Open 2018, OSMC 2018, InfluxDays 2018, and KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2018, emphasizing topics such as service instrumentation, log aggregation, and full observability with Grafana.

Grafana v5.3 introduces several new features and enhancements, including built-in support for Google Stackdriver as a core datasource, improved TV and kiosk modes, and enhanced alerting capabilities with notification reminders. The update also features a new graphical query builder for Postgres, improved OAuth support for Gitlab, and enhanced native annotations with template variable filtering. Google Stackdriver integration allows users to visualize metrics in Grafana with support for alerting, heatmaps, and automatic unit detection, while the datasource remains in beta development. TV mode now offers more accessible view modes, and the new Text box variable type facilitates free text input. The update aims to improve usability and functionality, with ongoing development expected to refine existing features.

TimeShift's latest issue highlights the release of Grafana 5.3.0-beta3, featuring significant updates and bug fixes, alongside the stable version 5.2.4. It announces the sale of early bird tickets for GrafanaCon LA 2019 and encourages submissions for talks, offering complimentary tickets for selected proposals. The newsletter also showcases new and updated plugins, such as the Dark Sky Datasource and the Statusmap Panel, and highlights recent blog posts on using Grafana with various technologies, including Red Hat OpenShift and IoT data analytics. Upcoming events where Grafana will be featured, like All Things Open 2018 and KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2018, are also mentioned, as well as job opportunities at Grafana Labs. The community's growth is celebrated, with a spotlight on recent contributions and future plans for Grafana v6.0.