January 2019 Summaries

TimeShift's 77th issue highlights the upcoming GrafanaCon LA, set for February 25-26, 2019, featuring talks and workshops on Grafana and related technologies like Prometheus, InfluxDB, and Kubernetes. The edition includes articles on visualizing Azure Monitor Log Analytics data in Grafana, setting up Prometheus for server monitoring, and using Grafana to display Fitbit data and Hyperledger Sawtooth Blockchain metrics. The latest Grafana v5.4.3 release introduces updates such as Docker image builds for ARM architectures and bug fixes including alert scheduler improvements. Readers are encouraged to participate in the community, provide feedback, and explore new job opportunities at Grafana Labs.

TimeShift's 76th issue highlights various updates and news in the Grafana ecosystem, including the release of Grafana v5.4.3 with Docker image support for ARM architectures and backend upgrades to golang 1.11.4. Key bug fixes address alert scheduling and dashboard link updates, while enhancements allow for more than 1000 data sources per organization and provisioning improvements. The Azure Data Explorer plugin integration with Grafana facilitates data visualization using Kusto Query Language, and a blog post details monitoring Apache Kafka using Grafana and Prometheus. GrafanaCon LA is announced for February 25-26, 2019, featuring talks and workshops on Grafana and related technologies. The Polystat panel plugin receives updates for better templating and clickthrough functionality. Grafana Labs is also hiring, with opportunities in technical customer support.

TimeShift's 75th issue highlights the latest updates and events surrounding Grafana, including the release of Grafana v5.4.2, which addresses issues with datasource creation, OAuth settings, and dashboard tag searches. The newsletter introduces two new plugins and updates several existing ones, enhancing functionalities such as SCADA-like graphics integration and improved data visualization capabilities. Readers are invited to GrafanaCon LA, scheduled for February 25-26, 2019, offering sessions on Grafana's features, the open-source monitoring ecosystem, and hands-on workshops. The issue also features blog posts on topics like Western Digital's cloud-scale simulation using Grafana, connecting Grafana to Azure Log Analytics, and monitoring Java applications with Prometheus and Grafana. Additionally, it emphasizes Grafana Labs' hiring initiatives and encourages community engagement through social media and forums.

Grafana announced the transition of its Debian and RPM package distribution to its own repository at packages.grafana.com, effective January 7, 2019, replacing the previous packagecloud repository. This change necessitates users to update their configurations to continue receiving updates. The new repository also includes support for armv7 and arm64 packages, catering to users who run Grafana on Raspberry Pi or other ARM-based devices. Comprehensive documentation is available to guide users on how to integrate the new repository into their systems, ensuring a seamless transition for users across various platforms like Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, and Red Hat.

TimeShift's Issue 74, published by Trent White on January 5, 2019, offers insights into various developments and updates within the Grafana ecosystem, including articles on the UX of Loki, a new open-source logging project, and visualizing pull request data from BitBucket using Grafana dashboards. The edition also provides highlights from the Grafana v5.4.2 release, which addresses issues in data source creation, OAuth auto-login settings, and dashboard search functionalities. It features predictions for 2019's monitoring and observability trends, highlighting Loki's potential for scalable, on-prem logging solutions. Additionally, the newsletter promotes the upcoming GrafanaCon LA on February 25-26, 2019, which promises two days of talks and workshops focused on Grafana and the open-source monitoring ecosystem. The issue also includes a call for open positions at Grafana Labs and a showcase of a creative application using Grafana to visualize health metrics from iOS HealthKit, demonstrating the community's engagement and innovation with Grafana's capabilities.

Grafana Labs developed Loki, a log aggregation system, to address the shortcomings of existing solutions that hinder quick log retrieval due to excessive features. The goal was to create a lean backend and an intuitive user interface within Grafana for simplified and faster log access. By eliminating pagination, Loki allows users to see a large number of log lines at once, aiding in pattern recognition and facilitating browser-based searches. Users can filter logs using time, labels, and regular expressions, and perform ad-hoc statistics to identify patterns or anomalies. The interface supports dynamic field parsing and offers a staged rendering approach to maintain browser performance while displaying up to 1000 log lines. Integrated with Grafana's Explore feature, Loki allows for a seamless transition from Prometheus metrics to relevant log data, enabling side-by-side analysis. Despite limitations in long-range data queries, Loki aims to enhance troubleshooting efficiency and is available for on-premises use or as a free demo on Grafana Cloud.