Linux System Monitoring: Prometheus and Grafana Setup Guide

Set up comprehensive Linux system monitoring using Prometheus and Grafana. Monitor CPU, memory, disk, network, and application metrics with beautiful dashboards.

Key takeaways

Set up comprehensive Linux system monitoring using Prometheus and Grafana.
Monitor CPU, memory, disk, network, and application metrics with beautiful dashboards.

Linux System Monitoring with Prometheus and Grafana #

Comprehensive system monitoring is essential for maintaining healthy Linux servers. This guide shows you how to set up Prometheus and Grafana for production-grade monitoring.

Why Prometheus and Grafana?#

Prometheus: Time-series database optimized for metrics
Grafana: Powerful visualization and alerting
Open Source: Free and community-driven
Scalable: Handles millions of metrics

Architecture Overview #

code

┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│   Node      │────▶│  Prometheus  │────▶│   Grafana   │
│  Exporter   │     │   (Metrics)  │     │ (Dashboards)│
└─────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └─────────────┘

Installation #

1. Install Prometheus #

bash.bash

# Download Prometheus
wget https://github.com/prometheus/prometheus/releases/download/v2.48.0/prometheus-2.48.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar xvfz prometheus-*.tar.gz
cd prometheus-*

# Create systemd service
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/prometheus.service <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=Prometheus
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=prometheus
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/prometheus \
  --config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml \
  --storage.tsdb.path=/var/lib/prometheus/ \
  --web.console.templates=/etc/prometheus/consoles \
  --web.console.libraries=/etc/prometheus/console_libraries

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable prometheus
sudo systemctl start prometheus

2. Install Node Exporter #

bash.bash

# Download Node Exporter
wget https://github.com/prometheus/node_exporter/releases/download/v1.7.0/node_exporter-1.7.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar xvfz node_exporter-*.tar.gz
sudo cp node_exporter-*/node_exporter /usr/local/bin/

# Create systemd service
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/node_exporter.service <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=Node Exporter
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=node_exporter
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/node_exporter

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable node_exporter
sudo systemctl start node_exporter

3. Configure Prometheus #

yaml.yaml

# /etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
global:
  scrape_interval: 15s
  evaluation_interval: 15s

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

  - job_name: 'node'
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['localhost:9100']
        labels:
          instance: 'server-01'
          environment: 'production'

4. Install Grafana #

bash.bash

# Add Grafana repository
sudo apt-get install -y software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository "deb https://packages.grafana.com/oss/deb stable main"
wget -q -O - https://packages.grafana.com/gpg.key | sudo apt-key add -

# Install Grafana
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install grafana

# Start Grafana
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable grafana-server
sudo systemctl start grafana-server

Key Metrics to Monitor #

System Metrics #

CPU Usage: node_cpu_seconds_total
Memory: node_memory_MemTotal_bytes, node_memory_MemAvailable_bytes
Disk I/O: node_disk_io_time_seconds_total
Network: node_network_receive_bytes_total, node_network_transmit_bytes_total
Load Average: node_load1, node_load5, node_load15

Application Metrics #

Request Rate: http_requests_total
Error Rate: http_requests_total{status=~"5.."}
Response Time: http_request_duration_seconds
Active Connections: http_connections_active

PromQL Queries #

CPU Usage #

code

100 - (avg by (instance) (rate(node_cpu_seconds_total{mode="idle"}[5m])) * 100)

Memory Usage #

code

(node_memory_MemTotal_bytes - node_memory_MemAvailable_bytes) / node_memory_MemTotal_bytes * 100

Disk Usage #

code

100 - ((node_filesystem_avail_bytes{mountpoint="/"} * 100) / node_filesystem_size_bytes{mountpoint="/"})

Grafana Dashboard Setup #

1. Add Prometheus Data Source #

Go to Configuration → Data Sources
Click "Add data source"
Select Prometheus
Enter URL: http://localhost:9090
Click "Save & Test"

2. Import Dashboard #

Go to Dashboards → Import
Enter dashboard ID: 1860 (Node Exporter Full)
Select Prometheus data source
Click "Import"

Alerting Rules #

yaml.yaml

# /etc/prometheus/alerts.yml
groups:
  - name: system_alerts
    interval: 30s
    rules:
      - alert: HighCPUUsage
        expr: 100 - (avg by (instance) (rate(node_cpu_seconds_total{mode="idle"}[5m])) * 100) > 80
        for: 5m
        labels:
          severity: warning
        annotations:
          summary: "High CPU usage on {{ $labels.instance }}"
          description: "CPU usage is above 80% for 5 minutes"

      - alert: HighMemoryUsage
        expr: (node_memory_MemTotal_bytes - node_memory_MemAvailable_bytes) / node_memory_MemTotal_bytes * 100 > 90
        for: 5m
        labels:
          severity: critical
        annotations:
          summary: "High memory usage on {{ $labels.instance }}"
          description: "Memory usage is above 90%"

      - alert: DiskSpaceLow
        expr: (node_filesystem_avail_bytes{mountpoint="/"} / node_filesystem_size_bytes{mountpoint="/"}) * 100 < 10
        for: 5m
        labels:
          severity: warning
        annotations:
          summary: "Low disk space on {{ $labels.instance }}"
          description: "Disk space is below 10%"

Docker Compose Setup #

yaml.yaml

version: '3.8'

services:
  prometheus:
    image: prom/prometheus:latest
    ports:
      - "9090:9090"
    volumes:
      - ./prometheus.yml:/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
      - prometheus-data:/prometheus
    command:
      - '--config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml'
      - '--storage.tsdb.path=/prometheus'

  grafana:
    image: grafana/grafana:latest
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - grafana-data:/var/lib/grafana
    environment:
      - GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=admin
    depends_on:
      - prometheus

  node-exporter:
    image: prom/node-exporter:latest
    ports:
      - "9100:9100"
    volumes:
      - /proc:/host/proc:ro
      - /sys:/host/sys:ro
      - /:/rootfs:ro
    command:
      - '--path.procfs=/host/proc'
      - '--path.sysfs=/host/sys'
      - '--collector.filesystem.mount-points-exclude=^/(sys|proc|dev|host|etc)($$|/)'

volumes:
  prometheus-data:
  grafana-data:

Best Practices #

Retention Policy: Set appropriate retention for metrics
Labeling: Use consistent labels for filtering
Cardinality: Avoid high-cardinality labels
Alerts: Set up meaningful alert thresholds
Dashboards: Create focused dashboards per team/service
Backup: Regularly backup Grafana dashboards

Prometheus and Grafana provide a powerful, open-source solution for Linux system monitoring. With proper configuration, you can gain deep insights into your infrastructure and applications, enabling proactive problem resolution.

Set up comprehensive Linux system monitoring using Prometheus and Grafana. Monitor CPU, memory, disk, network, and application metrics with beautiful dashboards.

Key takeaways

Set up comprehensive Linux system monitoring using Prometheus and Grafana.
Monitor CPU, memory, disk, network, and application metrics with beautiful dashboards.

Linux System Monitoring with Prometheus and Grafana #

Comprehensive system monitoring is essential for maintaining healthy Linux servers. This guide shows you how to set up Prometheus and Grafana for production-grade monitoring.

Why Prometheus and Grafana?#

Prometheus: Time-series database optimized for metrics
Grafana: Powerful visualization and alerting
Open Source: Free and community-driven
Scalable: Handles millions of metrics

Architecture Overview #

code

┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│   Node      │────▶│  Prometheus  │────▶│   Grafana   │
│  Exporter   │     │   (Metrics)  │     │ (Dashboards)│
└─────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └─────────────┘

Installation #

1. Install Prometheus #

bash.bash

# Download Prometheus
wget https://github.com/prometheus/prometheus/releases/download/v2.48.0/prometheus-2.48.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar xvfz prometheus-*.tar.gz
cd prometheus-*

# Create systemd service
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/prometheus.service <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=Prometheus
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=prometheus
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/prometheus \
  --config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml \
  --storage.tsdb.path=/var/lib/prometheus/ \
  --web.console.templates=/etc/prometheus/consoles \
  --web.console.libraries=/etc/prometheus/console_libraries

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable prometheus
sudo systemctl start prometheus

2. Install Node Exporter #

bash.bash

# Download Node Exporter
wget https://github.com/prometheus/node_exporter/releases/download/v1.7.0/node_exporter-1.7.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar xvfz node_exporter-*.tar.gz
sudo cp node_exporter-*/node_exporter /usr/local/bin/

# Create systemd service
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/node_exporter.service <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=Node Exporter
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=node_exporter
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/node_exporter

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable node_exporter
sudo systemctl start node_exporter

3. Configure Prometheus #

yaml.yaml

# /etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
global:
  scrape_interval: 15s
  evaluation_interval: 15s

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

  - job_name: 'node'
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['localhost:9100']
        labels:
          instance: 'server-01'
          environment: 'production'

4. Install Grafana #

bash.bash

# Add Grafana repository
sudo apt-get install -y software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository "deb https://packages.grafana.com/oss/deb stable main"
wget -q -O - https://packages.grafana.com/gpg.key | sudo apt-key add -

# Install Grafana
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install grafana

# Start Grafana
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable grafana-server
sudo systemctl start grafana-server

Key Metrics to Monitor #

System Metrics #

CPU Usage: node_cpu_seconds_total
Memory: node_memory_MemTotal_bytes, node_memory_MemAvailable_bytes
Disk I/O: node_disk_io_time_seconds_total
Network: node_network_receive_bytes_total, node_network_transmit_bytes_total
Load Average: node_load1, node_load5, node_load15

Application Metrics #

Request Rate: http_requests_total
Error Rate: http_requests_total{status=~"5.."}
Response Time: http_request_duration_seconds
Active Connections: http_connections_active

PromQL Queries #

CPU Usage #

code

100 - (avg by (instance) (rate(node_cpu_seconds_total{mode="idle"}[5m])) * 100)

Memory Usage #

code

(node_memory_MemTotal_bytes - node_memory_MemAvailable_bytes) / node_memory_MemTotal_bytes * 100

Disk Usage #

code

100 - ((node_filesystem_avail_bytes{mountpoint="/"} * 100) / node_filesystem_size_bytes{mountpoint="/"})

Grafana Dashboard Setup #

1. Add Prometheus Data Source #

Go to Configuration → Data Sources
Click "Add data source"
Select Prometheus
Enter URL: http://localhost:9090
Click "Save & Test"

2. Import Dashboard #

Go to Dashboards → Import
Enter dashboard ID: 1860 (Node Exporter Full)
Select Prometheus data source
Click "Import"

Alerting Rules #

yaml.yaml

# /etc/prometheus/alerts.yml
groups:
  - name: system_alerts
    interval: 30s
    rules:
      - alert: HighCPUUsage
        expr: 100 - (avg by (instance) (rate(node_cpu_seconds_total{mode="idle"}[5m])) * 100) > 80
        for: 5m
        labels:
          severity: warning
        annotations:
          summary: "High CPU usage on {{ $labels.instance }}"
          description: "CPU usage is above 80% for 5 minutes"

      - alert: HighMemoryUsage
        expr: (node_memory_MemTotal_bytes - node_memory_MemAvailable_bytes) / node_memory_MemTotal_bytes * 100 > 90
        for: 5m
        labels:
          severity: critical
        annotations:
          summary: "High memory usage on {{ $labels.instance }}"
          description: "Memory usage is above 90%"

      - alert: DiskSpaceLow
        expr: (node_filesystem_avail_bytes{mountpoint="/"} / node_filesystem_size_bytes{mountpoint="/"}) * 100 < 10
        for: 5m
        labels:
          severity: warning
        annotations:
          summary: "Low disk space on {{ $labels.instance }}"
          description: "Disk space is below 10%"

Docker Compose Setup #

yaml.yaml

version: '3.8'

services:
  prometheus:
    image: prom/prometheus:latest
    ports:
      - "9090:9090"
    volumes:
      - ./prometheus.yml:/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
      - prometheus-data:/prometheus
    command:
      - '--config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml'
      - '--storage.tsdb.path=/prometheus'

  grafana:
    image: grafana/grafana:latest
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - grafana-data:/var/lib/grafana
    environment:
      - GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=admin
    depends_on:
      - prometheus

  node-exporter:
    image: prom/node-exporter:latest
    ports:
      - "9100:9100"
    volumes:
      - /proc:/host/proc:ro
      - /sys:/host/sys:ro
      - /:/rootfs:ro
    command:
      - '--path.procfs=/host/proc'
      - '--path.sysfs=/host/sys'
      - '--collector.filesystem.mount-points-exclude=^/(sys|proc|dev|host|etc)($$|/)'

volumes:
  prometheus-data:
  grafana-data:

Best Practices #

Retention Policy: Set appropriate retention for metrics
Labeling: Use consistent labels for filtering
Cardinality: Avoid high-cardinality labels
Alerts: Set up meaningful alert thresholds
Dashboards: Create focused dashboards per team/service
Backup: Regularly backup Grafana dashboards

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Key takeaways

Get the DevOps Troubleshooting Cheat Sheet

AWS Cost Optimization: 10 Strategies to Reduce Your Cloud Bill

Infrastructure as Code: Terraform vs Pulumi vs Ansible

About Kiril Urbonas

More from Linux

ext4 vs XFS vs Btrfs: Choosing a Filesystem for a Server

journald Log Management: Retention, Filtering, and Forwarding

DNS Troubleshooting on Linux: A Systematic Approach

You might have missed

Azure DevOps Best Practices in 2026: Build Pipelines You Can Trust

Real-World RAG Incidents: Lessons from a Production Rollout

A Pragmatic Multi-Region Strategy for Small Teams