157 lines
7.4 KiB
Markdown
157 lines
7.4 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
title: Creating Chronograf alert rules
|
|
description: Creating Chronograf alert rules, specifying time series data and thresholds. Example sends alerts to a Slack channel.
|
|
aliases:
|
|
- /chronograf/v1.7/guides/create-a-kapacitor-alert/
|
|
menu:
|
|
chronograf_1_7:
|
|
name: Creating alert rules
|
|
weight: 60
|
|
parent: Guides
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
Chronograf provides a user interface for [Kapacitor](/{{< latest "kapacitor" >}}/), InfluxData's processing framework for creating alerts, ETL jobs (running extract, transform, load), and detecting anomalies in your data.
|
|
Chronograf alert rules correspond to Kapacitor tasks that trigger alerts whenever certain conditions are met.
|
|
Behind the scenes, these tasks are stored as [TICKscripts](/{{< latest "kapacitor" >}}/tick/) that can be edited manually or through Chronograf.
|
|
Common alerting use cases that can be managed using Chronograf include:
|
|
|
|
* Thresholds with static ceilings, floors, and ranges.
|
|
* Relative thresholds based on unit or percentage changes.
|
|
* Deadman switches.
|
|
|
|
Complex alerts and other tasks can be defined directly in Kapacitor as TICKscripts, but can be viewed and managed within Chronograf.
|
|
|
|
This guide walks through creating a Chronograf alert rule that sends an alert message to an existing [Slack](https://slack.com/) channel whenever your idle CPU usage crosses the 80% threshold.
|
|
|
|
## Requirements
|
|
|
|
[Getting started with Chronograf](/chronograf/v1.7/introduction/getting-started/) offers step-by-step instructions for each of the following requirements:
|
|
|
|
* Downloaded and install the entire TICKstack (Telegraf, InfluxDB, Chronograf, and Kapacitor).
|
|
* Configure Telegraf to collect data using the InfluxDB [system statistics](https://github.com/influxdata/telegraf/tree/master/plugins/inputs/system) input plugin and write data to your InfluxDB instance.
|
|
* [Create a Kapacitor connection in Chronograf](/chronograf/v1.7/introduction/installation/#connect-chronograf-to-kapacitor).
|
|
* Slack is available and configured as an event handler in Chronograf. See [Configuring Chronograf alert endpoints](/chronograf/v1.7/guides/configuring-alert-endpoints/) for detailed configuration instructions.
|
|
|
|
## Configuring Chronograf alert rules
|
|
|
|
Navigate to the **Manage Tasks** page under **Alerting** in the left navigation, then click **+ Build Alert Rule** in the top right corner.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The **Manage Tasks** page is used to create and edit your Chronograf alert rules.
|
|
The steps below guide you through the process of creating a Chronograf alert rule.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
### Step 1: Name the alert rule
|
|
|
|
Under **Name this Alert Rule** provide a name for the alert.
|
|
For this example, use "Idle CPU Usage" as your alert name.
|
|
|
|
### Step 2: Select the alert type
|
|
|
|
Choose from three alert types under the **Alert Types** section of the Rule Configuration page:
|
|
|
|
_**Threshold**_
|
|
Alert if data crosses a boundary.
|
|
|
|
_**Relative**_
|
|
Alert if data changes relative to data in a different time range.
|
|
|
|
_**Deadman**_
|
|
Alert if InfluxDB receives no relevant data for a specified time duration.
|
|
|
|
For this example, select the **Threshold** alert type.
|
|
|
|
### Step 3: Select the time series data
|
|
|
|
Choose the time series data you want the Chronograf alert rule to use.
|
|
Navigate through databases, measurements, fields, and tags to select the relevant data.
|
|
|
|
In this example, select the `telegraf` [database](/{{< latest "influxdb" "v1" >}}/concepts/glossary/#database), the `autogen` [retention policy](/{{< latest "influxdb" "v1" >}}/concepts/glossary/#retention-policy-rp), the `cpu` [measurement](/{{< latest "influxdb" "v1" >}}/concepts/glossary/#measurement), and the `usage_idle` [field](/{{< latest "influxdb" "v1" >}}/concepts/glossary/#field).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
### Step 4: Define the rule condition
|
|
|
|
Define the threshold condition.
|
|
Condition options are determined by the [alert type](#step-2-select-the-alert-type).
|
|
For this example, the alert conditions are if `usage_idle` is less than `80`.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The graph shows a preview of the relevant data and the threshold number.
|
|
By default, the graph shows data from the past 15 minutes.
|
|
Adjusting the graph's time range is helpful when determining a reasonable threshold number based on your data.
|
|
|
|
> We set the threshold number to `80` for demonstration purposes.
|
|
> Setting the threshold for idle CPU usage to a high number ensures that we'll be able to see the alert in action.
|
|
> In practice, you'd set the threshold number to better match the patterns in your data and your alerting needs.
|
|
|
|
### Step 5: Select and configure the alert handler
|
|
|
|
The **Alert Handler** section determines where the system sends the alert (the event handler)
|
|
Chronograf supports several event handlers.
|
|
Each handler has unique configurable options.
|
|
|
|
For this example, choose the **slack** alert handler and enter the desired options.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
> Multiple alert handlers can be added to send alerts to multiple endpoints.
|
|
|
|
### Step 6: Configure the alert message
|
|
|
|
The alert message is the text that accompanies an alert.
|
|
Alert messages are templates that have access to alert data.
|
|
Available data templates appear below the message text field.
|
|
As you type your alert message, clicking the data templates will insert them at end of whatever text has been entered.
|
|
|
|
In this example, use the alert message, `Your idle CPU usage is {{.Level}} at {{ index .Fields "value" }}.`.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*View the Kapacitor documentation for more information about [message template data](/{{< latest "kapacitor" >}}/nodes/alert_node/#message).*
|
|
|
|
### Step 7: Save the alert rule
|
|
|
|
Click **Save Rule** in the top right corner and navigate to the **Manage Tasks** page to see your rule.
|
|
Notice that you can easily enable and disable the rule by toggling the checkbox in the **Enabled** column.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Next, move on to the section below to experience your alert rule in action.
|
|
|
|
## Viewing alerts in practice
|
|
|
|
### Step 1: Create some load on your system
|
|
|
|
The purpose of this step is to generate enough load on your system to trigger an alert.
|
|
More specifically, your idle CPU usage must dip below `80%`.
|
|
On the machine that's running Telegraf, enter the following command in the terminal to start some `while` loops:
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
while true; do i=0; done
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
Let it run for a few seconds or minutes before terminating it.
|
|
On most systems, kill the script by using `Ctrl+C`.
|
|
|
|
### Step 2: View the alerts
|
|
|
|
Go to the Slack channel that you specified in the previous section.
|
|
In this example, it's the `#chronocats` channel.
|
|
|
|
Assuming the first step was successful, `#ohnos` should reveal at least two alert messages:
|
|
|
|
* The first alert message indicates that your idle CPU usage was `CRITICAL`, meaning it dipped below `80%`.
|
|
* The second alert message indicates that your idle CPU usage returned to an `OK` level of `80%` or above.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can also see alerts on the **Alert History** page available under **Alerting** in the left navigation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
That's it! You've successfully used Chronograf to configure an alert rule to monitor your idle CPU usage and send notifications to Slack.
|