Docker and Datadog Integration

Input and output integration overview

The Docker input plugin allows you to collect metrics from your Docker containers using the Docker Engine API, facilitating enhanced visibility and monitoring of containerized applications.

The Datadog Telegraf Plugin enables the submission of metrics to the Datadog Metrics API, facilitating efficient monitoring and data analysis through a reliable metric ingestion process.

Integration details

Docker

The Docker input plugin for Telegraf gathers valuable metrics from the Docker Engine API, providing insights into running containers. This plugin utilizes the Official Docker Client to interface with the Engine API, allowing users to monitor various container states, resource allocations, and performance metrics. With options for filtering containers by names and states, along with customizable tags and labels, this plugin supports flexibility in monitoring containerized applications in diverse environments, whether on local systems or within orchestration platforms like Kubernetes. Additionally, it addresses security considerations by requiring permissions for accessing Docker’s daemon and emphasizes proper configuration when deploying within containerized environments.

Datadog

This plugin writes to the Datadog Metrics API, enabling users to send metrics for monitoring and performance analysis. By utilizing the Datadog API key, users can configure the plugin to establish a connection with Datadog’s v1 API. The plugin supports various configuration options including connection timeouts, HTTP proxy settings, and data compression methods, ensuring adaptability to different deployment environments. The ability to transform count metrics into rates enhances the integration of Telegraf with Datadog agents, particularly beneficial for applications that rely on real-time performance metrics.

Configuration

Docker

[[inputs.docker]]
  ## Docker Endpoint
  ##   To use TCP, set endpoint = "tcp://[ip]:[port]"
  ##   To use environment variables (ie, docker-machine), set endpoint = "ENV"
  endpoint = "unix:///var/run/docker.sock"

  ## Set to true to collect Swarm metrics(desired_replicas, running_replicas)
  ## Note: configure this in one of the manager nodes in a Swarm cluster.
  ## configuring in multiple Swarm managers results in duplication of metrics.
  gather_services = false

  ## Only collect metrics for these containers. Values will be appended to
  ## container_name_include.
  ## Deprecated (1.4.0), use container_name_include
  container_names = []

  ## Set the source tag for the metrics to the container ID hostname, eg first 12 chars
  source_tag = false

  ## Containers to include and exclude. Collect all if empty. Globs accepted.
  container_name_include = []
  container_name_exclude = []

  ## Container states to include and exclude. Globs accepted.
  ## When empty only containers in the "running" state will be captured.
  # container_state_include = []
  # container_state_exclude = []

  ## Objects to include for disk usage query
  ## Allowed values are "container", "image", "volume" 
  ## When empty disk usage is excluded
  storage_objects = []

  ## Timeout for docker list, info, and stats commands
  timeout = "5s"

  ## Whether to report for each container per-device blkio (8:0, 8:1...),
  ## network (eth0, eth1, ...) and cpu (cpu0, cpu1, ...) stats or not.
  ## Usage of this setting is discouraged since it will be deprecated in favor of 'perdevice_include'.
  ## Default value is 'true' for backwards compatibility, please set it to 'false' so that 'perdevice_include' setting
  ## is honored.
  perdevice = true

  ## Specifies for which classes a per-device metric should be issued
  ## Possible values are 'cpu' (cpu0, cpu1, ...), 'blkio' (8:0, 8:1, ...) and 'network' (eth0, eth1, ...)
  ## Please note that this setting has no effect if 'perdevice' is set to 'true'
  # perdevice_include = ["cpu"]

  ## Whether to report for each container total blkio and network stats or not.
  ## Usage of this setting is discouraged since it will be deprecated in favor of 'total_include'.
  ## Default value is 'false' for backwards compatibility, please set it to 'true' so that 'total_include' setting
  ## is honored.
  total = false

  ## Specifies for which classes a total metric should be issued. Total is an aggregated of the 'perdevice' values.
  ## Possible values are 'cpu', 'blkio' and 'network'
  ## Total 'cpu' is reported directly by Docker daemon, and 'network' and 'blkio' totals are aggregated by this plugin.
  ## Please note that this setting has no effect if 'total' is set to 'false'
  # total_include = ["cpu", "blkio", "network"]

  ## docker labels to include and exclude as tags.  Globs accepted.
  ## Note that an empty array for both will include all labels as tags
  docker_label_include = []
  docker_label_exclude = []

  ## Which environment variables should we use as a tag
  tag_env = ["JAVA_HOME", "HEAP_SIZE"]

  ## Optional TLS Config
  # tls_ca = "/etc/telegraf/ca.pem"
  # tls_cert = "/etc/telegraf/cert.pem"
  # tls_key = "/etc/telegraf/key.pem"
  ## Use TLS but skip chain & host verification
  # insecure_skip_verify = false

Datadog

[[outputs.datadog]]
  ## Datadog API key
  apikey = "my-secret-key"

  ## Connection timeout.
  # timeout = "5s"

  ## Write URL override; useful for debugging.
  ## This plugin only supports the v1 API currently due to the authentication
  ## method used.
  # url = "https://app.datadoghq.com/api/v1/series"

  ## Set http_proxy
  # use_system_proxy = false
  # http_proxy_url = "http://localhost:8888"

  ## Override the default (none) compression used to send data.
  ## Supports: "zlib", "none"
  # compression = "none"

  ## When non-zero, converts count metrics submitted by inputs.statsd
  ## into rate, while dividing the metric value by this number.
  ## Note that in order for metrics to be submitted simultaenously alongside
  ## a Datadog agent, rate_interval has to match the interval used by the
  ## agent - which defaults to 10s
  # rate_interval = 0s

Input and output integration examples

Docker

1. Monitoring the Performance of Containerized Applications: Use the Docker input plugin in order to track the CPU, memory, disk I/O, and network activity of applications running in Docker containers. By collecting these metrics, DevOps teams can proactively manage resource allocation, troubleshoot performance bottlenecks, and ensure optimal application performance across different environments.

2. Integrating with Kubernetes: Leverage this plugin to gather metrics from Docker containers orchestrated by Kubernetes. By filtering out unnecessary Kubernetes labels and focusing on key metrics, teams can streamline their monitoring solutions and create dashboards that provide insights into the overall health of microservices running within the Kubernetes cluster.

3. Capacity Planning and Resource Optimization: Use the metrics collected by the Docker input plugin to perform capacity planning for Docker deployments. Analyzing usage patterns helps identify underutilized resources and over-provisioned containers, guiding decisions on scaling up or down based on actual usage trends.

4. Automated Alerting for Container Anomalies: Set up alerting rules based on the metrics collected through the Docker plugin to notify teams of unusual spikes in resource usage or service disruptions. This proactive monitoring approach helps maintain service reliability and optimize the performance of containerized applications.

Datadog

1. Real-Time Infrastructure Monitoring: Use the Datadog plugin to monitor server metrics in real-time by sending CPU usage and memory statistics directly to Datadog. This integration allows IT teams to visualize and analyze system performance metrics in a centralized dashboard, enabling proactive response to any emerging issues, such as resource bottlenecks or server overloads.

2. Application Performance Tracking: Leverage this plugin to submit application-specific metrics, such as request counts and error rates, to Datadog. By integrating with application monitoring tools, teams can correlate infrastructure metrics with application performance, providing insights that enable them to optimize code performance and improve user experience.

3. Anomaly Detection in Metrics: Configure the Datadog plugin to send metrics that can trigger alerts and notifications based on unusual patterns detected by Datadog’s machine learning features. This proactive monitoring helps teams swiftly react to potential outages or performance degradation before customers are impacted.

4. Integrating with Cloud Services: By utilizing the Datadog plugin to send metrics from cloud resources, IT teams can gain visibility into cloud application performance. Monitoring metrics like latency and error rates helps with ensuring service-level agreements (SLAs) are met and also assists in optimizing resource allocation across cloud environments.

Feedback

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