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Set Up Open Source Observability with Grafana, Loki, and Tempo

A close-up of a person's hand pressing switches on a vehicle control panel inside a vehicle.
Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels. Source.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to implement a full observability stack using Grafana, Loki, and Tempo. This stack offers robust capabilities for monitoring, logging, and tracing, crucial for effective DevOps practices.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have the following:

  • Linux-based server or VM
  • Docker installed
  • AWS S3 bucket details ready for use

Setup Environment

sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker-compose

Installing Grafana

Grafana provides the visualization part of the stack. Execute:

sudo apt install grafana

Deploying Loki for Logs

Loki is used for log aggregation. Run the following Docker command:

docker run -d --name=loki grafana/loki:latest

Integrating Tempo for Tracing

Tempo handles trace aggregation. Deploy using Docker:

docker run -d --name=tempo grafana/tempo:latest

Configuring S3 Storage

Utilize S3 for storage by configuring access credentials securely in each component’s configuration files.

Validating Observability Setup

Access Grafana via the browser to ensure all data sources (Loki and Tempo) are correctly integrated and displaying data.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

  • Connection Errors: Verify network settings.
  • Data Not Showing: Check data source configuration in Grafana.

Cleanup

Remove containers once validation is done:

docker stop loki tempo
docker rm loki tempo

Sources

For further insights, check out discussions from the DevOps community on Reddit.

Transparency Note: This post was assisted by AI to ensure accuracy and cohesion, and sources were automatically verified for relevance.