Prometheus integrates with Grafana

Overview

Prometheus and Grafana form the standard monitoring and visualization stack in cloud-native environments. Prometheus collects and stores time-series metrics, while Grafana provides the visualization layer with rich dashboards and alerting capabilities.

Integration Architecture

Prometheus exposes a query API that Grafana consumes directly. The integration uses PromQL (Prometheus Query Language) for querying metrics, enabling real-time dashboards and historical analysis.

Metrics Sources → Prometheus (storage) → Grafana (visualization)

Use Cases

• Infrastructure Monitoring: Server, container, and Kubernetes cluster monitoring
• Application Performance: Custom application metrics and business KPIs
• Alerting Dashboards: Visual alert status and notification management
• Manufacturing OT: Equipment metrics, OEE calculations, and SCADA integration

Configuration

1. Add Prometheus as a data source in Grafana
2. Configure the Prometheus server URL
3. Use PromQL queries in Grafana panels
4. Set up alerting rules in either Prometheus or Grafana

Tradeoffs

• Prometheus handles storage and alerting; Grafana focuses on visualization
• Both are CNCF projects with strong community support
• Native integration requires no additional middleware