Apache Aurora and Graylog Integration

Input and output integration overview

This plugin gathers metrics from Apache Aurora schedulers, providing insights necessary for effective monitoring of Aurora clusters.

The Graylog plugin allows you to send Telegraf metrics to a Graylog server, utilizing the GELF format for structured logging.

Integration details

Apache Aurora

The Aurora plugin is designed to gather metrics from Apache Aurora schedulers. This plugin connects to specified schedulers using their respective URLs and retrieves operational metrics that help in monitoring the health and performance of Aurora clusters. It primarily captures numeric data from the /vars endpoint, ensuring key metrics related to task execution and resource utilization are monitored. The plugin enhances operational insights by utilizing HTTP Basic Authentication for secure access. With optional TLS configuration, it further bolsters security when transmitting data. The plugin provides a robust way to interface with Apache Aurora, reflecting a focus on operational reliability and ongoing performance assessment across distributed systems.

Graylog

The Graylog plugin is designed for sending metrics to a Graylog instance using the GELF (Graylog Extended Log Format) format. GELF helps standardize the logging data, making it easier for systems to send and analyze logs. The plugin adheres to the GELF specification, which lays out requirements for specific fields within the payload. Notably, the timestamp must be in UNIX format, and if present, the plugin sends the timestamp as-is to Graylog without alterations. If omitted, it automatically generates a timestamp. Additionally, any extra fields not explicitly defined by the spec will be prefixed with an underscore, helping to keep the data organized and compliant with GELF’s requirements. This capability is particularly valuable for users monitoring applications and infrastructure in real-time, as it allows for seamless integration and improved visibility across multiple systems.

Configuration

Apache Aurora

[[inputs.aurora]]
  ## Schedulers are the base addresses of your Aurora Schedulers
  schedulers = ["http://127.0.0.1:8081"]

  ## Set of role types to collect metrics from.
  ##
  ## The scheduler roles are checked each interval by contacting the
  ## scheduler nodes; zookeeper is not contacted.
  # roles = ["leader", "follower"]

  ## Timeout is the max time for total network operations.
  # timeout = "5s"

  ## Username and password are sent using HTTP Basic Auth.
  # username = "username"
  # password = "pa$$word"

  ## 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

Graylog

[[outputs.graylog]]
  ## Endpoints for your graylog instances.
  servers = ["udp://127.0.0.1:12201"]

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

  ## The field to use as the GELF short_message, if unset the static string
  ## "telegraf" will be used.
  ##   example: short_message_field = "message"
  # short_message_field = ""

  ## According to GELF payload specification, additional fields names must be prefixed
  ## with an underscore. Previous versions did not prefix custom field 'name' with underscore.
  ## Set to true for backward compatibility.
  # name_field_no_prefix = false

  ## Connection retry options
  ## Attempt to connect to the endpoints if the initial connection fails.
  ## If 'false', Telegraf will give up after 3 connection attempt and will
  ## exit with an error. If set to 'true', the plugin will retry to connect
  ## to the unconnected endpoints infinitely.
  # connection_retry = false
  ## Time to wait between connection retry attempts.
  # connection_retry_wait_time = "15s"

  ## 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

Input and output integration examples

Apache Aurora

1. Dynamic Resource Allocation Monitoring: Utilize the Aurora plugin to build a real-time dashboard displaying metrics related to resource allocation in your Aurora clusters. By aggregating data from multiple schedulers, you can visualize how resources are distributed among various roles (leader and follower), enabling proactive management of resource utilization and helping prevent bottlenecks in production workloads.

2. Alerting on Scheduler Health: Implement alerting mechanisms where the Aurora plugin checks the health of schedulers periodically. If a scheduler role responds with a status that indicates a failure to communicate (non-200 status), alerts can be automatically generated and sent to the operations team via email or messaging apps, ensuring immediate attention to critical issues and maintaining availability in service management.

3. Performance Benchmarking Over Time: By continuously collecting metrics such as job update events and execution times, this plugin can assist teams in benchmarking the performance of their Apache Aurora deployment over time. Relevant metrics can be logged into a time-series database, enabling historical analysis, trend identification, and understanding how changes in the system, such as configuration adjustments or workload changes, impact performance.

4. Integration with CI/CD Pipelines: Integrate the metrics collected via the Aurora plugin with CI/CD pipeline tools to monitor how deployments affect runtime metrics in Aurora. Teams can thereby ensure that new releases do not adversely impact scheduler performance and can roll back changes seamlessly if any metric exceeds predefined thresholds after deployment.

Graylog

1. Enhanced Log Management for Cloud Applications: Use the Graylog Telegraf plugin to aggregate logs from cloud-deployed applications across multiple servers. By integrating this plugin, teams can centralize logging data, making it easier to troubleshoot issues, monitor application performance, and maintain compliance with logging standards.

2. Real-Time Security Monitoring: Leverage the Graylog plugin to collect and send security-related metrics and logs to a Graylog server for real-time analysis. This allows security teams to quickly identify anomalies, track potential breaches, and respond to incidents promptly by correlating logs from various sources within the infrastructure.

3. Dynamic Alerting and Notification System: Implement the Graylog plugin to enhance alerting mechanisms in your infrastructure. By sending metrics to Graylog, teams can set up dynamic alerts based on log patterns or unexpected behavior, enabling proactive monitoring and rapid incident response strategies.

4. Cross-Platform Log Consolidation: Use the Graylog plugin to facilitate cross-platform log consolidation across diverse environments such as on-premises, hybrid, and cloud. By standardizing logging in the GELF format, organizations can ensure consistent monitoring and troubleshooting practices, regardless of where their services are hosted.

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