InfiniBand and GroundWork Integration

Input and output integration overview

The InfiniBand Telegraf plugin collects performance metrics from all InfiniBand devices installed on a Linux system, providing essential insights for monitoring network performance and reliability.

This plugin writes to a GroundWork Monitor instance, allowing for effective metrics management and monitoring in a centralized manner.

Integration details

InfiniBand

This plugin gathers statistics for all InfiniBand devices and ports on the system. InfiniBand is a high-speed networking technology commonly used in high-performance computing and enterprise data centers. The plugin retrieves various performance counters from the system’s InfiniBand devices located in /sys/class/infiniband/<dev>/port/<port>/counters/. The metrics depend on the specific InfiniBand hardware and include various packet and error statistics that are essential for monitoring network health and performance. By utilizing this plugin, users can gain insights into the operational status of their InfiniBand networks, helping to identify potential issues and optimize performance.

GroundWork

The GroundWork plugin enables Telegraf to send metrics to a GroundWork Monitor instance, specifically supporting GW8 and newer versions. This integration allows users to leverage the robust monitoring capabilities of GroundWork, enabling comprehensive oversight of metrics collected from diverse sources. Users can specify various parameters such as the GroundWork instance URL, agent IDs, and authentication credentials, allowing for a tailored fit within their existing monitoring setups. It also supports secret-store secrets to enhance security for sensitive fields like username and password. Tags used within the plugin provide fine-grained control over how metrics are categorized and displayed within the GroundWork interface, allowing for custom configurations that adapt to different monitoring needs. However, users should be aware that string metrics are currently not supported by GroundWork, impacting how they manage their data.

Configuration

InfiniBand

# Gets counters from all InfiniBand cards and ports installed
# This plugin ONLY supports Linux
[[inputs.infiniband]]
  # no configuration

  ## Collect RDMA counters
  # gather_rdma = false

GroundWork

[[outputs.groundwork]]
  ## URL of your groundwork instance.
  url = "https://groundwork.example.com"

  ## Agent uuid for GroundWork API Server.
  agent_id = ""

  ## Username and password to access GroundWork API.
  username = ""
  password = ""

  ## Default application type to use in GroundWork client
  # default_app_type = "TELEGRAF"

  ## Default display name for the host with services(metrics).
  # default_host = "telegraf"

  ## Default service state.
  # default_service_state = "SERVICE_OK"

  ## The name of the tag that contains the hostname.
  # resource_tag = "host"

  ## The name of the tag that contains the host group name.
  # group_tag = "group"

Input and output integration examples

InfiniBand

1. Performance Monitoring in High-Performance Computing (HPC): Monitor the performance metrics of InfiniBand interconnects in a high-performance computing cluster. By analyzing metrics such as packet errors and throughput, system administrators can ensure optimal operation and quickly identify any performance degradation. This setup enhances the reliability of computational tasks by allowing timely interventions based on accurate monitoring data.

2. Network Health Audits: Perform routine health checks of InfiniBand networks. The detailed metrics gathered, such as excessive buffer overruns and link integrity errors, provide valuable insights for network audits. By establishing baseline performance and watching for anomalies, IT professionals can ensure the stability and performance of critical infrastructures.

3. Integration with Alerting Systems: Set up the InfiniBand plugin to work in conjunction with alerting systems to trigger notifications based on performance thresholds. For instance, if the number of link errors exceeds a predefined limit, an alert can be sent to the network operations team. This proactive approach ensures that potential issues are addressed before they impact business operations.

4. Data Visualization Dashboards: Feed InfiniBand metrics to a visualization tool to create dashboards that display the real-time performance of the network. This can help stakeholders visualize critical data such as packet transmission rates and errors, facilitating better decision-making regarding network management and capacity planning.

GroundWork

1. Centralized Monitoring Dashboard: Use the GroundWork plugin to aggregate metrics from multiple Telegraf instances into a single GroundWork Monitor dashboard. This configuration offers complete visibility into system health across various components, enabling swift identification of performance bottlenecks and improved incident response times.

2. Service Health Monitoring with Alerts: Configure this plugin to send critical service metrics to GroundWork, establishing a robust alerting system. Metrics such as CPU usage and service statuses can trigger alerts based on threshold values, informing administrators of potential issues before they escalate, thereby enhancing system reliability.

3. Historical Data Analysis: Leverage the historical metric capabilities of GroundWork using this plugin to conduct trend analysis over time. This application allows organizations to make data-driven decisions based on comprehensive historical performance metrics, which can assist in capacity planning and optimize resource allocation.

4. Custom Service Tags for Enhanced Monitoring: Extend the functionality of this plugin by utilizing custom tags for different services and hosts. By customizing these tags, users can filter and categorize metrics more effectively within their monitoring framework, leading to tailored monitoring experiences that align specifically with business objectives.

Feedback

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