JTI OpenConfig Telemetry and M3DB Integration

Input and output integration overview

The JTI OpenConfig Telemetry plugin allows users to collect real-time telemetry data from devices running Juniper’s implementation of the OpenConfig model, leveraging the Junos Telemetry Interface for efficient data retrieval.

This plugin allows Telegraf to stream metrics to M3DB using the Prometheus Remote Write protocol, enabling scalable ingestion through the M3 Coordinator.

Integration details

JTI OpenConfig Telemetry

This plugin reads data from Juniper Networks’ OpenConfig telemetry implementation using the Junos Telemetry Interface (JTI). OpenConfig is an initiative aimed at enabling standardized and open network device telemetry through a common model for various devices and protocols. The JTI allows for the collection of this telemetry data in a real-time manner from various sensors defined within the configuration. Configurable parameters for this plugin include the ability to specify device addresses, authentication credentials, sampling frequency, and multiple sensors with potentially different reporting rates. The plugin uniquely handles time-stamping either through the collection time or the timestamp provided in the data, allowing for flexibility in how data is processed. Given its support for TLS for secure communication, the plugin is well-suited for integration into both traditional and modern network management systems, enhancing visibility into network performance and reliability.

M3DB

This configuration uses Telegraf’s HTTP output plugin with prometheusremotewrite format to send metrics directly to M3DB through the M3 Coordinator. M3DB is a distributed time series database designed for scalable, high-throughput metric storage. It supports ingestion of Prometheus remote write data via its Coordinator component, which manages translation and routing into the M3DB cluster. This approach enables organizations to collect metrics from systems that aren’t natively instrumented for Prometheus (e.g., Windows, SNMP, legacy systems) and ingest them efficiently into M3’s long-term, high-performance storage engine. The setup is ideal for high-scale observability stacks with Prometheus compatibility requirements.

Configuration

JTI OpenConfig Telemetry

[[inputs.jti_openconfig_telemetry]]
  ## List of device addresses to collect telemetry from
  servers = ["localhost:1883"]

  ## Authentication details. Username and password are must if device expects
  ## authentication. Client ID must be unique when connecting from multiple instances
  ## of telegraf to the same device
  username = "user"
  password = "pass"
  client_id = "telegraf"

  ## Frequency to get data
  sample_frequency = "1000ms"

  ## Sensors to subscribe for
  ## A identifier for each sensor can be provided in path by separating with space
  ## Else sensor path will be used as identifier
  ## When identifier is used, we can provide a list of space separated sensors.
  ## A single subscription will be created with all these sensors and data will
  ## be saved to measurement with this identifier name
  sensors = [
   "/interfaces/",
   "collection /components/ /lldp",
  ]

  ## We allow specifying sensor group level reporting rate. To do this, specify the
  ## reporting rate in Duration at the beginning of sensor paths / collection
  ## name. For entries without reporting rate, we use configured sample frequency
  sensors = [
   "1000ms customReporting /interfaces /lldp",
   "2000ms collection /components",
   "/interfaces",
  ]

  ## Timestamp Source
  ## Set to 'collection' for time of collection, and 'data' for using the time
  ## provided by the _timestamp field.
  # timestamp_source = "collection"

  ## Optional TLS Config
  # enable_tls = false
  # tls_ca = "/etc/telegraf/ca.pem"
  # tls_cert = "/etc/telegraf/cert.pem"
  # tls_key = "/etc/telegraf/key.pem"
  ## Minimal TLS version to accept by the client
  # tls_min_version = "TLS12"
  ## Use TLS but skip chain & host verification
  # insecure_skip_verify = false

  ## Delay between retry attempts of failed RPC calls or streams. Defaults to 1000ms.
  ## Failed streams/calls will not be retried if 0 is provided
  retry_delay = "1000ms"

  ## Period for sending keep-alive packets on idle connections
  ## This is helpful to identify broken connections to the server
  # keep_alive_period = "10s"

  ## To treat all string values as tags, set this to true
  str_as_tags = false

M3DB

# Configuration for sending metrics to M3
[outputs.http]
  ## URL is the address to send metrics to
  url = "https://M3_HOST:M3_PORT/api/v1/prom/remote/write"

  ## HTTP Basic Auth credentials
  username = "admin"
  password = "password"

  ## Data format to output.
  data_format = "prometheusremotewrite"

  ## Outgoing HTTP headers
  [outputs.http.headers]
    Content-Type = "application/x-protobuf"
    Content-Encoding = "snappy"
    X-Prometheus-Remote-Write-Version = "0.1.0"

Input and output integration examples

JTI OpenConfig Telemetry

1. Network Performance Monitoring: Use the JTI OpenConfig Telemetry plugin to monitor network performance metrics from multiple Juniper devices in real-time. By configuring various sensors, operators can gain insights into interface performance, traffic patterns, and error rates, allowing for proactive troubleshooting and optimization of the network.

2. Automated Fault Detection: Integrate the telemetry data collected via this plugin with a fault detection system that triggers alerts based on predefined thresholds. For example, when a specific sensor indicates a fault or threshold breach, automated scripts can be initiated to remediate the situation, dramatically improving response times.

3. Historical Performance Analysis: By forwarding the collected telemetry data into a time-series database, organizations can perform historical analysis on network performance. This enables teams to identify trends over time, spot anomalies, and make more informed decisions regarding network capacity planning and resource allocation.

4. Real-Time Dashboards for Network Operations: Leverage the real-time data gathered through this plugin to power visualization dashboards that provide network operators with live insights into performance metrics. This facilitates better operational awareness and quicker decision-making during critical events.

M3DB

1. Large-Scale Cloud Infrastructure Monitoring: Deploy Telegraf agents across thousands of virtual machines and containers to collect metrics and stream them into M3DB through the M3 Coordinator. This provides reliable, long-term visibility with minimal storage overhead and high availability.

2. Legacy System Metrics Ingestion: Use Telegraf to gather metrics from older systems that lack native Prometheus exporters (e.g., Windows servers, SNMP devices) and forward them to M3DB via remote write. This bridges modern observability workflows with legacy infrastructure.

3. Centralized App Telemetry Aggregation: Collect application-specific telemetry using Telegraf’s plugin ecosystem (e.g., exec, http, jolokia) and push it into M3DB for centralized storage and query via PromQL. This enables unified analytics across diverse data sources.

4. Hybrid Cloud Observability: Install Telegraf agents on-prem and in the cloud to collect and remote-write metrics into a centralized M3DB cluster. This ensures consistent visibility across environments while avoiding the complexity of running Prometheus federation layers.

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