JTI OpenConfig Telemetry and Thanos 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 sends metrics from Telegraf to Thanos using the Prometheus remote write protocol over HTTP, allowing efficient and scalable ingestion into Thanos Receive components.

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.

Thanos

Telegraf’s HTTP plugin can send metrics directly to Thanos via its Remote Write-compatible Receive component. By setting the data format to prometheusremotewrite, Telegraf can serialize metrics into the same protobuf-based format used by native Prometheus clients. This setup enables high-throughput, low-latency metric ingestion into Thanos, facilitating centralized observability at scale. It is particularly useful in hybrid environments where Telegraf is collecting metrics from systems outside Prometheus’ native reach, such as SNMP devices, Windows hosts, or custom apps, and streams them directly to Thanos for long-term storage and global querying.

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

Thanos

[[outputs.http]]
  ## Thanos Receive endpoint for remote write
  url = "http://thanos-receive.example.com/api/v1/receive"

  ## HTTP method
  method = "POST"

  ## Data format set to Prometheus remote write
  data_format = "prometheusremotewrite"

  ## Optional headers (authorization, etc.)
  # [outputs.http.headers]
  #   Authorization = "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

  ## Optional TLS configuration
  # tls_ca = "/path/to/ca.pem"
  # tls_cert = "/path/to/cert.pem"
  # tls_key = "/path/to/key.pem"
  # insecure_skip_verify = false

  ## Request timeout
  timeout = "10s"

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.

Thanos

1. Agentless Cloud Monitoring: Deploy Telegraf agents across cloud VMs to collect system and application metrics, then stream them directly into Thanos using Remote Write. This provides centralized observability without requiring Prometheus nodes at each location.

2. Scalable Windows Host Monitoring: Use Telegraf on Windows machines to collect OS-level metrics and send them via Remote Write to Thanos Receive. This enables observability across heterogeneous environments with native Prometheus support only on Linux.

3. Cross-Region Metrics Federation: Telegraf agents in multiple geographic regions can push data to region-local Thanos Receivers using this plugin. From there, Thanos can deduplicate and query metrics globally, reducing latency and network egress costs.

4. Integrating Third-Party Data into Thanos: Collect metrics from custom telemetry sources such as REST APIs or proprietary logs using Telegraf inputs and forward them to Thanos via Remote Write. This brings non-native data into a Prometheus-compatible, long-term analytics pipeline.

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