Memcached and Sensu Integration

Input and output integration overview

This plugin gathers statistics data from a Memcached server.

This plugin writes metrics events to Sensu via its HTTP events API, enabling seamless integration with the Sensu monitoring platform.

Integration details

Memcached

The Telegraf Memcached plugin is designed to gather statistics data from Memcached servers, allowing users to monitor the performance and health of their caching layer. Memcached, a distributed memory caching system, is commonly used for speeding up dynamic web applications by alleviating database load and storing frequently accessed data in memory for quick retrieval. This plugin collects various metrics such as the number of connections, bytes used, and hits/misses, enabling administrators to analyze cache performance, troubleshoot issues, and optimize resource allocation. The configuration supports multiple Memcached server addresses and offers optional TLS settings, ensuring flexibility and secure data transmission across the network. By leveraging this plugin, organizations can gain insights into their caching strategies and improve application responsiveness and efficiency.

Sensu

This plugin writes metrics events to Sensu via its HTTP events API. Sensu is a monitoring system that enables users to collect, analyze, and manage metrics from various components in their infrastructure. The plugin facilitates the integration of Telegraf, a server agent for collecting and reporting metrics, with the Sensu monitoring platform. Users can configure settings such as backend and agent API URLs, API keys for authentication, and optional TLS settings. The plugin’s core functionality is centered around sending metric events, including check and entity specifications, to Sensu, allowing for comprehensive monitoring and alerting. The API reference provides extensive details about the events and metrics structure, ensuring users can efficiently leverage Sensu’s capabilities for observability and incident response.

Configuration

Memcached

[[inputs.memcached]]
  # An array of address to gather stats about. Specify an ip on hostname
  # with optional port. ie localhost, 10.0.0.1:11211, etc.
  servers = ["localhost:11211"]
  # An array of unix memcached sockets to gather stats about.
  # unix_sockets = ["/var/run/memcached.sock"]

  ## Optional TLS Config
  # enable_tls = false
  # tls_ca = "/etc/telegraf/ca.pem"
  # tls_cert = "/etc/telegraf/cert.pem"
  # tls_key = "/etc/telegraf/key.pem"
  ## If false, skip chain & host verification
  # insecure_skip_verify = true

Sensu

[[outputs.sensu]]
  ## BACKEND API URL is the Sensu Backend API root URL to send metrics to
  ## (protocol, host, and port only). The output plugin will automatically
  ## append the corresponding backend API path
  ## /api/core/v2/namespaces/:entity_namespace/events/:entity_name/:check_name).
  ##
  ## Backend Events API reference:
  ## https://docs.sensu.io/sensu-go/latest/api/events/
  ##
  ## AGENT API URL is the Sensu Agent API root URL to send metrics to
  ## (protocol, host, and port only). The output plugin will automatically
  ## append the correspeonding agent API path (/events).
  ##
  ## Agent API Events API reference:
  ## https://docs.sensu.io/sensu-go/latest/api/events/
  ##
  ## NOTE: if backend_api_url and agent_api_url and api_key are set, the output
  ## plugin will use backend_api_url. If backend_api_url and agent_api_url are
  ## not provided, the output plugin will default to use an agent_api_url of
  ## http://127.0.0.1:3031
  ##
  # backend_api_url = "http://127.0.0.1:8080"
  # agent_api_url = "http://127.0.0.1:3031"

  ## API KEY is the Sensu Backend API token
  ## Generate a new API token via:
  ##
  ## $ sensuctl cluster-role create telegraf --verb create --resource events,entities
  ## $ sensuctl cluster-role-binding create telegraf --cluster-role telegraf --group telegraf
  ## $ sensuctl user create telegraf --group telegraf --password REDACTED
  ## $ sensuctl api-key grant telegraf
  ##
  ## For more information on Sensu RBAC profiles & API tokens, please visit:
  ## - https://docs.sensu.io/sensu-go/latest/reference/rbac/
  ## - https://docs.sensu.io/sensu-go/latest/reference/apikeys/
  ##
  # api_key = "${SENSU_API_KEY}"

  ## 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

  ## Timeout for HTTP message
  # timeout = "5s"

  ## HTTP Content-Encoding for write request body, can be set to "gzip" to
  ## compress body or "identity" to apply no encoding.
  # content_encoding = "identity"

  ## NOTE: Due to the way TOML is parsed, tables must be at the END of the
  ## plugin definition, otherwise additional config options are read as part of
  ## the table

  ## Sensu Event details
  ##
  ## Below are the event details to be sent to Sensu.  The main portions of the
  ## event are the check, entity, and metrics specifications. For more information
  ## on Sensu events and its components, please visit:
  ## - Events - https://docs.sensu.io/sensu-go/latest/reference/events
  ## - Checks -  https://docs.sensu.io/sensu-go/latest/reference/checks
  ## - Entities - https://docs.sensu.io/sensu-go/latest/reference/entities
  ## - Metrics - https://docs.sensu.io/sensu-go/latest/reference/events#metrics
  ##
  ## Check specification
  ## The check name is the name to give the Sensu check associated with the event
  ## created. This maps to check.metadata.name in the event.
  [outputs.sensu.check]
    name = "telegraf"

  ## Entity specification
  ## Configure the entity name and namespace, if necessary. This will be part of
  ## the entity.metadata in the event.
  ##
  ## NOTE: if the output plugin is configured to send events to a
  ## backend_api_url and entity_name is not set, the value returned by
  ## os.Hostname() will be used; if the output plugin is configured to send
  ## events to an agent_api_url, entity_name and entity_namespace are not used.
  # [outputs.sensu.entity]
  #   name = "server-01"
  #   namespace = "default"

  ## Metrics specification
  ## Configure the tags for the metrics that are sent as part of the Sensu event
  # [outputs.sensu.tags]
  #   source = "telegraf"

  ## Configure the handler(s) for processing the provided metrics
  # [outputs.sensu.metrics]
  #   handlers = ["influxdb","elasticsearch"]

Input and output integration examples

Memcached

1. Dynamic Cache Performance Monitoring: Use the Memcached plugin to set up a performance monitoring dashboard that displays real-time statistics about cache hit ratios, connection counts, and memory usage. This setup can help developers and system admins quickly identify performance bottlenecks and optimize caching strategies to improve application speed.

2. Alerting on Cache Performance Metrics: Implement an alerting system that triggers notifications whenever certain thresholds are breached, such as a decrease in cache hit rates or an increase in rejected connections. This proactive approach can help teams respond to potential issues before they affect user experience and maintain optimal application performance.

3. Integrating Cache Metrics with Business Analytics: Combine Memcached metrics with business intelligence tools to analyze the impact of caching on user engagement and transaction volumes. By correlating cache performance with key business metrics, teams can derive insights into how caching strategies contribute to overall business objectives and improve decision-making processes.

Sensu

1. Real-Time Infrastructure Monitoring: Utilize the Sensu plugin to send performance metrics from various servers and services directly to Sensu. This real-time data flow enables teams to visualize infrastructure health, track resource usage, and receive immediate alerts for any anomalies detected. By centralizing monitoring through Sensu, organizations can create a holistic view of their systems and respond swiftly to issues.

2. Automated Incident Response Workflows: Leverage the plugin to automatically trigger incident response workflows based on the metrics events sent to Sensu. For example, if CPU usage exceeds a defined threshold, the Sensu system can be configured to alert the operations team, which can then initiate automated remediation processes, reducing downtime and maintaining system reliability. This integration allows for proactive management of system resources.

3. Dynamic Scaling of Resources: Use the Sensu plugin to feed metrics into an auto-scaling system that adjusts resources based on demand. By tracking metrics like request load and resource utilization, organizations can automatically scale their infrastructure up or down, ensuring optimal performance and cost efficiency without manual intervention.

4. Centralized Logging and Monitoring: Combine the Sensu with logging tools to send logs and performance metrics to a centralized monitoring system. This comprehensive approach allows teams to correlate logs with metric events, providing deeper insights into system behavior and performance, which aids in troubleshooting and performance optimization over time.

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