Nginx and Sensu Integration

Input and output integration overview

The Nginx plugin for Telegraf is designed to collect status metrics from Nginx web servers, providing real-time insights into server operation metrics.

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

Integration details

Nginx

This plugin gathers status metrics from Nginx. It utilizes the ngx_http_stub_status_module to collect basic metrics related to the server’s performance. The plugin provides valuable insights into active connections, requests handled, and the current state of various metrics. This real-time data is essential for monitoring web server performance and ensuring optimal operations. The configuration allows users to specify the URL for the Nginx status endpoint, set timeouts, and configure TLS settings if necessary.

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

Nginx

[[inputs.nginx]]
  ## An array of Nginx stub_status URI to gather stats.
  urls = ["http://localhost/server_status"]

  ## 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

  ## HTTP response timeout (default: 5s)
  response_timeout = "5s"

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

Nginx

1. Web Performance Monitoring: Use the Nginx plugin to gather performance metrics from various Nginx servers across your infrastructure. By visualizing these metrics in real-time dashboards, teams can track performance trends, identify bottlenecks, and enhance the user experience on their web applications. Implementing such monitoring allows businesses to proactively address performance issues before they impact end-users.

2. Load Balancer Monitoring: Integrate this plugin with your load balancers to track the performance of backend Nginx servers. By collecting statistics like ‘active connections’ and ‘requests handled’, your operations team can ensure that traffic is flowing optimally and that no single server is overwhelmed. This proactive approach to load balancing prevents service downtime and enhances user experience.

3. Automated Alerting Systems: Combine the Nginx plugin with alerting services to automatically notify your team when a server’s metrics exceed predefined thresholds. For instance, if the number of active connections is too high, the system can trigger alerts so that corrective actions can be taken immediately, thus maintaining service quality and reliability.

4. Historical Data Analysis: Store the metrics collected by the Nginx plugin in a time-series database to analyze historical performance trends. This analysis can uncover periods of high traffic or poor performance, allowing for data-driven decisions about infrastructure scaling and optimization. By understanding past trends, organizations can better prepare for future demands.

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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