coder7475

Posted on Feb 24 • Edited on Mar 15

How to set up a system monitoring for linux server using node exporter, prometheus & grafana

#linux #grafana #monitoring #prometheus

Monitoring your Linux VPS is essential to track system performance and prevent potential issues. In this guide, you'll learn how to set up monitoring using Node Exporter, Prometheus, and Grafana Cloud.

1. Install and Configure Node Exporter

Node Exporter collects system metrics from the Linux VPS.

Step 1: Download Node Exporter

wget https://github.com/prometheus/node_exporter/releases/download/v1.9.0/node_exporter-1.9.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Step 2: Extract and Move the Binary

tar -xvf node_exporter-1.9.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv node_exporter-1.9.0.linux-amd64/node_exporter /usr/local/bin/

Step 3: Create a System User

sudo useradd --system --no-create-home --shell /bin/false node_exporter

Step 4: Set Up Node Exporter as a Service

Create the service file:

sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/node_exporter.service

Add the following content:

[Unit]
Description=Node Exporter
After=network.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
User=node_exporter
Group=node_exporter
Type=simple

ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/node_exporter

# Securtiy Settings
ProtectHome=true
NoNewPrivileges=true
ProtectSystem=strict
PrivateTmp=true
PrivateDevices=true
ProtectKernelTunables=true
ProtectKernelModules=true
ProtectControlGroups=true
RestrictNamespaces=true
RestrictRealtime=true
RestrictSUIDSGID=true

# Resources
LimitNPROC=8192
LimitNOFILE=65535
LimitCORE=infinity
# Restart
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Step 5: Start and Enable Node Exporter

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start node_exporter
sudo systemctl enable node_exporter

Step 6: Verify Node Exporter

ss -aplnt | grep 9100
curl http://localhost:9100/metrics

2. Install and Configure Prometheus

Prometheus scrapes metrics from Node Exporter.

Step 1: Download Prometheus

wget https://github.com/prometheus/prometheus/releases/download/v3.2.0/prometheus-3.2.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Step 2: Extract and Move Files

tar -xvf prometheus-3.2.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv prometheus-3.2.0.linux-amd64/prometheus /usr/local/bin/
sudo mv prometheus-3.2.0.linux-amd64/promtool /usr/local/bin/
sudo mkdir -p /etc/prometheus /var/lib/prometheus/data /var/lib/prometheus/query_log
sudo mv prometheus-3.2.0.linux-amd64/prometheus.yml /etc/prometheus/

Step 3: Edit the Configuration File

sudo vim /etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml

Add:

scrape_configs:
  - job_name: 'node'
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['localhost:9100', 'localhost:9090']
    scrape_interval: 15s
    scrape_timeout: 5s

Verify the config:

promtool check config /etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml

Step 4: Set Up Prometheus as a Service

sudo useradd -rs /bin/false prometheus

sudo chown -R prometheus:prometheus /etc/prometheus /var/lib/prometheus /usr/local/bin/prometheus /usr/local/bin/promtool
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/lib/prometheus

Create the service file:

sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/prometheus.service

Add:

[Unit]
Description=Prometheus Monitoring System
Documentation=https://prometheus.io/docs/prometheus/latest/installation/
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=prometheus
Group=prometheus
WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/prometheus

ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/prometheus \
    --config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml \
    --storage.tsdb.path=/var/lib/prometheus/data \
    --web.console.templates=/etc/prometheus/consoles \
    --web.console.libraries=/etc/prometheus/console_libraries \
    --query.lookback-delta=5m \
    --enable-feature=memory-snapshot-on-shutdown

# Security Settings
ProtectHome=true
NoNewPrivileges=true
ProtectSystem=false
PrivateTmp=true
PrivateDevices=true
ProtectKernelTunables=true
ProtectKernelModules=true
ProtectControlGroups=true
RestrictNamespaces=true
RestrictRealtime=true
RestrictSUIDSGID=true

# Resource Limits
LimitNOFILE=65535
LimitNPROC=4096
LimitCORE=infinity

# Restart Configuration
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Step 5: Start and Enable Prometheus

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start prometheus
sudo systemctl enable prometheus

Step 6: Verify Prometheus

ss -aplnt | grep 9090
curl localhost:9090/metrics

3. Set Up Grafana Cloud Dashboard

Grafana visualizes metrics collected by Prometheus.

Step 1: Sign Up for Grafana Cloud

Create an account on Grafana Cloud.
Obtain your Prometheus remote write URL and API key.

Step 2: Configure Prometheus for Remote Write

Edit /etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml:

remote_write:
  - url: "https://prometheus-blocks-prod-us-central1.grafana.net/api/v1/write"
    basic_auth:
      username: "<your-grafana-cloud-instance-id>"
      password: "<your-api-key>"

Step 3: Restart Prometheus

sudo systemctl restart prometheus

Step 4: Import Dashboards in Grafana Cloud

Log in to Grafana Cloud.
Add Prometheus as a data source.
Import this pre-built Node Exporter dashboard.

4. Verify Setup

Access Grafana Cloud at https://<your-grafana-instance>.grafana.net.
View metrics such as CPU usage, memory consumption, and disk I/O in real-time.

References

Now, your Linux VPS is fully monitored with Node Exporter, Prometheus, and Grafana Cloud. 🎉 Let me know in the comments if you have any questions! 🚀

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