Grafana for visualization in Kubernetes - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Grafana helps you see and understand data from your applications and servers. It turns numbers and logs into clear graphs and dashboards so you can spot problems or trends quickly.

When you want to monitor how your app is performing in real time with easy-to-read graphs.

When you need to combine data from different sources like databases and servers into one dashboard.

When you want to get alerts if something goes wrong, like if your server is too slow or down.

When you want to share visual reports with your team to help fix issues faster.

When you want to track usage or errors over time to improve your app.

Config File - grafana-deployment.yaml

grafana-deployment.yaml

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: grafana
  labels:
    app: grafana
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: grafana
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: grafana
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: grafana
        image: grafana/grafana:9.5.2
        ports:
        - containerPort: 3000
        volumeMounts:
        - name: grafana-storage
          mountPath: /var/lib/grafana
      volumes:
      - name: grafana-storage
        emptyDir: {}
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: grafana-service
spec:
  type: NodePort
  selector:
    app: grafana
  ports:
  - protocol: TCP
    port: 3000
    targetPort: 3000
    nodePort: 32000

This file creates a Grafana deployment with one replica running the official Grafana image version 9.5.2. It exposes port 3000 where Grafana listens. A service of type NodePort exposes Grafana on port 32000 on the Kubernetes nodes so you can access it from outside the cluster. The emptyDir volume stores Grafana data temporarily while the pod runs.

Commands

This command creates the Grafana deployment and service in your Kubernetes cluster so Grafana starts running.

Terminal

kubectl apply -f grafana-deployment.yaml

Expected Output

deployment.apps/grafana created

service/grafana-service created

This command checks if the Grafana pod is running by listing pods with the label app=grafana.

Terminal

kubectl get pods -l app=grafana

Expected Output

NAME                       READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE

grafana-6d4f7b7f6b-abcde  1/1     Running   0          30s

→

-l - Filter pods by label

This command shows the details of the Grafana service, including the NodePort to access Grafana from outside the cluster.

Terminal

kubectl get svc grafana-service

Expected Output

NAME              TYPE       CLUSTER-IP      EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)          AGE

grafana-service   NodePort   10.96.123.45    <none>        3000:32000/TCP   1m

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: Grafana runs as a pod in Kubernetes and you expose it with a service so you can open its dashboard in your browser.

Common Mistakes

Not exposing the Grafana service with a NodePort or LoadBalancer.

Without exposing the service, you cannot access the Grafana web interface from outside the cluster.

Always create a service with type NodePort or LoadBalancer to access Grafana.

Using an incorrect port number when accessing Grafana in the browser.

Grafana listens on port 3000 inside the pod, but the NodePort might be different, so the browser must use the NodePort number.

Check the NodePort assigned by the service and use that port in your browser URL.

Not waiting for the Grafana pod to be in Running status before accessing it.

If the pod is not ready, Grafana will not respond and the connection will fail.

Use kubectl get pods to confirm the pod is Running before trying to open Grafana.

Summary

Create a Kubernetes deployment and service to run Grafana and expose it on a NodePort.

Check the pod status to ensure Grafana is running before accessing it.

Use the service's NodePort to open Grafana's web interface in your browser.