Grafana for visualization in Kubernetes - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Grafana Pod Status Check

You deployed Grafana on Kubernetes using a Helm chart. What is the output of the command kubectl get pods -l app.kubernetes.io/name=grafana if the pod is running correctly?

Kubernetes

kubectl get pods -l app.kubernetes.io/name=grafana

A

NAME                       READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
grafana-5d7f9c9d7f-abc12   1/1     CrashLoopBackOff   3          5m

B

NAME                       READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
grafana-5d7f9c9d7f-abc12   0/1     Pending   0          5m

C Error from server (NotFound): pods not found

D

NAME                       READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
grafana-5d7f9c9d7f-abc12   1/1     Running   0          5m

💡 Hint

Look for the pod with label app.kubernetes.io/name=grafana and check its STATUS column.

A running Grafana pod will show STATUS as 'Running' and READY as '1/1'. Other statuses indicate issues or absence.

❓ Configuration

intermediate

Configuring Grafana Data Source

Which YAML snippet correctly configures a Prometheus data source for Grafana in a Kubernetes ConfigMap?

A

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: grafana-datasource
  namespace: monitoring
data:
  prometheus.yaml: |
    apiVersion: 2
    datasources:
    - name: Prometheus
      type: prometheus
      url: http://prometheus-server.monitoring.svc.cluster.local
      access: proxy
      isDefault: true

B

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: grafana-datasource
  namespace: monitoring
data:
  prometheus.yaml: |
    apiVersion: 1
    datasources:
    - name: Prometheus
      type: prometheus
      url: https://prometheus-server.monitoring.svc.cluster.local
      access: direct
      isDefault: false

C

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: grafana-datasource
  namespace: monitoring
data:
  prometheus.yaml: |
    apiVersion: 1
    datasources:
    - name: Prometheus
      type: prometheus
      url: http://prometheus-server.monitoring.svc.cluster.local
      access: proxy
      isDefault: true

D

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: grafana-datasource
  namespace: monitoring
data:
  prometheus.yaml: |
    apiVersion: 1
    datasources:
    - name: Prometheus
      type: prometheus
      url: http://prometheus-server.monitoring.svc.cluster.local
      access: proxy
      isDefault: false

💡 Hint

Check the apiVersion, URL scheme, access mode, and default flag for Grafana data sources.

Grafana expects apiVersion 1 for datasources in ConfigMap, HTTP URL for Prometheus, access as proxy, and isDefault true to set it as default.

🔀 Workflow

advanced

Steps to Enable Persistent Storage for Grafana

What is the correct order of steps to enable persistent storage for Grafana in Kubernetes using a PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC)?

A 3,4,1,2

B 1,3,4,2

C 1,4,3,2

D 3,1,4,2

💡 Hint

Think about defining storage first, then requesting it, applying configs, and finally using it in deployment.

First create PV, then PVC to request storage, apply both to cluster, then update deployment to use PVC mount.

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

Grafana Dashboard Not Loading

You installed Grafana on Kubernetes, but the dashboard page shows a 503 Service Unavailable error. Which is the most likely cause?

A The Grafana service is exposed as ClusterIP but you are accessing it externally without port forwarding.

B The Grafana pod is in CrashLoopBackOff state due to misconfiguration.

C The Prometheus data source URL is set to HTTP instead of HTTPS.

D The PersistentVolumeClaim is bound but has insufficient storage capacity.

💡 Hint

Consider how you access Grafana service and its exposure type in Kubernetes.

A 503 error often means the service is unreachable. If Grafana service is ClusterIP, it is only accessible inside the cluster unless port forwarding or ingress is configured.

✅ Best Practice

expert

Securing Grafana Access in Kubernetes

Which approach is the best practice to secure Grafana access in a Kubernetes cluster?

A Use an Ingress controller with TLS termination and enable Grafana authentication with OAuth or LDAP.

B Expose Grafana service as NodePort and rely on Kubernetes network policies for security.

C Set Grafana admin password to a simple value and restrict access by IP whitelist in Grafana settings.

D Disable authentication in Grafana and restrict access by limiting service exposure to ClusterIP only.

💡 Hint

Think about encryption, authentication, and controlled external access.

Best practice is to use Ingress with TLS for encrypted access and enable strong authentication methods like OAuth or LDAP.