Dashboards (Grafana) in Microservices - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What is the output of this Grafana query?

Given a Prometheus query in Grafana:

sum(rate(http_requests_total[5m])) by (service)

What does this query show on the dashboard?

A The current number of active HTTP connections per service.

B The total count of HTTP requests for all services since the server started.

C The error rate of HTTP requests per service over the last 5 minutes.

D The total number of HTTP requests per service over the last 5 minutes, averaged per second.

💡 Hint

Think about what 'rate' and 'sum by' do in Prometheus queries.

The rate(http_requests_total[5m]) calculates the per-second average increase of the counter over the last 5 minutes. Summing by service groups the data per service.

❓ Configuration

intermediate

Which Grafana configuration snippet correctly sets up a Prometheus data source?

Select the correct YAML snippet to configure a Prometheus data source in Grafana's provisioning files.

A

apiVersion: 1
datasources:
  - name: Prometheus
    type: prometheus
    access: proxy
    url: http://prometheus:9090
    isDefault: true

B

apiVersion: 1
datasources:
  - name: Prometheus
    type: prometheus
    access: proxy
    url: http://prometheus:8080
    isDefault: true

C

apiVersion: 1
datasources:
  - name: Prometheus
    type: prometheus
    access: proxy
    url: http://localhost:8080
    isDefault: true

D

apiVersion: 1
datasources:
  - name: Prometheus
    type: prometheus
    access: direct
    url: https://prometheus:9090
    isDefault: false

💡 Hint

Check the apiVersion, URL port, and access mode for Prometheus defaults.

Grafana expects apiVersion 1 for provisioning datasources. The default Prometheus port is 9090, and access is usually set to proxy.

🔀 Workflow

advanced

Order the steps to create a new Grafana dashboard for microservices metrics

Arrange these steps in the correct order to create a new Grafana dashboard displaying microservices metrics.

A 1,2,3,4

B 3,2,1,4

C 1,3,2,4

D 2,1,3,4

💡 Hint

Think about the natural flow from login to saving the dashboard.

You first log in and create a dashboard, then add panels, write queries, and finally save.

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

Why does this Grafana panel show 'No data' for a valid Prometheus query?

A Grafana panel with a Prometheus query returns 'No data' even though the query works in Prometheus UI. What is the most likely cause?

A The Grafana user does not have permission to view the dashboard.

B The query syntax is invalid in Grafana but valid in Prometheus UI.

C The Prometheus data source URL in Grafana is incorrect or unreachable.

D The panel refresh interval is set to a very high value.

💡 Hint

Check connectivity between Grafana and Prometheus.

If the query works in Prometheus UI but not in Grafana, the data source connection is often the issue.

✅ Best Practice

expert

Which practice improves Grafana dashboard performance for microservices monitoring?

Choose the best practice to optimize Grafana dashboards that monitor many microservices with high metric volume.

A Increase dashboard refresh rate to update data every second.

B Use templating variables to filter services and reduce displayed data.

C Add many panels with detailed queries for each microservice.

D Disable caching to always show the latest data.

💡 Hint

Think about reducing data load and improving usability.

Templating variables let users select specific services, reducing query load and improving dashboard speed.