Using Prometheus to Monitor Linux and Kubernetes
Published by Pearson
Learn how to observe virtual machines and clusters in real time
- Learn to analyze statistics and performance using Prometheus
- Bolster your knowledge of Kubernetes monitoring
- Start on the path toward passing the Prometheus Certified Associate (PCA) exam
Linux and Kubernetes monitoring allows us to identify issues such as service failure, insufficient resources, pods that cannot start, and nodes that are unable to join a cluster. Standard Linux and Kubernetes monitoring works well, but Prometheus takes it to the next level.
Prometheus is heavily used in the IT field as a monitoring tool that can analyze servers, virtual machines, containers, and clusters. Prometheus is open source and is part of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. This live course prepares you to install and configure Prometheus, use it to monitor Linux systems and K8s clusters, and connect it to third-party visualization programs and integration software. The course is primarily made up of hands-on demonstrations to help you to learn how to actually use Prometheus with Linux and Kubernetes.
What you’ll learn and how you can apply it
By the end of the live online course, you’ll understand:
- How to install and configure Prometheus.
- How to use Prometheus to analyze and monitor Linux systems and Kubernetes clusters.
- How to use Grafana to visualize Prometheus data.
And you’ll be able to:
- Build Prometheus monitoring systems that can be used in a lab environment.
- Use Prometheus with node_exporter, alertmanager, and other tools.
- Begin your preparation for the Prometheus Certified Associate (PCA) exam.
This live event is for you because...
- You want to learn Prometheus to monitor systems.
- You are a systems administrators, DevOps personnel, Linux administrators, and Kubernetes administrator.
- You are a beginner and intermediate learner.
Prerequisites
- Basic Linux terminal skills
- Ability to create Linux virtual machines
- Knowledge of Kubernetes, Kubernetes clusters, and Docker
- Ability to download a git repository and read markdown-based documentation
Course Set-up
- A Linux virtual machine that can be used to install Prometheus (Debian, Ubuntu Server, or Centos Stream recommended).
- (Recommended) A second, separate Linux virtual machine for monitoring (Debian, Ubuntu, or Centos).
- An accessible Kubernetes cluster (vanilla three-host cluster is recommended, but minikube is also acceptable). https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/install-minikube/
- Download the course repository: https://github.com/daveprowse/prom-live
Recommended Preparation
- Watch: Kubernetes: From Basics to Guru by Sander van Vugt
- Watch: Linux Fundamentals, 2nd Edition by Sander van Vugt
- Watch: Linux Networking – Basics and Beyond by Dave Prowse
- Watch: Virtualization for Everyone by Sander Van Vugt
- Read: A Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming, Fourth Edition by Mark G. Sobell
Recommended Follow-up
- Attend: Linux Networking & Security Fundamentals by Dave Prowse
- Watch: Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), 3rd Edition, by Sander van Vugt
Schedule
The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.
Segment 1: Introduction (20 minutes)
- Course Introduction
- Lab Setup
- GitHub repository setup
- Introduction to Prometheus
- Q&A
Segment 2: Prometheus Installation (20 minutes)
- Installation of Prometheus to a Linux virtual machine
- Testing the Prometheus Installation
- Q&A
Segment 3: Basic Querying (15 minutes)
- Collecting data
- Display and sort data with PromQL
- Interacting with stored metrics
- Q&A
Break (5 minutes)
Segment 4: Dashboarding (25 minutes)
- Installing Grafana
- Understanding dashboards and panels
- Example of a time-based metric
- Q&A
Segment 5: Monitoring Metrics (25 minutes)
- Monitoring data sources
- Reading time-based metrics
- Monitoring services
- Monitoring containers and clusters
- Q&A
Break (10 minutes)
Segment 6: Instrumenting Code (20 minutes)
- Introduction to instrumentation
- Instrumenting with a sample test program
- Scraping data from a web server
- Q&A
Break (5 minutes)
Segment 7: Monitoring Linux Systems (40 minutes)
- Monitoring Linux processes
- Monitoring systemd services
- Custom monitoring of Linux
- Q&A
Break (5 minutes)
Segment 8: Monitoring Kubernetes (50 minutes)
- Running Prometheus in Kubernetes
- Scraping data from a Kubelet
- Data collection from Kubernetes API
- Q&A
Course wrap-up and next steps (5 minutes)
Your Instructor
David L. Prowse
David Prowse has more than 20 years of experience in the IT field. He is an advocate of lifelong learning, self-improvement, building confidence, and the sharing of knowledge. You can contact him at his website: prowse.tech; on discord; and on his Youtube channel