Configure service dependencies for Grafana IRM

Service dependencies help you understand the impact of alerts by identifying related upstream services that may also be experiencing issues. When configured, IRM uses labels and Service Center to track dependencies and surface them on alert group pages.

Before you begin

Before service dependencies work in IRM, the following must be in place:

Service Center configuration: Your services and their dependencies must be defined in Service Center. Each service must have a unique service identifier.
service_name label: Your integrations must include a service_name label that matches a defined service identifier in Service Center. For configuration instructions, refer to Configure labels.

How service dependencies work

When an alert group fires, IRM can determine its upstream dependencies using the following process:

Service Center configuration:
- All services and their dependencies must be correctly defined in Service Center. Each service must have a unique service identifier.
service_name label check:
- When an alert group fires, IRM checks if it has a service_name label.
- If the label matches a service identifier in Service Center, IRM retrieves its upstream dependencies.
Upstream dependency evaluation:
- IRM checks if any upstream dependencies have active alert groups.
- If so, those dependencies are displayed in the Upstream Dependencies section on the alert group page.

This lets you quickly determine if an alert is potentially caused by—or impacting—other upstream services.

View upstream dependencies

To check for upstream dependencies:

In IRM, go to the Alert Groups page.
Select the alert group you want to investigate.
If any upstream services also have firing alert groups, they are listed in the Upstream Dependencies section within the alert details.