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Alloy Health integration for Grafana Cloud

The Alloy health integration lets you monitor metrics and logs of Alloy instances.

It can be seen as an extended version of the Alloy Collector monitoring app available under the Connections menu, providing deeper insights over your Alloy deployment environment, including dashboards for Alloy clusters, OTel specific components, resource utilization, logs and more, together with bundled alerts.

This integration includes 10 useful alerts and 7 pre-built dashboards to help monitor and visualize Alloy Health metrics and logs.

Before you begin

This integration relies on metrics emitted by Grafana Alloy. See the following sections for details.

Install Alloy Health integration for Grafana Cloud

  1. In your Grafana Cloud stack, click Connections in the left-hand menu.
  2. Find Alloy Health and click its tile to open the integration.
  3. Review the prerequisites in the Configuration Details tab and set up Grafana Agent to send Alloy Health metrics and logs to your Grafana Cloud instance.
  4. Click Install to add this integration’s pre-built dashboards and alerts to your Grafana Cloud instance, and you can start monitoring your Alloy Health setup.

Configuration snippets for Grafana Alloy

Simple mode

These snippets are configured to scrape a single Grafana alloy node running locally with default ports and log paths.

Manually copy and append the following snippets into your Grafana Alloy configuration file.

You can remove any component named alloy_check from your alloy configuration file, to avoid duplication of metrics.

Integrations snippets

alloy
prometheus.exporter.self "integrations_alloy_health" { }

discovery.relabel "integrations_alloy_health" {
  targets = prometheus.exporter.self.integrations_alloy_health.targets

  rule {
    replacement = constants.hostname
    target_label  = "instance"
  }

  rule {
    target_label = "job"
    replacement  = "integrations/alloy"
  }
}

prometheus.scrape "integrations_alloy_health" {
  targets    = discovery.relabel.integrations_alloy_health.output
  forward_to = [prometheus.remote_write.metrics_service.receiver]
  job_name   = "integrations/alloy"
}

Logs snippets

darwin

alloy
logging {
  write_to = [loki.process.logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health.receiver]
}

loki.process "logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health" {
  forward_to = [loki.relabel.logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health.receiver]

  stage.regex {
    expression = "(level=(?P<log_level>[\\s]*debug|warn|info|error))"
  }
  
  stage.labels {
    values = {
      level = "log_level",
    }
  }
}

loki.relabel "logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health" {

  forward_to = [loki.write.grafana_cloud_loki.receiver]

  rule {
    replacement = constants.hostname
    target_label  = "instance"
  }

  rule {
    target_label = "job"
    replacement  = "integrations/alloy"
  }
}

linux

alloy
logging {
  write_to = [loki.process.logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health.receiver]
}

loki.process "logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health" {
  forward_to = [loki.relabel.logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health.receiver]

  stage.regex {
    expression = "(level=(?P<log_level>[\\s]*debug|warn|info|error))"
  }
  
  stage.labels {
    values = {
      level = "log_level",
    }
  }
}

loki.relabel "logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health" {

  forward_to = [loki.write.grafana_cloud_loki.receiver]

  rule {
    replacement = constants.hostname
    target_label  = "instance"
  }

  rule {
    target_label = "job"
    replacement  = "integrations/alloy"
  }
}

windows

alloy
logging {
  write_to = [loki.process.logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health.receiver]
}

loki.process "logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health" {
  forward_to = [loki.relabel.logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health.receiver]

  stage.regex {
    expression = "(level=(?P<log_level>[\\s]*debug|warn|info|error))"
  }
  
  stage.labels {
    values = {
      level = "log_level",
    }
  }
}

loki.relabel "logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health" {

  forward_to = [loki.write.grafana_cloud_loki.receiver]

  rule {
    replacement = constants.hostname
    target_label  = "instance"
  }

  rule {
    target_label = "job"
    replacement  = "integrations/alloy"
  }
}

Advanced mode

The following snippets provide examples to guide you through the configuration process.

Manually copy and append the snippets to your alloy configuration file, then follow subsequent instructions.

You can remove any component named alloy_check from your alloy configuration file, to avoid duplication of metrics.

Advanced integrations snippets

alloy
prometheus.exporter.self "integrations_alloy_health" { }

discovery.relabel "integrations_alloy_health" {
  targets = prometheus.exporter.self.integrations_alloy_health.targets

  rule {
    replacement = constants.hostname
    target_label  = "instance"
  }

  rule {
    target_label = "job"
    replacement  = "integrations/alloy"
  }
}

prometheus.scrape "integrations_alloy_health" {
  targets    = discovery.relabel.integrations_alloy_health.output
  forward_to = [prometheus.remote_write.metrics_service.receiver]
  job_name   = "integrations/alloy"
}

This integrations uses the prometheus.exporter.self component to generate metrics from the alloy instance itself.

For the full array of configuration options, refer to the prometheus.exporter.self component reference documentation.

This exporter must be linked with a discovery.relabel component to apply the necessary relabeling rules.

Configure the following properties within the discovery.relabel component:

  • instance label: constants.hostname sets the instance label to your Grafana Alloy server hostname. If that is not suitable, change it to a value uniquely identifies this alloy instance.

If you are running Grafana Alloy in cluster mode, beware that you may need to change instance label as multiple instances might be running in your server.

You can then scrape them by including each discovery.relabel under targets within the prometheus.scrape component.

Advanced logs snippets

darwin

alloy
logging {
  write_to = [loki.process.logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health.receiver]
}

loki.process "logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health" {
  forward_to = [loki.relabel.logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health.receiver]

  stage.regex {
    expression = "(level=(?P<log_level>[\\s]*debug|warn|info|error))"
  }
  
  stage.labels {
    values = {
      level = "log_level",
    }
  }
}

loki.relabel "logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health" {

  forward_to = [loki.write.grafana_cloud_loki.receiver]

  rule {
    replacement = constants.hostname
    target_label  = "instance"
  }

  rule {
    target_label = "job"
    replacement  = "integrations/alloy"
  }
}

This integration uses the logging configuration block to collect logs internally and direct it to a loki.process and a loki.relabel component to set necessary labels.

Beware that the logging configuration block is also used to set the logging level and format you want alloy to use. If you already have such a block in you configuration file, just include the write_to property to it, as just one should be present.

If you have installed a single Grafana Alloy instance in your server, it should be ready to use. Otherwise, configure the following property within the loki.relabel component:

  • instance label: constants.hostname sets the instance label to your Grafana Alloy server hostname. If that is not suitable, change it to a value uniquely identifies this alloy instance.

If you are running Grafana Alloy in cluster mode, beware that you may need to change instance label as multiple instances might be running in your server.

You can check the documentation linked above for the full array of options for each component.

linux

alloy
logging {
  write_to = [loki.process.logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health.receiver]
}

loki.process "logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health" {
  forward_to = [loki.relabel.logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health.receiver]

  stage.regex {
    expression = "(level=(?P<log_level>[\\s]*debug|warn|info|error))"
  }
  
  stage.labels {
    values = {
      level = "log_level",
    }
  }
}

loki.relabel "logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health" {

  forward_to = [loki.write.grafana_cloud_loki.receiver]

  rule {
    replacement = constants.hostname
    target_label  = "instance"
  }

  rule {
    target_label = "job"
    replacement  = "integrations/alloy"
  }
}

This integration uses the logging configuration block to collect logs internally and direct it to a loki.process and a loki.relabel component to set necessary labels.

Beware that the logging configuration block is also used to set the logging level and format you want alloy to use. If you already have such a block in you configuration file, just include the write_to property to it, as just one should be present.

If you have installed a single Grafana Alloy instance in your server, it should be ready to use. Otherwise, configure the following property within the loki.relabel component:

  • instance label: constants.hostname sets the instance label to your Grafana Alloy server hostname. If that is not suitable, change it to a value uniquely identifies this alloy instance.

If you are running Grafana Alloy in cluster mode, beware that you may need to change instance label as multiple instances might be running in your server.

You can check the documentation linked above for the full array of options for each component.

windows

alloy
logging {
  write_to = [loki.process.logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health.receiver]
}

loki.process "logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health" {
  forward_to = [loki.relabel.logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health.receiver]

  stage.regex {
    expression = "(level=(?P<log_level>[\\s]*debug|warn|info|error))"
  }
  
  stage.labels {
    values = {
      level = "log_level",
    }
  }
}

loki.relabel "logs_integrations_integrations_alloy_health" {

  forward_to = [loki.write.grafana_cloud_loki.receiver]

  rule {
    replacement = constants.hostname
    target_label  = "instance"
  }

  rule {
    target_label = "job"
    replacement  = "integrations/alloy"
  }
}

This integration uses the logging configuration block to collect logs internally and direct it to a loki.process and a loki.relabel component to set necessary labels.

Beware that the logging configuration block is also used to set the logging level and format you want alloy to use. If you already have such a block in you configuration file, just include the write_to property to it, as just one should be present.

If you have installed a single Grafana Alloy instance in your server, it should be ready to use. Otherwise, configure the following property within the loki.relabel component:

  • instance label: constants.hostname sets the instance label to your Grafana Alloy server hostname. If that is not suitable, change it to a value uniquely identifies this alloy instance.

If you are running Grafana Alloy in cluster mode, beware that you may need to change instance label as multiple instances might be running in your server.

You can check the documentation linked above for the full array of options for each component.

Dashboards

The Alloy Health integration installs the following dashboards in your Grafana Cloud instance to help monitor your system.

  • Alloy / Cluster Node
  • Alloy / Cluster Overview
  • Alloy / Controller
  • Alloy / Logs Overview
  • Alloy / OpenTelemetry
  • Alloy / Prometheus Components
  • Alloy / Resources

Alloy resources usage overview

Alloy resources usage overview

Prometheus related components overview

Prometheus related components overview

Overall components overview

Overall components overview

Alerts

The Alloy Health integration includes the following useful alerts:

alloy_clustering

AlertDescription
ClusterNotConvergingWarning: Cluster is not converging.
ClusterNodeCountMismatchWarning: Nodes report different number of peers vs. the count of observed Alloy metrics.
ClusterNodeUnhealthyWarning: Cluster unhealthy.
ClusterNodeNameConflictWarning: Cluster Node Name Conflict.
ClusterNodeStuckTerminatingWarning: Cluster node stuck in Terminating state.
ClusterConfigurationDriftWarning: Cluster configuration drifting.

alloy_controller

AlertDescription
SlowComponentEvaluationsWarning: Component evaluations are taking too long.
UnhealthyComponentsWarning: Unhealthy components detected.

alloy_otelcol

AlertDescription
OtelcolReceiverRefusedSpansWarning: The receiver could not push some spans to the pipeline.
OtelcolExporterFailedSpansWarning: The exporter failed to send spans to their destination.

Metrics

The most important metrics provided by the Alloy Health integration, which are used on the pre-built dashboards and Prometheus alerts, are as follows:

  • alloy_build_info
  • alloy_component_controller_running_components
  • alloy_component_dependencies_wait_seconds
  • alloy_component_dependencies_wait_seconds_bucket
  • alloy_component_evaluation_seconds
  • alloy_component_evaluation_seconds_bucket
  • alloy_component_evaluation_seconds_count
  • alloy_component_evaluation_seconds_sum
  • alloy_component_evaluation_slow_seconds
  • alloy_config_hash
  • alloy_resources_machine_rx_bytes_total
  • alloy_resources_machine_tx_bytes_total
  • alloy_resources_process_cpu_seconds_total
  • alloy_resources_process_resident_memory_bytes
  • cluster_node_gossip_health_score
  • cluster_node_gossip_proto_version
  • cluster_node_gossip_received_events_total
  • cluster_node_info
  • cluster_node_lamport_time
  • cluster_node_peers
  • cluster_node_update_observers
  • cluster_transport_rx_bytes_total
  • cluster_transport_rx_packet_queue_length
  • cluster_transport_rx_packets_failed_total
  • cluster_transport_rx_packets_total
  • cluster_transport_stream_rx_bytes_total
  • cluster_transport_stream_rx_packets_failed_total
  • cluster_transport_stream_rx_packets_total
  • cluster_transport_stream_tx_bytes_total
  • cluster_transport_stream_tx_packets_failed_total
  • cluster_transport_stream_tx_packets_total
  • cluster_transport_streams
  • cluster_transport_tx_bytes_total
  • cluster_transport_tx_packet_queue_length
  • cluster_transport_tx_packets_failed_total
  • cluster_transport_tx_packets_total
  • exporter_send_failed_spans_ratio_total
  • exporter_sent_spans_ratio_total
  • go_gc_duration_seconds_count
  • go_goroutines
  • go_memstats_heap_inuse_bytes
  • processor_batch_batch_send_size_ratio_bucket
  • processor_batch_metadata_cardinality_ratio
  • processor_batch_timeout_trigger_send_ratio_total
  • prometheus_remote_storage_bytes_total
  • prometheus_remote_storage_highest_timestamp_in_seconds
  • prometheus_remote_storage_metadata_bytes_total
  • prometheus_remote_storage_queue_highest_sent_timestamp_seconds
  • prometheus_remote_storage_samples_failed_total
  • prometheus_remote_storage_samples_retried_total
  • prometheus_remote_storage_samples_total
  • prometheus_remote_storage_sent_batch_duration_seconds_bucket
  • prometheus_remote_storage_sent_batch_duration_seconds_count
  • prometheus_remote_storage_sent_batch_duration_seconds_sum
  • prometheus_remote_storage_shards
  • prometheus_remote_storage_shards_max
  • prometheus_remote_storage_shards_min
  • prometheus_remote_write_wal_samples_appended_total
  • prometheus_remote_write_wal_storage_active_series
  • receiver_accepted_spans_ratio_total
  • receiver_refused_spans_ratio_total
  • rpc_server_duration_milliseconds_bucket
  • scrape_duration_seconds
  • up

Changelog

md
# 1.0.0 - July 2024

* Initial release

Cost

By connecting your Alloy Health instance to Grafana Cloud, you might incur charges. To view information on the number of active series that your Grafana Cloud account uses for metrics included in each Cloud tier, see Active series and dpm usage and Cloud tier pricing.