https://grafana.com/docs/learning-hub/explore-your-data/00-intro/Recent content in Course overview on Grafana LabsHugo -- gohugo.ioenhttps://grafana.com/docs/learning-hub/explore-your-data/00-intro/01-course-overview/Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:55:28 -0400https://grafana.com/docs/learning-hub/explore-your-data/00-intro/01-course-overview/<h2 id="about-this-course">About this course</h2> <p>In this course, you&rsquo;ll learn to explore metrics and logs using Grafana Drilldown apps. These are visual exploration tools that let you investigate infrastructure data without writing queries.</p>https://grafana.com/docs/learning-hub/explore-your-data/00-intro/02-what-is-drilldown/Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:55:28 -0400https://grafana.com/docs/learning-hub/explore-your-data/00-intro/02-what-is-drilldown/<h2 id="what-are-the-grafana-drilldown-apps">What are the Grafana Drilldown apps?</h2> <p><strong>Grafana Drilldown apps</strong> are queryless exploration interfaces that let you investigate metrics and logs visually without writing queries.</p> <div class="admonition admonition-note"><blockquote><p class="title text-uppercase">Note</p>https://grafana.com/docs/learning-hub/explore-your-data/00-intro/03-why-drilldown/Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:55:28 -0400https://grafana.com/docs/learning-hub/explore-your-data/00-intro/03-why-drilldown/<h2 id="query-expertise-shouldnt-block-investigation">Query expertise shouldn&rsquo;t block investigation</h2> <p><img class="lazyload d-inline-block" data-src="query-vs-drilldown.svg" alt="Query editor versus Drilldown interface"/></p> <section class="expand-table-wrapper"><div class="responsive-table-wrapper"> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Approach</th> <th>What&rsquo;s required</th> <th>Who can use it</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><strong>Query editor</strong></td> <td>Understand query concepts and structure queries</td> <td>Engineers familiar with the query model</td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>Drilldown apps</strong></td> <td>Point, click, investigate</td> <td>Anyone</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </section><h2 id="benefits-of-visual-exploration">Benefits of visual exploration</h2> <ul> <li>No query model knowledge required</li> <li>See available labels and values immediately</li> <li>No need to think in terms of query construction</li> <li>Interface shows what&rsquo;s possible</li> <li>Engineers at any level can investigate issues</li> </ul>https://grafana.com/docs/learning-hub/explore-your-data/00-intro/04-when-to-use/Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:55:28 -0400https://grafana.com/docs/learning-hub/explore-your-data/00-intro/04-when-to-use/<h2 id="when-to-use-the-grafana-drilldown-apps">When to use the Grafana Drilldown apps</h2> <p>The Grafana Drilldown apps are designed for exploration and investigation, not permanent monitoring.</p> <h2 id="best-use-cases">Best use cases</h2> <ul> <li>Investigate alerts and explore data immediately</li> <li>Discover what labels and fields exist in your metrics and logs</li> <li>Verify that new metrics appeared, check log fields, explore unfamiliar systems</li> <li>Understand what&rsquo;s available before writing queries or building dashboards</li> <li>Share findings with engineers who don&rsquo;t know query languages</li> </ul> <h2 id="when-to-use-something-else">When to use something else</h2> <section class="expand-table-wrapper"><div class="responsive-table-wrapper"> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>If you need&hellip;</th> <th>Use</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Permanent monitoring</td> <td>Dashboards + alerts</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Complex aggregations</td> <td>Query editor</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Custom visualizations</td> <td>Dashboard panels</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Automated analysis</td> <td>Recording rules</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </section>https://grafana.com/docs/learning-hub/explore-your-data/00-intro/05-is-this-right/Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:55:28 -0400https://grafana.com/docs/learning-hub/explore-your-data/00-intro/05-is-this-right/<h2 id="is-this-course-right-for-you">Is this course right for you?</h2> <p>This course assumes you already have at least one infrastructure telemetry signal (metrics or logs) accessible in Grafana.</p> <h2 id="you-might-want-a-different-course-if-you">You might want a different course if you</h2> <ul> <li>Don&rsquo;t have data flowing yet: Start with Introduction to integrations, Introduction to Cloud Provider Observability, or Introduction to data sources</li> <li>Want to learn query languages: This course focuses on queryless exploration</li> <li>Building complex dashboards: Look for visualization and dashboard courses</li> </ul> <h2 id="related-courses-to-get-data-flowing">Related courses to get data flowing</h2> <div style="display: flex; gap: 12px; flex-wrap: wrap; margin-top: 16px;"> <a href="/docs/learning-hub/intro-to-integrations/" class="btn btn-lg btn-secondary">Introduction to integrations</a> <a href="/docs/learning-hub/intro-to-cp-olly/" class="btn btn-lg btn-secondary">Introduction to Cloud Provider Observability</a> <a href="/docs/learning-hub/intro-to-send-data/" class="btn btn-lg btn-secondary">Send data from external collectors</a> <a href="/docs/learning-hub/intro-to-data-sources/" class="btn btn-lg btn-secondary">Introduction to data sources</a> </div>https://grafana.com/docs/learning-hub/explore-your-data/00-intro/06-prerequisites/Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:55:28 -0400https://grafana.com/docs/learning-hub/explore-your-data/00-intro/06-prerequisites/<h2 id="prerequisites">Prerequisites</h2> <p>To complete this course, you&rsquo;ll need:</p> <ul> <li>Grafana Cloud or self-managed Grafana (v11.6+) (<a href="/signup/cloud/connect-account">sign up for Cloud free</a>)</li> <li>Access to Drilldown apps in your Grafana instance</li> <li>At least one infrastructure telemetry signal accessible in Grafana (metrics or logs)</li> </ul> <h2 id="data-access-options">Data access options</h2> <p>Your telemetry data can be accessible via data sources or stored in Grafana Cloud&rsquo;s built-in databases:</p>