Course overview on Grafana Labs

Course overview

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Welcome

If you’re running a database and want to understand what’s happening inside it, you’re in the right place. This course helps you find the right monitoring approach for your setup, whether you’re just getting started or looking to go deeper.

What this course covers

Grafana Cloud offers two primary approaches to database monitoring. This course introduces each one, explains when to use it, and gives you a hands-on learning path to try it out.

Approach	What it does	Best for
Database Observability	Deep query-level insights combined with database health metrics	MySQL and PostgreSQL
Database integrations	Database health metrics with pre-built dashboards	MongoDB, Redis, Memcached, Cassandra, Oracle, and more

How this course works

You don’t need to go through every slide. Browse the approaches, pick the one that matches your database, and follow the hands-on learning path at your own pace.

Databases covered


MySQL	Memcached
PostgreSQL	Cassandra
MongoDB	Oracle
Redis

Where database monitoring fits

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Observability builds in layers

Database monitoring is foundational

Level	Focus	Question answered
Level 1	Infrastructure	“Is my server healthy?”
Level 1	Databases	“Is my database healthy? Which queries are slow?”
Level 2	Services	“Which service is the problem?”
Level 3	Transactions	“Why is this request slow?”
Level 4	Custom logic	“What’s happening in my code?”

Databases sit at the foundation of your observability stack. Application performance depends on database performance. If your database is slow, your application is slow.

Without visibility into query performance, connection usage, and replication health, troubleshooting application issues means guessing.

Two approaches to database monitoring

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Two approaches to database monitoring

Grafana Cloud offers two ways to monitor databases. Each serves a different purpose.

	Database Observability	Integrations
What it does	Deep query-level monitoring	Database health metrics
Depth	Individual queries, explain plans, wait events	Aggregate metrics, dashboards, alerts
How it works	Grafana Alloy with Database Observability components	Grafana Alloy with integration config
Dashboards	Purpose-built query performance views	Pre-built health dashboards
Supported databases	MySQL, PostgreSQL	MongoDB, Redis, Memcached, Cassandra, Oracle, and more

When each approach shines

Database Observability — You need to understand why queries are slow, not just that they’re slow. See individual query execution plans, wait events, and optimization suggestions.
Integrations — Your database isn’t supported by Database Observability yet, or you need broad health metrics with pre-built dashboards and alerts.

The key insight: These approaches complement each other. Many teams use Database Observability for their MySQL and PostgreSQL databases and integrations for other database technologies.

How to choose

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Start with your database technology

The right approach depends on what database you’re running and what you need to see.

Your database	Recommended approach	Why
MySQL or PostgreSQL	Database Observability	Deepest visibility: query-level performance, explain plans, wait events
MongoDB, Redis, Memcached, Cassandra, Oracle	Integration	Health metrics with pre-built dashboards and alerts
MySQL or PostgreSQL	Integration	Basic health metrics when Database Observability isn’t an option

Decision framework

Is your database MySQL or PostgreSQL? → Start with Database Observability. It gives you the deepest visibility available.
Is your database supported by an integration? → Use an integration. You get health metrics, pre-built dashboards, and alerts with minimal setup.

Managed databases are supported

Database Observability works with the following self-managed databases and managed cloud services:

Amazon RDS and Aurora
Google Cloud SQL
Azure Database for MySQL and PostgreSQL

Is this course right for you?

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This course is for you if…

You run one or more databases and want to monitor them with Grafana Cloud
You want to understand which Grafana Cloud approach fits your database technology
You’re new to database monitoring in Grafana and want a guided starting point

Explore other courses

If your focus isn’t databases, one of these courses might be a better fit.

Course	Description	Duration
Introduction to integrations	Monitor infrastructure like Linux servers, network devices, and more	20 min
Introduction to data sources	Explore common Grafana data sources beyond databases	20 min
Cloud Provider Observability	Connect cloud accounts from AWS, Azure, or GCP	30–40 min
Send data from external collectors	Send metrics and logs from Prometheus, InfluxDB, Graphite, and more	15 min

Already have Database Observability running?

View advanced configuration docs

No database experience required

This course assumes you have a database running but doesn’t require deep database administration skills. Each learning path walks you through the setup step by step, including creating monitoring users and configuring permissions.

Prerequisites

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For hands-on practice

If you’d like to follow along with the learning path exercises, you’ll need:

A Grafana Cloud account (sign up free)
A running database you want to monitor
Access to install Grafana Alloy
Database credentials with appropriate monitoring permissions

Just exploring? You can complete the course without hands-on practice. The concepts and decision frameworks are valuable on their own.

Requirements vary by approach

Approach	What you’ll need
Database Observability	Grafana Alloy 1.14.0+, MySQL 8.0+ or PostgreSQL 14+, a monitoring user with specific privileges
Integrations	Grafana Alloy, network access to your database, monitoring credentials

Recommended prior knowledge

Topic	Why it helps
Basic Grafana navigation	You’ll use dashboards and Explore
Terminal or command line basics	Alloy installation uses the CLI
Basic database administration	You’ll create monitoring users and configure permissions

Jump to your database

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Jump to your database

Already know what you need? Find your database below and go directly to the details.

Database Observability

Deep query-level monitoring: individual queries, explain plans, wait events, and optimization suggestions.

Database	Managed support	Setup time	Learn more	Learning path
MySQL	RDS, Aurora, Cloud SQL, Azure	30–60 min	View →	Start →
PostgreSQL	RDS, Aurora, Cloud SQL, Azure	30–60 min	View →	Start →

Integrations

Infrastructure-level health metrics with pre-built dashboards and alerts.

Database	Alerts	Dashboards	Learn more	Learning path
MongoDB	10	3	View →	Start →
Redis	6	1	View →	Coming soon
Memcached	4	1	View →	Coming soon
Cassandra	8	3	View →	Coming soon
MySQL	15	2	View →	Start →
PostgreSQL	19	4	View →	Start →
Oracle	3	1	View →	Coming soon

Not sure yet? That’s fine — continue through the course and each module will explain the approach in detail before you commit.