Visualisation and exploration
Dashboards, investigation, correlation, alerting and multiple data sources.
GRAFANA LABS OBSERVABILITY
Far beyond dashboards. End-to-end observability.
Add Solution uses the Grafana Labs ecosystem to build modern observability architectures that connect metrics, logs, traces, profiles, applications, infrastructure, cloud and digital experience in an integrated operational view.
From instrumentation with OpenTelemetry and Grafana Alloy to the architecture of Prometheus/Mimir, Loki, Tempo and Pyroscope, we design environments that turn telemetry into context for investigation, SRE and decision-making.
BEYOND DASHBOARDS
The dashboard is the final step in a long engineering process.
Before a chart exists, decisions are needed about what to observe, how to instrument it, where to collect data, how to transport and normalise it, how much to retain, how to connect signals, what to alert on and which service it represents. Only then does it make sense to decide how to visualise it.
- SOURCES
Applications, infrastructure, Kubernetes, cloud, databases and frontend.
- INSTRUMENTATION
OpenTelemetry, Prometheus and libraries suited to the signal.
- ALLOY
Receive, process, enrich, filter and route.
- SIGNALS
Metrics, logs, traces and profiles.
- BACKENDS
Mimir, Loki, Tempo, Pyroscope or Grafana Cloud.
- ACTION
Grafana correlates, investigates, alerts and supports decisions.
Grafana is where many people see the data. Observability starts long before the dashboard.
COMPOSABLE OBSERVABILITY
An ecosystem built around observability signals.
Grafana explores and visualises different sources; Mimir scales Prometheus-compatible metrics; Loki aggregates logs; Tempo stores traces; Pyroscope receives profiles; Alloy builds telemetry pipelines. LGTM stands for Loki, Grafana, Tempo and Mimir, while profiling remains an important complementary signal.
Metrics at scale
A Prometheus-compatible, multi-tenant backend designed for long-term retention.
Logs
Label-based aggregation, exploration with LogQL and correlation.
Distributed tracing
Trace backend with object storage, TraceQL and metrics generation.
Continuous profiling
CPU, memory and other resource profiles correlated with the other signals.
Telemetry pipeline
Unified collector for metrics, logs, traces and profiles.
TELEMETRY PIPELINE
Before observing, you need a telemetry strategy.
Grafana Alloy is an open source collector maintained by Grafana Labs and a distribution of the OpenTelemetry Collector with Prometheus pipelines and built-in support for Loki, Pyroscope and other backends. For new architectures, it replaces Grafana Agent, which was discontinued in 2025.
- SOURCES
Applications, hosts, Kubernetes, cloud, databases and logs.
- RECEIVE
Scraping, OTLP, exporters and integrations.
- PROCESS
Relabeling, filtering, batching and transformation.
- ENRICH
Service, environment and ownership metadata.
- ROUTE
Mimir, Loki, Tempo, Pyroscope, Grafana Cloud or compatible backends.
Instrumentation should outlast the choice of backend.
PROMETHEUS, MIMIR & LOKI
Metrics and logs need to remain useful as the environment grows.
Prometheus is a CNCF open source project, fundamental to metrics, scraping, service discovery, exporters and PromQL. Grafana Mimir extends the Prometheus model with horizontal scaling, multi-tenancy and long-term retention. Loki organizes logs by labels and supports exploration with LogQL.
Metrics collection and model
Scraping, exporters, service discovery, rules and remote_write as defined by the architecture.
Distributed metrics
PromQL compatibility, horizontal scaling, HA and object storage.
Logs in context
Consistent labels, streams, retention and usage-driven query patterns.
From symptoms to evidence
Metrics indicate behavior; logs capture operational detail.
TEMPO + PYROSCOPE
A transaction crosses services. Resource consumption happens within the code.
Grafana Tempo receives distributed traces via OpenTelemetry and supports queries on relationships, dependencies and paths with TraceQL. Grafana Pyroscope adds continuous profiling to identify where code, libraries and the runtime consume resources.
- USER
The experience that initiated the transaction.
- FRONTEND / API
Entry point, routing and authentication.
- SERVICES
Spans, dependencies, latency and errors.
- DATABASE
Queries and waits on the critical path.
- PROFILE
Functions and resources consumed during execution.
Metrics show that resource consumption has increased. Traces show where the request went. Profiles help reveal where the code is consuming resources.
APPLICATION OBSERVABILITY
The user experiences an application. The architecture runs a chain of dependencies.
Grafana Cloud Application Observability is OpenTelemetry-native and connects services, latency, errors, traces, RED metrics, relationships and profiles. Quality depends on instrumentation, semantic conventions, sampling and consistent metadata. The availability of Application Observability and associated features depends on the deployment model and plan purchased.
- USER
Journey and perceived outcome.
- FRONTEND
Navigation, errors and client-side traces.
- API
Service entry point and contract.
- SERVICES
Distributed dependencies and RED metrics.
- DATA
Database, cache, queues and external services.
REAL USER EXPERIENCE
Infrastructure can be healthy while the user has a poor experience.
Frontend Observability uses RUM, Web Vitals, JavaScript errors, navigation, interactions, browser logs and client-side traces. Synthetic Monitoring runs HTTP, DNS, TCP, ping and browser journeys, including private probes where applicable. SLOs translate availability, latency and errors into operational objectives. Frontend Observability, Synthetic Monitoring, private probes and SLO features depend on the applicable deployment model, plan and configuration.
Real users
Grafana Faro/Web SDK and OpenTelemetry connect browser signals to the instrumented backend.
Proactive journeys
Checks and browser journeys identify failures before users report them.
A service measured by what it delivers
SLIs, error budgets and burn rates guide reliability and alerting.
Action with context
Rules, routing, contact points, silences and policies without alerting on everything.
INFRASTRUCTURE OBSERVABILITY
Distributed environments require context that spans infrastructure, cloud and applications.
Linux, Windows, VMs, containers, services and network signals can be observed through appropriate integrations and pipelines. Grafana Cloud offers solutions for AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, while self-managed architectures can bring together the same signals according to the design.
- HOSTS
System, processes, capacity and events.
- CONTAINERS
Ephemeral workloads and dependencies.
- CLOUD
Managed services, accounts and regions.
- APPLICATIONS
Service traces, metrics and logs.
- SERVICE HEALTH
Signals correlated with operational impact.
KUBERNETES + DATABASE OBSERVABILITY
Clusters change continuously. Databases require visibility beyond utilization.
Kubernetes Monitoring connects clusters, nodes, namespaces, workloads, pods, containers, events, logs, metrics, traces and resource context. Database Observability monitors PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQL Server according to current support, including metrics, query samples, performance, wait events, schemas and plans.
Dynamic topology
Alloy and OpenTelemetry track workloads and signals that change with the scheduler.
From saturation to the query
Metrics and samples help identify which workload is causing degradation.
Capacity and cost
Requests, limits, usage and efficiency need to be analyzed together.
TELEMETRY ECONOMICS
More telemetry does not automatically mean more observability.
Adaptive Metrics, Logs, Traces and Profiles in Grafana Cloud help analyze the usage and value of signals, reduce low-value volume and preserve investigative capacity. Grafana Assistant uses AI to support troubleshooting, analytics, creation and guidance, keeping the engineer at the center of decision-making. Adaptive Telemetry and Grafana Assistant are features subject to Grafana Cloud's current offering, plan and terms.
- TELEMETRY
Signals with volume, cardinality and cost.
- CONTEXT
Service, criticality, usage and retention.
- QUERY
Operational question or hypothesis.
- AI ASSISTANCE
Support for investigation and analysis.
- ENGINEER
Validation, decision and accountability.
Collecting everything is easy. Deciding what is worth keeping requires engineering.
BEYOND THE DASHBOARD
Installing Grafana is simple. Building observability is not.
A reliable architecture requires decisions about instrumentation, collectors, labels, cardinality, storage, retention, sampling, queries, alerts, SLOs, correlation, security, high availability, costs and processes. Add Solution starts by asking what the operations team needs to be able to answer.
Consistent names and attributes
Service, environment, owner, resource attributes and timestamps underpin correlation.
Dimensionality under control
Labels need to preserve usefulness without compromising cost and performance.
Risk-driven sampling
Volume, criticality, errors, latency and investigation guide the strategy.
Visualization for decision-making
Operations, SRE, management and executives receive different contexts according to scope.
A dashboard is presentation. Observability is engineering.
GRAFANA PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
From instrumentation to operations.
We design Grafana Cloud, self-managed stacks or hybrid architectures according to functionality, licensing and requirements. Sizing accounts for active series, cardinality, samples, daily logs, spans, profiles, retention, queries, dashboards, alerts, growth, HA and object storage.
- ASSESSMENT
- STRATEGY
- ARCHITECTURE
- INSTRUMENTATION
- COLLECTION
- STORAGE
- CORRELATION
- VISUALIZATION
- SLO & ALERTING
- OPTIMIZATION
- OPERATION
- EVOLUTION
ARCHITECTURE & RELIABILITY
The observability stack also needs to be reliable, secure and operable.
Engineering addresses scraping, exporters, remote_write, recording rules, Loki ingestion and retention, Tempo OTLP and sampling, Pyroscope collection, object storage, HA, load balancing, security, meta-monitoring, configuration as code and GitOps as needed.
Queries and storage
PromQL, LogQL, TraceQL, labels, recording rules and usage patterns guide tuning.
Least privilege and minimal exposure
Identities, secrets, TLS, receivers and permissions defined for each component.
Controlled evolution
Grafana Agent to Alloy, OTel, alerts, dashboards, Cloud and backends modernized in stages.
From signal to operations
Observe, detect, correlate, investigate, respond and learn through defined processes.
COMPLEMENTARY CAPABILITIES
A composable architecture can combine tools without making them mandatory.
Zabbix adds operational monitoring; Elastic offers search and correlation; Progress Flowmon provides deeper insight into flows and network behavior; Lansweeper adds asset intelligence. Grafana connects multiple sources and signals. These relationships depend on the project and do not represent universal native integration.
OBSERVABILITY ASSESSMENT
Your dashboards show data. Can your architecture explain what is happening?
Add Solution can assess metrics, logs, traces, OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana, retention, cardinality, alerts and SLOs to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.
POR QUE ADD SOLUTION
Grafana can show almost anything. The engineering lies in deciding what really needs to be observed.
Add Solution connects observability engineering, open standards, cloud native, SRE, telemetry economics and business context to turn signals into the ability to investigate and act.
Open instrumentation
Architecture reduces unnecessary coupling between applications and the backend.
Distributed environments
Kubernetes, containers, cloud, applications and databases in the same context.
Measurable reliability
Service-driven SLOs, error budgets, alerting and investigation.
Technology connected to operations
Technical components linked to the services that support the business.
PERGUNTAS FREQUENTES
Perguntas frequentes
Answers about collection, components, deployment models, cardinality, access, availability and Grafana assessment.
Does installing Grafana collect all metrics automatically?
Collection depends on appropriate instrumentation, exporters, agents or integrations. Grafana queries the configured sources. First validate that data is arriving; then confirm that the dashboard queries the right signal. See data sources (https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/datasources/).
Do I need to install Loki, Mimir and Tempo together?
The combination depends on your signals and existing systems. You can start with a compatible source and expand as needed. Each additional backend brings capacity and operational responsibilities. Learn about Grafana (https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/introduction/).
Do Grafana OSS, Enterprise and Cloud have the same features?
They share a foundation but differ in operations and commercial or managed features. Compare the edition and plan in use, especially for plugins, access controls and support. Compare deployment models (https://grafana.com/docs/learning-hub/which-grafana/01-intro/02-the-grafana-landscape/).
Does OpenTelemetry eliminate the need to plan the pipeline?
The standard facilitates interoperability, but components, attributes, destinations and failure behavior still need to be defined. Configuration depends on the signals and the distribution adopted. Learn about the components (https://opentelemetry.io/docs/collector/components/).
Why can a user identifier increase costs?
It can generate many combinations when used as a label. In Loki, prefer the appropriate metadata mechanism for high-cardinality fields and assess whether storing that data is necessary. See cardinality (https://grafana.com/docs/loki/latest/get-started/labels/cardinality/).
Does hiding a dashboard protect all data in the source?
Do not assume they are equivalent. Dashboard permissions and query authorization are separate controls. Check the edition, source permissions and access granted to the connection. See data source controls (https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/administration/data-source-management/).
Does high availability eliminate the need for backups?
These serve different needs. The architecture distributes operations; backups allow state to be recovered after incidents such as improper changes or corruption. Test Grafana restoration and address backends separately. See backups (https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/administration/back-up-grafana/).
How can I start an assessment with a controlled scope?
Choose a service, two or three operational questions and acceptance criteria. Measure ingestion, queries, coverage and alert delivery over a representative cycle. Use the results to size the expansion and purchasing requirements. See Cloud usage (https://grafana.com/docs/grafana-cloud/platform/pricing-and-usage/).
SOLUÇÕES RELACIONADAS
Observabilidade conectada à operação.
ADD SOLUTION + GRAFANA LABS
Build observability beyond the dashboard.
Talk to our specialists about Grafana, Prometheus, OpenTelemetry, Alloy, Loki, Tempo, Mimir, Pyroscope, applications, Kubernetes, cloud, SLOs and modern observability architectures.