Simple Guide to Monitor System Metrics with TICK Stack on CentOS 7

Monitoring system metrics is an essential part of maintaining the health and performance of a server. With TICK Stack, it’s easy to monitor and visualize system metrics in real-time. In this guide, we will walk you through the steps to install and set up TICK Stack on CentOS 7 to monitor system metrics.

What is TICK Stack?
TICK Stack is a set of open-source tools used for monitoring and visualizing time-series data. The name stands for Telegraf, InfluxDB, Chronograf, and Kapacitor. Each tool serves a specific purpose in the monitoring and visualization process. Telegraf is used for data collection, InfluxDB for data storage, Chronograf for data visualization, and Kapacitor for alerting and anomaly detection.

Step 1: Install Telegraf
Telegraf is a data collector that collects data from various sources and sends it to InfluxDB for storage. To install Telegraf, follow these steps:

1. Update the system packages by running the following command: sudo yum update -y
2. Install the Telegraf package by running the following command: sudo yum install telegraf -y
3. Once installed, start and enable the Telegraf service by running the following commands: sudo systemctl start telegraf sudo systemctl enable telegraf

Step 2: Install InfluxDB
InfluxDB is a time-series database that stores the data collected by Telegraf. To install InfluxDB, follow these steps:

1. Add the InfluxDB repository to the system by running the following command: sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/influxdb.repo <<EOF [influxdb] name = InfluxDB Repository – RHEL $releasever baseurl = https://repos.influxdata.com/rhel/\$releasever/\$basearch/stable enabled = 1 gpgcheck = 1 gpgkey = https://repos.influxdata.com/influxdb.key EOF
2. Install the InfluxDB package by running the following command: sudo yum install influxdb -y
3. Once installed, start and enable the InfluxDB service by running the following commands: sudo systemctl start influxdb sudo systemctl enable influxdb

Step 3: Install Chronograf
Chronograf is a web-based user interface used for data visualization and exploration. To install Chronograf, follow these steps:

1. Add the Chronograf repository to the system by running the following command: sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/chronograf.repo <<EOF [chronograf] name = InfluxData Chronograf Repository baseurl = https://repos.influxdata.com/chronograf/rpm enabled = 1 gpgcheck = 1 gpgkey = https://repos.influxdata.com/influxdb.key EOF
2. Install the Chronograf package by running the following command: sudo yum install chronograf -y
3. Once installed, start and enable the Chronograf service by running the following commands: sudo systemctl start chronograf sudo systemctl enable chronograf

Step 4: Install Kapacitor
Kapacitor is used for alerting and anomaly detection. To install Kapacitor, follow these steps:

1. Add the Kapacitor repository to the system by running the following command: sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/kapacitor.repo <<EOF [kapacitor] name = InfluxData Kapacitor Repository baseurl = https://repos.influxdata.com/kapacitor/rpm enabled = 1 gpgcheck = 1 gpgkey = https://repos.influxdata.com/influxdb.key EOF

2. Install the Kapacitor package by running the following command: sudo yum install kapacitor -y
3. Once installed, start and enable the Kapacitor service by running the following commands: sudo systemctl start kapacitor sudo systemctl enable kapacitor

Step 5: Configure Telegraf
Telegraf comes with a default configuration file that collects metrics from various sources. However, you can customize the configuration file to suit your needs. To configure Telegraf, follow these steps:

1. Open the Telegraf configuration file using a text editor: sudo vi /etc/telegraf/telegraf.conf
2. Customize the configuration file to suit your needs. You can specify which metrics to collect, set up data tags, and more.
3. Save and exit the file.
4. Restart the Telegraf service to apply the changes: sudo systemctl restart telegraf

Step 6: Visualize Metrics with Chronograf
Chronograf provides a web-based interface for visualizing and exploring metrics collected by Telegraf and stored in InfluxDB. To access the Chronograf web interface, follow these steps:

1. Open a web browser and navigate to http://<server_ip_address>:8888.
2. In the Chronograf login page, enter the username and password for the Chronograf user.
3. Once logged in, you can create dashboards, add data sources, and more.

Step 7: Set Up Kapacitor for Alerting
Kapacitor is used for alerting and anomaly detection. To set up Kapacitor for alerting, follow these steps:

1. Open the Kapacitor configuration file using a text editor: sudo vi /etc/kapacitor/kapacitor.conf
2. Customize the configuration file to specify which metrics to alert on, set up alerting rules, and more.
3. Save and exit the file.
4. Restart the Kapacitor service to apply the changes: sudo systemctl restart kapacitor

Monitoring system metrics is crucial for maintaining the health and performance of a server. With TICK Stack, you can easily collect, store, and visualize system metrics in real-time. By following the simple steps outlined in this guide, you can set up TICK Stack on CentOS 7 to monitor your system metrics and ensure your server is running smoothly.