Posted on April 24, 2026April 24, 2026 | by Rajesh Kumar

Grafana 13.x + Graphite + Telegraf Linux Monitoring Lab Guide

Important validation from the real Graphite storage

The real collected metrics in this lab use this structure:

telegraf.linux-demo.<measurement>.<field>

Therefore, use these queries:

telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_active
telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_system
telegraf.linux-demo.mem.used_percent
telegraf.linux-demo.disk.used_percent
telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_recv
telegraf.linux-demo.system.load1
telegraf.linux-demo.processes.total
telegraf.linux-demo.processes.zombies

Do not use these older assumed tag-based paths in this lab:

telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.cpu-total.usage_active
telegraf.linux-demo.disk.*.used_percent
telegraf.linux-demo.net.eth0.bytes_recv
telegraf.linux-demo.net.ens5.bytes_recv

Reason: the current Telegraf Graphite output template is storing metrics without CPU, disk mountpoint, and network interface tag nodes.

Step 1: Explore the Metrics Using Grafana Explore

Objective

Students will use Grafana Explore to discover and query Graphite metrics collected from Linux by Telegraf.

1.1 Open Grafana Explore

Go to:

Explore

Select the datasource:

Graphite

Set time range:

Last 15 minutes

Set refresh:

10s

1.2 Validate the real metric paths before querying

On the Graphite server, run:

docker exec -it graphite find /opt/graphite/storage/whisper/telegraf -type f | sed 's#/opt/graphite/storage/whisper/##; s#/#.#g; s#.wsp$##' | sort

If output still shows .wsp, remove .wsp mentally when writing Grafana queries.

Example file:

telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_active.wsp

Grafana query:

telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_active

1.3 Explore CPU metrics

Run:

telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_active

Expected result:

CPU active usage graph appears.

Other CPU queries:

telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_idle
telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_user
telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_system
telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_iowait
telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_steal

Recommended aliases:

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_active, 'CPU Active %')
alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_idle, 'CPU Idle %')
alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_user, 'CPU User %')
alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_system, 'CPU System %')
alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_iowait, 'CPU I/O Wait %')

Validation:

stress --cpu 2 --timeout 120

Expected result:

CPU Active % should increase.
CPU Idle % should decrease.
Load average may increase.

1.4 Explore memory metrics

Run:

telegraf.linux-demo.mem.used_percent

Expected result:

Memory used percentage graph appears.

Other memory queries:

telegraf.linux-demo.mem.used
telegraf.linux-demo.mem.available
telegraf.linux-demo.mem.free
telegraf.linux-demo.mem.total
telegraf.linux-demo.mem.available_percent

Recommended query:

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.mem.used_percent, 'Memory Used %')

Validation:

stress --vm 1 --vm-bytes 128M --timeout 120

Expected result:

Memory usage may increase depending on system size.

1.5 Explore disk metrics

Correct query for this lab:

telegraf.linux-demo.disk.used_percent

Recommended query:

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.disk.used_percent, 'Disk Used %')

Other disk queries:

telegraf.linux-demo.disk.used
telegraf.linux-demo.disk.free
telegraf.linux-demo.disk.total
telegraf.linux-demo.disk.inodes_used_percent

Important:

telegraf.linux-demo.disk.*.used_percent does not work in this lab because disk mountpoint is not stored as a separate Graphite path node.

Validation:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/graphite-test-file bs=10M count=20 oflag=direct
rm -f /tmp/graphite-test-file

Expected result:

Disk usage may briefly change. On large disks, the percentage change may be small.

1.6 Explore network metrics

Correct queries for this lab:

telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_recv
telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_sent

For dashboards, use derivatives because network bytes are counters:

alias(nonNegativeDerivative(telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_recv), 'Network RX bytes/sec')
alias(nonNegativeDerivative(telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_sent), 'Network TX bytes/sec')

Important:

telegraf.linux-demo.net.eth0.bytes_recv does not work in this lab because interface name is not stored as a separate Graphite path node.

Validation:

curl -L https://speed.cloudflare.com/__down?bytes=10000000 -o /tmp/network-test.bin
rm -f /tmp/network-test.bin

Expected result:

Network RX bytes/sec should increase.

1.7 Explore load average

Run:

telegraf.linux-demo.system.load1
telegraf.linux-demo.system.load5
telegraf.linux-demo.system.load15

Recommended queries:

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load1, 'Load 1m')
alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load5, 'Load 5m')
alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load15, 'Load 15m')

Validation:

stress --cpu 2 --timeout 120

Expected result:

Load 1m should increase first.
Load 5m and Load 15m change more slowly.

1.8 Explore process metrics

Run:

telegraf.linux-demo.processes.total
telegraf.linux-demo.processes.running
telegraf.linux-demo.processes.sleeping
telegraf.linux-demo.processes.zombies

Recommended queries:

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.total, 'Total Processes')
alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.running, 'Running Processes')
alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.zombies, 'Zombie Processes')

Expected zombie process value:

1.9 Explore swap metrics

Run:

telegraf.linux-demo.swap.used_percent

Recommended query:

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.swap.used_percent, 'Swap Used %')

Step 1 final validated query table

Area	Correct query
CPU Active	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_active, 'CPU Active %')`
CPU Idle	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_idle, 'CPU Idle %')`
CPU User	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_user, 'CPU User %')`
CPU System	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_system, 'CPU System %')`
CPU I/O Wait	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_iowait, 'CPU I/O Wait %')`
Memory Used	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.mem.used_percent, 'Memory Used %')`
Disk Used	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.disk.used_percent, 'Disk Used %')`
Network RX	`alias(nonNegativeDerivative(telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_recv), 'Network RX bytes/sec')`
Network TX	`alias(nonNegativeDerivative(telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_sent), 'Network TX bytes/sec')`
Load 1m	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load1, 'Load 1m')`
Load 5m	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load5, 'Load 5m')`
Load 15m	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load15, 'Load 15m')`
Total Processes	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.total, 'Total Processes')`
Zombie Processes	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.zombies, 'Zombie Processes')`
Swap Used	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.swap.used_percent, 'Swap Used %')`

Step 2: Create a Linux Monitoring Dashboard

2.1 Create dashboard

Go to:

Dashboards → New → New dashboard → Add visualization

Select datasource:

Graphite

Save dashboard as:

Linux Monitoring - Graphite Telegraf

Set:

Time range: Last 15 minutes
Refresh: 10s

2.2 Panel 1: CPU Usage %

Visualization:

Time series

Query A:

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_active, 'CPU Active %')

Query B:

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_system, 'CPU System %')

Query C:

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_user, 'CPU User %')

Unit:

Percent (0-100)

Min/Max:

0 / 100

Thresholds:

70 warning
90 critical

Validation:

stress --cpu 2 --timeout 120

Expected:

CPU Active % increases.

2.3 Panel 2: Memory Used %

Visualization:

Time series

Query:

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.mem.used_percent, 'Memory Used %')

Unit:

Percent (0-100)

Min/Max:

0 / 100

Thresholds:

75 warning
90 critical

2.4 Panel 3: System Load Average

Visualization:

Time series

Queries:

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load1, 'Load 1m')
alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load5, 'Load 5m')
alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load15, 'Load 15m')

Unit:

Short

Do not use percent for load.

2.5 Panel 4: Disk Usage %

Visualization:

Time series

Correct query:

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.disk.used_percent, 'Disk Used %')

Do not use:

aliasByNode(telegraf.linux-demo.disk.*.used_percent, 3)

Reason:

The current metric path has no mountpoint node.

Unit:

Percent (0-100)

Thresholds:

75 warning
90 critical

2.6 Panel 5: Network Traffic

Visualization:

Time series

Queries:

alias(nonNegativeDerivative(telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_recv), 'Network RX bytes/sec')
alias(nonNegativeDerivative(telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_sent), 'Network TX bytes/sec')

Unit:

Bytes/sec

Do not use:

telegraf.linux-demo.net.eth0.bytes_recv
telegraf.linux-demo.net.ens5.bytes_recv

Reason:

The current metric path has no interface node.

2.7 Panel 6: Process Count

Visualization:

Time series

Queries:

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.total, 'Total Processes')
alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.running, 'Running Processes')
alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.sleeping, 'Sleeping Processes')

Unit:

Short

2.8 Panel 7: Zombie Processes

Visualization:

Stat

Query:

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.zombies, 'Zombie Processes')

Unit:

Short

Thresholds:

0 good
1 critical

Expected:

2.9 Optional panels

Swap Used %

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.swap.used_percent, 'Swap Used %')

Unit:

Percent (0-100)

System Uptime

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.uptime, 'System Uptime')

Unit:

Seconds

Disk Inodes Used %

alias(telegraf.linux-demo.disk.inodes_used_percent, 'Disk Inodes Used %')

Unit:

Percent (0-100)

2.10 Final dashboard query table

Panel	Visualization	Correct query
CPU Usage %	Time series	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_active, 'CPU Active %')`
CPU Usage %	Time series	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_system, 'CPU System %')`
CPU Usage %	Time series	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_user, 'CPU User %')`
Memory Used %	Time series	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.mem.used_percent, 'Memory Used %')`
System Load	Time series	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load1, 'Load 1m')`
System Load	Time series	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load5, 'Load 5m')`
System Load	Time series	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load15, 'Load 15m')`
Disk Used %	Time series	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.disk.used_percent, 'Disk Used %')`
Network RX	Time series	`alias(nonNegativeDerivative(telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_recv), 'Network RX bytes/sec')`
Network TX	Time series	`alias(nonNegativeDerivative(telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_sent), 'Network TX bytes/sec')`
Process Count	Time series	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.total, 'Total Processes')`
Zombie Processes	Stat	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.zombies, 'Zombie Processes')`
Swap Used %	Time series	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.swap.used_percent, 'Swap Used %')`
Uptime	Stat	`alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.uptime, 'System Uptime')`

Step 3: Create Alerts

Important alert rule model

Use this model for each Grafana alert rule:

A = Graphite query
B = Reduce expression
C = Threshold expression
Condition = C

3.1 High CPU Usage Alert

Rule name:

Linux - High CPU Usage

Query A:

telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_active

Relative time range:

From: 5m
To: now

Expression B:

Reduce A using Mean

Expression C:

Threshold B is above 80

Evaluation:

Evaluate every: 1m
Pending period: 2m

Labels:

severity=warning
service=linux
host=linux-demo
metric=cpu

Validation:

stress --cpu 2 --timeout 180

For demo testing, temporarily reduce threshold to 20.

3.2 High Memory Usage Alert

Rule name:

Linux - High Memory Usage

Query A:

telegraf.linux-demo.mem.used_percent

Reduce:

Last

Threshold:

Above 85

Evaluation:

Evaluate every: 1m
Pending period: 3m

For demo testing, temporarily set threshold slightly below current memory usage.

3.3 High Disk Usage Alert

Rule name:

Linux - High Disk Usage

Correct query A:

telegraf.linux-demo.disk.used_percent

Do not use:

highestCurrent(telegraf.linux-demo.disk.*.used_percent, 1)

Reason:

The current Graphite path has only one disk used_percent series.

Reduce:

Last

Threshold:

Above 85

Evaluation:

Evaluate every: 1m
Pending period: 5m

Validation:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/disk-alert-test.img bs=100M count=5
rm -f /tmp/disk-alert-test.img

For a large disk, temporarily lower threshold near current usage.

3.4 High Load Average Alert

Rule name:

Linux - High Load Average

Query A:

telegraf.linux-demo.system.load1

Reduce:

Mean

Threshold:

Above 2

Evaluation:

Evaluate every: 1m
Pending period: 3m

Validation:

stress --cpu 2 --timeout 180

3.5 Zombie Processes Alert

Rule name:

Linux - Zombie Processes Detected

Query A:

telegraf.linux-demo.processes.zombies

Reduce:

Last

Threshold:

Above 0

Evaluation:

Evaluate every: 1m
Pending period: 1m

For demo testing only:

Temporarily set threshold above -1, then restore to above 0.

3.6 Alert summary table

Alert	Correct query	Reduce	Threshold	Evaluate	Pending
High CPU	`telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_active`	Mean	> 80	1m	2m
High Memory	`telegraf.linux-demo.mem.used_percent`	Last	> 85	1m	3m
High Disk	`telegraf.linux-demo.disk.used_percent`	Last	> 85	1m	5m
High Load	`telegraf.linux-demo.system.load1`	Mean	> 2	1m	3m
Zombie Processes	`telegraf.linux-demo.processes.zombies`	Last	> 0	1m	1m

Final correction summary

Replace all old assumed metric paths:

telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.cpu-total.usage_active
telegraf.linux-demo.disk.*.used_percent
telegraf.linux-demo.net.eth0.bytes_recv
telegraf.linux-demo.net.ens5.bytes_recv

With the real collected metric paths:

telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_active
telegraf.linux-demo.disk.used_percent
telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_recv
telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_sent

The correct lab is now based on the actual Graphite data collected in your server.

JSON – file name graphite.json

{
  "__inputs": [
    {
      "name": "DS_GRAPHITE",
      "label": "Graphite",
      "description": "Graphite datasource",
      "type": "datasource",
      "pluginId": "graphite",
      "pluginName": "Graphite"
    }
  ],
  "__requires": [
    {
      "type": "grafana",
      "id": "grafana",
      "name": "Grafana",
      "version": "13.0.0"
    },
    {
      "type": "datasource",
      "id": "graphite",
      "name": "Graphite",
      "version": "1.0.0"
    },
    {
      "type": "panel",
      "id": "timeseries",
      "name": "Time series",
      "version": ""
    },
    {
      "type": "panel",
      "id": "stat",
      "name": "Stat",
      "version": ""
    }
  ],
  "uid": "linux-graphite-telegraf-actual",
  "title": "Linux Monitoring - Graphite Telegraf Actual Metrics",
  "tags": [
    "graphite",
    "telegraf",
    "linux",
    "grafana-13"
  ],
  "timezone": "browser",
  "schemaVersion": 42,
  "version": 1,
  "refresh": "10s",
  "time": {
    "from": "now-15m",
    "to": "now"
  },
  "templating": {
    "list": []
  },
  "annotations": {
    "list": [
      {
        "builtIn": 1,
        "datasource": {
          "type": "grafana",
          "uid": "-- Grafana --"
        },
        "enable": true,
        "hide": true,
        "iconColor": "rgba(0, 211, 255, 1)",
        "name": "Annotations & Alerts",
        "type": "dashboard"
      }
    ]
  },
  "panels": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "type": "timeseries",
      "title": "CPU Usage %",
      "datasource": {
        "type": "graphite",
        "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "x": 0,
        "y": 0,
        "w": 12,
        "h": 8
      },
      "targets": [
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_active, 'CPU Active %')",
          "refId": "A",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        },
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_system, 'CPU System %')",
          "refId": "B",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        },
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_user, 'CPU User %')",
          "refId": "C",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        }
      ],
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "unit": "percent",
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              },
              {
                "color": "orange",
                "value": 70
              },
              {
                "color": "red",
                "value": 90
              }
            ]
          },
          "min": 0,
          "max": 100
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "options": {
        "legend": {
          "displayMode": "list",
          "placement": "bottom",
          "showLegend": true
        },
        "tooltip": {
          "mode": "multi",
          "sort": "none"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "type": "timeseries",
      "title": "Memory Used %",
      "datasource": {
        "type": "graphite",
        "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "x": 12,
        "y": 0,
        "w": 12,
        "h": 8
      },
      "targets": [
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.mem.used_percent, 'Memory Used %')",
          "refId": "A",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        }
      ],
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "unit": "percent",
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              },
              {
                "color": "orange",
                "value": 75
              },
              {
                "color": "red",
                "value": 90
              }
            ]
          },
          "min": 0,
          "max": 100
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "options": {
        "legend": {
          "displayMode": "list",
          "placement": "bottom",
          "showLegend": true
        },
        "tooltip": {
          "mode": "multi",
          "sort": "none"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 3,
      "type": "timeseries",
      "title": "System Load Average",
      "datasource": {
        "type": "graphite",
        "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "x": 0,
        "y": 8,
        "w": 12,
        "h": 8
      },
      "targets": [
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load1, 'Load 1m')",
          "refId": "A",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        },
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load5, 'Load 5m')",
          "refId": "B",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        },
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.load15, 'Load 15m')",
          "refId": "C",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        }
      ],
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "unit": "short",
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "options": {
        "legend": {
          "displayMode": "list",
          "placement": "bottom",
          "showLegend": true
        },
        "tooltip": {
          "mode": "multi",
          "sort": "none"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 4,
      "type": "timeseries",
      "title": "Disk Usage %",
      "datasource": {
        "type": "graphite",
        "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "x": 12,
        "y": 8,
        "w": 12,
        "h": 8
      },
      "targets": [
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.disk.used_percent, 'Disk Used %')",
          "refId": "A",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        },
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.disk.inodes_used_percent, 'Inodes Used %')",
          "refId": "B",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        }
      ],
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "unit": "percent",
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              },
              {
                "color": "orange",
                "value": 75
              },
              {
                "color": "red",
                "value": 90
              }
            ]
          },
          "min": 0,
          "max": 100
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "options": {
        "legend": {
          "displayMode": "list",
          "placement": "bottom",
          "showLegend": true
        },
        "tooltip": {
          "mode": "multi",
          "sort": "none"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 5,
      "type": "timeseries",
      "title": "Network Traffic",
      "datasource": {
        "type": "graphite",
        "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "x": 0,
        "y": 16,
        "w": 12,
        "h": 8
      },
      "targets": [
        {
          "target": "alias(nonNegativeDerivative(telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_recv), 'Network RX bytes/sec')",
          "refId": "A",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        },
        {
          "target": "alias(nonNegativeDerivative(telegraf.linux-demo.net.bytes_sent), 'Network TX bytes/sec')",
          "refId": "B",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        }
      ],
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "unit": "Bps",
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "options": {
        "legend": {
          "displayMode": "list",
          "placement": "bottom",
          "showLegend": true
        },
        "tooltip": {
          "mode": "multi",
          "sort": "none"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 6,
      "type": "timeseries",
      "title": "Process Count",
      "datasource": {
        "type": "graphite",
        "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "x": 12,
        "y": 16,
        "w": 12,
        "h": 8
      },
      "targets": [
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.total, 'Total Processes')",
          "refId": "A",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        },
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.running, 'Running Processes')",
          "refId": "B",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        },
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.sleeping, 'Sleeping Processes')",
          "refId": "C",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        }
      ],
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "unit": "short",
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              }
            ]
          },
          "min": 0
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "options": {
        "legend": {
          "displayMode": "list",
          "placement": "bottom",
          "showLegend": true
        },
        "tooltip": {
          "mode": "multi",
          "sort": "none"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 7,
      "type": "stat",
      "title": "Zombie Processes",
      "datasource": {
        "type": "graphite",
        "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "x": 0,
        "y": 24,
        "w": 6,
        "h": 5
      },
      "targets": [
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.processes.zombies, 'Zombie Processes')",
          "refId": "A",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        }
      ],
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "unit": "short",
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              },
              {
                "color": "red",
                "value": 1
              }
            ]
          },
          "min": 0
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "options": {
        "reduceOptions": {
          "values": false,
          "calcs": [
            "lastNotNull"
          ],
          "fields": ""
        },
        "orientation": "auto",
        "textMode": "auto",
        "colorMode": "value",
        "graphMode": "area",
        "justifyMode": "auto"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 8,
      "type": "stat",
      "title": "Swap Used %",
      "datasource": {
        "type": "graphite",
        "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "x": 6,
        "y": 24,
        "w": 6,
        "h": 5
      },
      "targets": [
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.swap.used_percent, 'Swap Used %')",
          "refId": "A",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        }
      ],
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "unit": "percent",
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              },
              {
                "color": "orange",
                "value": 50
              },
              {
                "color": "red",
                "value": 80
              }
            ]
          },
          "min": 0,
          "max": 100
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "options": {
        "reduceOptions": {
          "values": false,
          "calcs": [
            "lastNotNull"
          ],
          "fields": ""
        },
        "orientation": "auto",
        "textMode": "auto",
        "colorMode": "value",
        "graphMode": "area",
        "justifyMode": "auto"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 9,
      "type": "stat",
      "title": "System Uptime",
      "datasource": {
        "type": "graphite",
        "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "x": 12,
        "y": 24,
        "w": 6,
        "h": 5
      },
      "targets": [
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.system.uptime, 'System Uptime')",
          "refId": "A",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        }
      ],
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "unit": "s",
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "options": {
        "reduceOptions": {
          "values": false,
          "calcs": [
            "lastNotNull"
          ],
          "fields": ""
        },
        "orientation": "auto",
        "textMode": "auto",
        "colorMode": "value",
        "graphMode": "area",
        "justifyMode": "auto"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 10,
      "type": "timeseries",
      "title": "CPU Idle vs Active",
      "datasource": {
        "type": "graphite",
        "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "x": 18,
        "y": 24,
        "w": 6,
        "h": 5
      },
      "targets": [
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_idle, 'CPU Idle %')",
          "refId": "A",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        },
        {
          "target": "alias(telegraf.linux-demo.cpu.usage_active, 'CPU Active %')",
          "refId": "B",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "graphite",
            "uid": "${DS_GRAPHITE}"
          }
        }
      ],
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "unit": "percent",
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              }
            ]
          },
          "min": 0,
          "max": 100
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "options": {
        "legend": {
          "displayMode": "list",
          "placement": "bottom",
          "showLegend": true
        },
        "tooltip": {
          "mode": "multi",
          "sort": "none"
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Grafana Lab with Graphite Datasource metrics – Dashboard

Grafana 13.x + Graphite + Telegraf Linux Monitoring Lab Guide

Important validation from the real Graphite storage

Step 1: Explore the Metrics Using Grafana Explore

Objective

1.1 Open Grafana Explore

1.2 Validate the real metric paths before querying

1.3 Explore CPU metrics

1.4 Explore memory metrics

1.5 Explore disk metrics

1.6 Explore network metrics

1.7 Explore load average

1.8 Explore process metrics

1.9 Explore swap metrics

Step 1 final validated query table

Step 2: Create a Linux Monitoring Dashboard

2.1 Create dashboard

2.2 Panel 1: CPU Usage %

2.3 Panel 2: Memory Used %

2.4 Panel 3: System Load Average

2.5 Panel 4: Disk Usage %

2.6 Panel 5: Network Traffic

2.7 Panel 6: Process Count

2.8 Panel 7: Zombie Processes

2.9 Optional panels

Swap Used %

System Uptime

Disk Inodes Used %

2.10 Final dashboard query table

Step 3: Create Alerts

Important alert rule model

3.1 High CPU Usage Alert

3.2 High Memory Usage Alert

3.3 High Disk Usage Alert

3.4 High Load Average Alert

3.5 Zombie Processes Alert

3.6 Alert summary table

Final correction summary

JSON – file name graphite.json