Monitoring Stack with Linux Containers, Prometheus, Grafana, Node Exporter, and cAdvisor

This repository provides a full Docker-based monitoring stack to manage 10 Linux containers and monitor their system resources using Prometheus, Grafana, Node Exporter, and cAdvisor.

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Features

• 10 Linux containers running Node Exporter to simulate monitored hosts
• cAdvisor for Docker container metrics
• Prometheus for collecting metrics
• Grafana for visualization
• Persistent storage for Prometheus and Grafana
• Pre-built Grafana dashboards (JSON file included)

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Tech Stack

• Docker & Docker Compose — container orchestration
• Prometheus — metrics collection and alerting
• Grafana — visualization and dashboards
• Node Exporter — system-level metrics (CPU, RAM, disk, services, users)
• cAdvisor — container resource metrics

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Setup Instructions

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/sameeralam3127/monitoring.git
cd monitoring

2. Check Docker Installation

docker --version
docker-compose --version

3. Build and Start the Stack

docker-compose up -d --build

This will:

• Build linux_system images with Node Exporter
• Start 10 Linux containers
• Start Prometheus, Grafana, and cAdvisor

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Accessing Services

Service	URL	Login
Grafana	http://localhost:3000	admin / admin
Prometheus	http://localhost:9090	N/A
cAdvisor	http://localhost:8080	N/A

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Grafana Setup

1. Log in to Grafana at http://localhost:3000 Username: admin Password: admin

2. Add Prometheus as a data source:

   • URL: http://prometheus:9090

3. Import Dashboard:

   • Navigate to Dashboards → Import
   • Upload the provided JSON file in grafana/dashboard.json

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Prometheus Example Queries

• CPU Usage (per container):

  rate(node_cpu_seconds_total{mode="user"}[5m])
  

• Memory Usage:

  node_memory_Active_bytes / node_memory_MemTotal_bytes * 100
  

• Running Services (systemd):

  node_systemd_unit_state{state="active"}
  

• Failed Services:

  node_systemd_unit_state{state="failed"}
  

• Logged-in Users:

  node_users_logged_in
  

• Docker Container CPU Usage (from cAdvisor):

  rate(container_cpu_usage_seconds_total{name=~".+"}[5m])
  

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Troubleshooting

• Prometheus target down

  • Check Prometheus targets at http://localhost:9090/targets

  • Verify container is running: docker ps

  • Restart service:

    docker-compose restart prometheus

• Grafana not saving dashboards

  • Ensure grafana_data volume is correctly mounted

  • Restart Grafana:

    docker-compose restart grafana

• cAdvisor not accessible

  • Check logs:

    docker logs cadvisor

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Notes

• Each Linux container exposes Node Exporter on a unique port (9101 … 9110)
• Prometheus config is in prometheus/prometheus.yml
• All services use persistent volumes

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License

MIT License