Graphite is a Python-based monitoring tool with a flexible data storage and retrieval system. It stores numeric time-series data in Whisper files with configurable precision. Data can be inserted and retrieved via its web interface or API. While not as full-featured as some competitors out of the box, it provides powerful aggregation, calculation, and visualization of metrics across many servers through its storage and processing architecture.

2. Overview
• Architecture
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Example Usage

3. Graphite Architecture
Python based
http://graphite.wikidot.com/

4. Web UI == Django
Run under Apache mod_python

5. Graphics library == Cairo
http://cairographics.org/

6. Processing backend (Carbon) == Twisted Python

7. Storage Engine (Whisper)
• Fixed size
• Can insert data out of order

8. Storage Engine (Whisper)
• Flexible configuration of precision
/opt/graphite/conf/storage-schemas.conf
[default_1min_for_1day_5min_for_1_year_1hr_for_5years]
pattern = .*
retentions = 60s:1d, 5m:365d, 1h:5y

9. 1.8 megabyte whisper file
/opt/graphite/storage/whisper/

10. Strengths

11. Flexible data storage
(configurable precision)

12. Easy to get data in
• telnet to port 2003
• enter three values
metric.name value unixtime

13. • Explore data by combining, aggregating,
or performing calculations
• Build dashboards by tweaking URLs

14. Weaknesses

15. • Not so nice out of the box
(as Ganglia for example)
• Not packaged

16. Example usage
• Apache logs into Graphite
• Count 200s 300s 500s etc (RPMs)
• Calculate average response times

17. How to visualize data from 50 web servers?

23. cron job runs every minute on the web servers
Tail the apache logs
Add up the requests for each range of
return codes 1xx 2xx 3xx 4xx 5xx
Custom apache log format that records time to
serve requests %D
Send results to Graphite

24. Logtail
Implemented in several languages
I used the perl one

25. Logster
From Etsy
https://github.com/etsy/logster
Plug in your own parser for any log file
Output to Graphite or Ganglia

26. Contact me
David Lutz
david.lutz@rea-group.com
Twitter @dlutzy