Our company uses the solution as a monitoring tool that provides alerts and behavior information. We have many Spring Boot applications and the solution works well with them.
Senior Associate at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
A good starting point for SRE but managing defects is difficult without granular details
Pros and Cons
- "Compatibility with Prometheus databases and the Spring Boot application make it the first choice when moving toward an SRE model."
- "Writing queries can be a bit difficult because the syntax must be maintained."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The solution is adaptable, easy to use, and works well for microservices development.
Compatibility with Prometheus databases and the Spring Boot application make it the first choice when moving toward an SRE model.
What needs improvement?
It is difficult to manage defects because the solution does not provide granular details about the internal system for tracing.
Writing queries can be a bit difficult because the syntax must be maintained. The dependency on syntax should be removed so that it does not matter for queries.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for two years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution has some stability issues because I don't always see proper results. In comparison to other tools, it is not the most stable when using extensive SRE techniques.
Dynatrace and ELK are more stable but are more costly. An organization that needs strong stability and has a bigger budget could consider these tools.
Stability, features, or quality should not be based on cost. It is important to compare SRE models to find the best for your environment.
How are customer service and support?
I have never needed technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy for on-premises. You install, integrate, and immediately see the visualization.
I am not sure about the ease of cloud or enterprise-level setups.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented the solution in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I use the open source model so it is free.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
In the SRE model, there are many tools evolving but the solution is a good starting point for SRE with Spring Boot. Once you become familiar with SRE and are clear about the terminology, you can explore other products. Other users will say ELK or Dynatrace are good, but the best solution depends on your requirements.
SRE is a journey that is uncovered as you progress. The solution is adaptable, easy to configure, works for microservices development, and integrates with Spring Boot so it is the best product for starting points.
What other advice do I have?
The solution is a visualization tool that is pretty easy to use. Writing queries can be difficult so it is important to learn how to integrate with data sources before you write queries to visualize those metrics.
I rate the solution a six out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Head SRE Latam at PayU
Feature-rich and has many integrations and good community support
Pros and Cons
- "What I found most valuable in Grafana is that it has a lot of integrations and features that I need for data processing and visualization."
- "One area for improvement in Grafana is that depending on your version, you have to pay for the features, making the license expensive. It would be great if the licensing model could be more flexible. In the next release of Grafana, I want cluster creation to be available, which would help in Grafana deployment and scaling. Currently, the scaling process for the solution is a bit complicated."
What is our primary use case?
We use Grafana for application metrics and data utilization for consumer databases. We also use it to connect and evaluate clients and create databases where we upload client data.
How has it helped my organization?
We find Grafana essential for our company because of the visualization function for all application metrics in our environment.
What is most valuable?
What I found most valuable in Grafana is that it has a lot of integrations and features that I need for data processing and visualization.
What needs improvement?
One area for improvement in Grafana is that depending on your version, you have to pay for the features, making the license expensive. It would be great if the licensing model could be more flexible.
In the next release of Grafana, I want cluster creation to be available, which would help in Grafana deployment and scaling. Currently, the scaling process for the solution is a bit complicated.
Easier integration is also what I want to see in Grafana in the future.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Grafana for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Grafana is a very stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scaling Grafana is a bit complicated, so I want to create a cluster to promote high availability in the solution, deploy in one step, and for Grafana to scale automatically.
How are customer service and support?
My company has the open-source version of Grafana, so it gets support from the community. The community support is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In terms of standalone visualization tools, I've only used Grafana. I used another monitoring solution, but the visualization was only integrated.
Other solutions can provide what Grafana provides, but you need to pay. Grafana, on the other hand, has an open-source version, and as an open-source solution, it's complete, at least for my company's needs.
Compared to other software, it can take some time to get used to how Grafana works, but you can live with it because you can learn to use it.
How was the initial setup?
One person deployed Grafana for my company, and the process only took twenty minutes maximum.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My company uses the open-source version of Grafana, so it's free.
What other advice do I have?
I'm currently using Grafana.
My company is a Grafana customer.
I'm using the open-source version of Grafana, 9.3.
Between sixty and one hundred people, mostly software engineers, use the solution in my company.
Grafana requires maintenance, and that's the responsibility of the entire team.
There's a plan to increase the usage of Grafana in other areas besides engineering. My company plans to create dashboards for data in other areas.
I advise people who want to use the solution to try it out first. For example, Grafana has many good integrations if you need to gather metrics, and you can technically use any query to create dashboards and graphs inside Grafana. I advise that you explore the solution.
My rating for Grafana is eight out of ten because it's a very good product. It's complete and has an open-source version with many features. However, some of its interface capabilities could be cheaper.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Grafana
October 2024
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814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Cloud Engineer at REDtone Digital Services
An open-source analytics and monitoring platform that excels in flexible data visualization and diverse data source integration, but may require improvement in automating daily reports
Pros and Cons
- "It excels in providing comprehensive details when there are downtimes or fluctuations, offering thorough reports."
- "There is a need for improvement in automating daily monitoring reports, especially when alerts are triggered due to system downtimes or fluctuations."
What is our primary use case?
We use it internally to monitor both hardware and virtual machines running on our servers and then generate reports based on the monitoring data.
What is most valuable?
One standout feature is its open-source nature. It excels in providing comprehensive details when there are downtimes or fluctuations, offering thorough reports. From a cost perspective, it stands out positively, especially when compared to other tools, given its robust functionality as an open-source solution.
What needs improvement?
There is a need for improvement in automating daily monitoring reports, especially when alerts are triggered due to system downtimes or fluctuations. This enhancement would make the monitoring tool more efficient and streamlined. While it does produce reports, the quality might not be optimal.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have approximately two years of experience working with it.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I haven't encountered any issues or bugs while using it, and it has been stable throughout.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Numerous users, ranging from five hundred to a maximum of three hundred, frequently engage in upscaling and downscaling activities. The system handles this well, and the performance remains stable, even when multiple users log in and out simultaneously.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not overly complicated nor excessively straightforward. It's a manageable process that involves following a step-by-step approach.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's free of cost; it operates as an open-source tool.
What other advice do I have?
It is recommended for use, and in parallel, WebEx is another open-source tool. Both are straightforward to deploy on a Linux server. The process is simple and similar to each other, and there's no need for any complex procedures. Deploying these monitoring tools on a Linux server is hassle-free. Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Information Technology Operations Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Good dashboard and user forums but needs more plugins
Pros and Cons
- "The dashboards are very easy to work with."
- "There are not a lot of plugins for financial market monitoring."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution in a financial institution to monitor applications and infrastructure.
What is most valuable?
We really only started.
So far, the management is very good.
The dashboards are very easy to work with.
It's a fantastic tool.
Support is helpful. There are many useful forums users can turn to as well.
It can scale.
The stability is good.
What needs improvement?
There are not a lot of plugins for financial market monitoring. Our old tool had more plugin capabilities.
We need more AI features. We need more data analytics and monitoring done by AI.
For how long have I used the solution?
We just started using the solution. We haven't used it for that long.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. There are no issues with reliability. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I'd rate the scalability nine out of ten. It can extend well.
How are customer service and support?
The team that is implementing the solution has relied quite a bit on the support and forums, and so far, it has been helpful. So far, we are satisfied with the level of support on offer.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used to use a different solution. It had very specific tools for fixed message monitoring, among other features, that were useful for finance companies. Grafana doesn't have much that tailors to our sector.
How was the initial setup?
I was not involved in the implementation. I work with the team that has implemented it.
What other advice do I have?
We're a customer and end-user.
We are likely using the latest version of the solution. I'm not sure of the version number.
I'd rate the solution six out of ten. So far, I can't say it's doing more than our older monitoring was doing.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Specialist at Qualitest
The solution has a good UI dashboard, is easy to deploy, and is easy to monitor data
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of the solution is the UI dashboard because we need to create a dashboard on Grafana to monitor our data."
- "I would like the ability to download my results into any format in order to share the information with my clients."
What is our primary use case?
The solution is used for monitoring the live monitoring of our load test.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of the solution is the UI dashboard because we need to create a dashboard on Grafana to monitor our data.
What needs improvement?
The solution's integration with other tools needs improvement.
I would like the ability to download my results into any format in order to share the information with my clients.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for over three years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We currently have over 50 people using the solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. The deployment usually takes one and a half hours.
What other advice do I have?
I give the solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Engineering Manager at Alice
You can create dashboards to instantly see your business, technical, and service metrics
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup is straightforward with just a few clicks on the solution's cloud."
- "The solution has room for improvement with a better API to help automate the construction of the dashboards easier."
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case of the solution is to create business and technical dashboards in the metrics provided by the services through Prometheus.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution has improved our organization by providing a centralized way to instantly see our business, technical, and service metrics.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are the user-friendly interface and the ability to connect with many data sets.
What needs improvement?
The solution has room for improvement with a better API to help automate the construction of the dashboards easier.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously we used New Relic before switching to the solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward with just a few clicks on the solution's cloud.
What about the implementation team?
The solution was implemented in-house with a few clicks.
What was our ROI?
I have seen a return on investment.
What other advice do I have?
I give the solution an eight out of ten.
There are 40 people using the solution in our organization and it requires three people to maintain it.
I would recommend you try to use as many tools as you can. You can have an ecosystem that is quiet and works like using Temple, Prometheus, and so on.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Head of Operations Engineer at RayanHamAfza
A stable solution that enables seamless visualization and movement of data between teams
Pros and Cons
- "The comparison feature is very good."
- "The service dashboard is very hard and needs improvement."
How has it helped my organization?
Our team used a Grafana for training.
What is most valuable?
The comparison feature is very good.
What needs improvement?
The service dashboard is very hard and needs improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Grafana for six to seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
How was the initial setup?
The solution was deployed with Kubernetes. The deployment took an hour to complete. It is not difficult to maintain as Kubernetes gives easy updates.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am using the open source version.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Technical Lead at Ernst & Young
Good dashboards, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "The dashboards are the most valuable features."
- "The technical support has room for improvement."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for integrated logging, which works on our Kubernetes cluster and our separate VM.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution allows our teams to search and conduct application troubleshooting.
What is most valuable?
The dashboards are the most valuable features.
What needs improvement?
I would like to have a better configuration in the next release.
The technical support has room for improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I give the stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I give the scalability an eight out of ten.
We have five users in our organization.
How was the initial setup?
I give the initial setup an eight out of ten. There was a lack of support documents to help with the deployment. We just need to configure the file to plan the cluster.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I give the price an eight out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
I give the solution an eight out of ten.
We use Grafana with a Kubernetes filter and it works well. I am not sure how the solution will work on its own.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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