Configuring Metrics Centralization Points
Metrics streaming configuration for both Netdata Children and Parents is done via stream.conf
.
netdata.conf
and stream.conf
have the same ini
format, but netdata.conf
is considered a non-sensitive file, while stream.conf
contains API keys, IPs and other sensitive information that enable communication between Netdata agents.
stream.conf
has 2 main sections:
- The
[stream]
section includes options for the sending Netdata (ie Netdata Children, or Netdata Parents that stream to Grand Parents, or to other sibling Netdata Parents in a cluster). - The rest includes multiple sections that define API keys for the receiving Netdata (ie. Netdata Parents).
Edit stream.conf
To edit stream.conf
, run this on your terminal:
cd /etc/netdata 2>/dev/null || cd /opt/netdata/etc/netdata
sudo ./edit-config stream.conf
Your editor will open, with defaults and commented stream.conf
options.
Configuring a Netdata Parent
To enable the reception of metrics from Netdata Children, generate a random API key with this command:
uuidgen
Then, copy the UUID generated, edit stream.conf
, find the section that reads like the following and replace API_KEY
with the UUID you generated:
[API_KEY]
# Accept metrics streaming from other Agents with the specified API key
enabled = yes
Save the file and restart Netdata.
Configuring Netdata Children
To enable streaming metrics to a Netdata Parent, edit stream.conf
, and at the [stream]
section at the top, set:
[stream]
# Stream metrics to another Netdata
enabled = yes
# The IP and PORT of the parent
destination = PARENT_IP_ADDRESS:19999
# The shared API key, generated by uuidgen
api key = API_KEY
Save the file and restart Netdata.
Enable TLS/SSL Communication
While encrypting the connection between your parent and child nodes is recommended for security, it's not required to get started.
This example uses self-signed certificates.
Note
This section assumes you have read the documentation on how to edit the Netdata configuration files.
Parent node
To generate an SSL key and certificate usingopenssl
, take a look at the related section around Securing Netdata Agents in our Documentation.Child node
Updatestream.conf
to enable SSL/TLS and allow self-signed certificates. Append ':SSL' to the destination and uncomment 'ssl skip certificate verification'.[stream]
enabled = yes
destination = 203.0.113.0:SSL
ssl skip certificate verification = yes
api key = 11111111-2222-3333-4444-555555555555Restart the Netdata Agent on both the parent and child nodes, to stream encrypted metrics using TLS/SSL.
Troubleshooting Streaming Connections
You can find any issues related to streaming at Netdata logs.
From the UI
Netdata logs to systemd-journald by default, and its logs are available at the Logs
tab of the UI. At the MESSAGE_ID
field look for Netdata connection from child
and Netdata connection to parent
.
From the terminal
On the Parents:
journalctl -r --namespace=netdata MESSAGE_ID=ed4cdb8f1beb4ad3b57cb3cae2d162fa
On the Children:
journalctl -r --namespace=netdata MESSAGE_ID=6e2e3839067648968b646045dbf28d66
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