Connecting to Redis databases from Grafana Cloud

One of the benefits of registering Grafana plugins in the official repository is installing them in the Grafana Cloud, Grafana Enterprise, and open-source.

With various plans available for Grafana Cloud, you can start observing Redis databases running in the Cloud for free and then move to one of the paid plans to have unlimited dashboards, multiple users, and many more. Do you want to know how? Then continue reading.

This article will demonstrate how to register free accounts in the Grafana Cloud, and Redis Enterprise Cloud and start observing Redis databases using the Redis Application plugin for Grafana.

Redis Application

Grafana Cloud account

Click on Get started for Free and create a free Grafana Cloud Account following instructions.

Grafana Cloud

When your account is ready, click on the login button and open Grafana.

Create a free Grafana Cloud Account.

The next step is to install the Redis Application plugin to connect to Redis databases. Go to the plugin’s page, select the Installation tab, and click on Install Now to install the plugin to your Grafana Cloud instance.

Installation of Redis Application plugin.

Wait for the Redis Application and Redis Data Source plugins to be installed, and the Grafana instance restarted. In a couple of minutes, you should be able to see both plugins on the Configuration -> Plugins tab.

Grafana Plugin Configuration.

Click on the Redis Application and enable it to appear on the left side main panel. Redis Application is ready to connect to the Redis databases.

Redis Enterprise Cloud account

Click on Try Redis Enterprise Cloud Essentials and provide your details to create an account and subscription.

Try Redis Enterprise | Redis Labs

I plan to use the RedisTimeSeries module, which is currently available on Essentials in AWS/Oregon (us-west-2) and AWS/Mumbai (ap-south-1) regions:

Create a new Redis Enterprise Cloud subscription.

Proceed to the next screen and provide the following database information:

• Database Name
• Strong Password
• Enable modules and choose the RedisTimeSeries module in the dropdown list.

Click Activate to create a new Database and copy endpoint information and password for your reference:

Create a new Database and copy endpoint information and password.

Add Redis database to Grafana

Go back to Grafana and click Add Redis Data Source on Redis Application -> Home page:

Redis Application plugin Home page.

Select the Redis Data Source in the list of data sources and provide Redis database connection details:

• Name
• Select Standalone client type
• Address (Endpoint) and Password from the database’s configuration details.

Click Save & Test to run the PING command and check database connectivity. You should see “Data Source is working as expected”.

Redis Data Source configuration.

Click on the Redis Application icon in the left main menu and choose the Redis CLI dashboard:

Redis CLI dashboard.

The database was created with the RedisTimeSeries module, and you can start experiment with it using the Redis CLI panel running any Redis command.

To visualize time-series, create a new Graph panel with type RedisTimeSeries commands, select TS.RANGE command and provide a key name:

Connecting to the Redis database using SSL/TLS

In Redis Cloud, SSL/TLS support is a paid option. To enable it, contact Support. SSL/TLS support is included in all Redis Cloud Pro paid plans.

To connect to the Redis database with SSL Client Authentication enabled and enforced client authentication:

• Click on the Generate Client Certificate button and extract the private client key and Redis Labs certificate.
• Copy client certificate from the text area:

Redis Database with SSL Client Authentication.

The Redis Data Source supports SSL/TLS client authentication with the Skip Verify option and provided certificates and private keys.

Redis Data Source SSL/TLS options.

To learn more about Securing Connections with SSL/TLS, please look at the official documentation for Redis Enterprise Cloud.

Transport Layer Security (TLS)

Real-time observability with Redis and Grafana

Do you want to learn how to combine Grafana streaming capabilities with interactivity to take Grafana beyond observability? Would you please take a look at our ObservabilityCON session?

Real-time observability with Redis and Grafana

During our session, we presented three real-life applications built with Redis Data Source for Grafana and showed how to use the Redis Data Source. We introduced the new Application plugin with custom panel Redis CLI and new dashboards.

Volkov Labs is an agency founded by long-time Grafana contributor Mikhail Volkov. We find elegant solutions for non-standard tasks.

Check out the latest plugins and projects at https://volkovlabs.io