Demo Monitoring with Prometheus Grafana

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to collect and visualize Jenkins metrics using the Prometheus Metrics Plugin, Prometheus, and Grafana. We’ll cover:

• Installing and configuring the Jenkins plugin
• Deploying Prometheus and Grafana via Docker Compose
• Scraping Jenkins metrics in Prometheus
• Building dashboards in Grafana
• Generating live data with a sample pipeline

1. Install and Configure the Jenkins Prometheus Metrics Plugin

Jenkins can export runtime data through the Prometheus Metrics Plugin, which adds an HTTP endpoint for scraping.

1. In Jenkins, navigate to Manage Jenkins » Manage Plugins » Available, search for Prometheus, then install Prometheus Metrics Plugin.

   

2. Restart Jenkins to activate the plugin.

3. Go to Manage Jenkins » Configure System » Prometheus. By default, metrics are collected every 120 seconds at the /prometheus endpoint.

   

4. For rapid feedback, set Metrics collection period to 10 seconds. Enable or disable metrics (disk usage, node status, etc.).

   

Now Jenkins exposes metrics at:

http://<jenkins-host>:<port>/prometheus

2. Deploy Prometheus and Grafana with Docker Compose

Create a project directory (e.g., prometheus-grafana/) with:

• docker-compose.yml
• prometheus/prometheus.yml

In docker-compose.yml:

version: '3.8'

services:
  prometheus:
    image: prom/prometheus
    container_name: prometheus
    command: --config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
    ports:
      - "9090:9090"
    volumes:
      - ./prometheus:/etc/prometheus
      - prom_data:/prometheus
    restart: unless-stopped

  grafana:
    image: grafana/grafana
    container_name: grafana
    ports:
      - "8081:3000"
    environment:
      - GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_USER=admin
      - GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=password
    volumes:
      - ./grafana:/etc/grafana/provisioning/datasources
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  prom_data:

2.1 Service Overview

2.2 Prometheus Configuration

In prometheus/prometheus.yml, set global options and scrape jobs:

alerting:
  alertmanagers:
    - static_configs:
        - targets: ["alertmanager:9093"]

scrape_configs:
  - job_name: 'prometheus'
    metrics_path: /metrics
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['localhost:9090']

  - job_name: 'jenkins'
    metrics_path: /prometheus
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['<jenkins-host>:<jenkins-port>']

Replace <jenkins-host> and <jenkins-port> with your Jenkins address (e.g., jenkins-controller:8080).

2.3 Launch the Stack

cd prometheus-grafana
docker compose up -d

You should see:

[+] Running 4/4
 Network prometheus-grafana_default   Created
 Volume "prometheus-grafana_prom_data" Created
 Container prometheus                Started
 Container grafana                   Started

3. Verify in Prometheus

1. Open http://<vm-ip>:9090 in your browser.
2. Go to Status » Targets. Both prometheus and jenkins targets should be UP.

3.1 Query Example: Jenkins Job Count

• Navigate to Graph.

• Enter the query:

  jenkins_job_count_value{job="jenkins"}
  

  

• Click Execute. You may see output like:

  jenkins_job_count_value{instance="64.227.187.25:8080", job="jenkins"} => 22
  

3.2 Plugin Metrics

• Active plugins:

  jenkins_plugins_active{job="jenkins"}
  

  

• Plugins requiring updates:

  jenkins_plugins_withUpdate{job="jenkins"}
  

  

Confirm plugin updates in Jenkins under Manage Jenkins » Manage Plugins » Updates:

4. Visualize in Grafana

1. Open Grafana at http://<vm-ip>:8081. Log in as admin/password.
2. Go to Configuration » Data Sources, and add or verify Prometheus pointing to http://prometheus:9090.

3. Click Create » Import, enter Dashboard ID 9964, select your Prometheus data source, and import.

You’ll see the Jenkins Performance & Health Overview:

5. Generate Live Data with a Sample Pipeline

Before adding load, revisit plugin updates:

5.1 Create a New Pipeline Job

1. Click New Item, name it monitor-jenkins, choose Pipeline, then click OK.

   

2. In Pipeline » Script, add:

   node {
     stage('Echo Message1') {
       sh 'sleep 2s'
     }
   
     node('ubuntu-docker-jdk17-node20') {
       stage('Echo Message2') {
         sh 'echo 15'
       }
     }
   }
   

3. Verify your agent label under Manage Jenkins » Manage Nodes.

   

4. Save and click Build Now 10–20 times to generate metrics.

6. Customize Grafana Panels & Observe Metrics

You can tailor any panel—switch from time series to gauge, adjust thresholds, and more:

After a few builds, refresh your dashboard:

Finally, monitor pipeline status in Jenkins:

Conclusion

By following these steps—installing the Prometheus Metrics Plugin, deploying Prometheus/Grafana, scraping Jenkins metrics, and importing a dashboard—you can achieve comprehensive real-time monitoring of your Jenkins environment. Customize scrape intervals, panel types, and alert rules to suit production requirements. Happy monitoring!

Links and References

• Jenkins Prometheus Metrics Plugin
• Prometheus Documentation
• Grafana Documentation
• Docker Compose Overview