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In this guide, you will learn how to install and configure Alertmanager from the Prometheus download page. Alertmanager is an essential component for handling alerts in your monitoring infrastructure.
Ensure that you have wget installed on your system before downloading the binary.

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Step 1: Download the Alertmanager Binary

  1. Navigate to the Prometheus download page.
  2. Under the Alertmanager section, select the binary that matches your operating system and architecture.
  3. Copy the URL for the selected binary.
Download the Alertmanager binary using the following command: 
wget https://github.com/prometheus/alertmanager/releases/download/v0.24.0/alertmanager-0.24.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz

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Step 2: Extract the Tarball

After downloading the binary, extract the tarball and change into the extracted directory. This directory contains several important files:
  • The Alertmanager executable
  • A configuration file (alertmanager.yml)
  • A command-line utility (amtool)
  • A data directory for storing notification states
  • Ancillary files such as LICENSE and NOTICE
You can verify the extracted files by listing the directory contents: 
ls -l
Expected output: 
total 55752
-rwxr-xr-x 1 user1 user1 31988661 Mar 25  2022 alertmanager
-rw-r--r-- 1 user1 user1      356 Mar 25  2022 alertmanager.yml
-rw-r--r-- 1 user1 user1 25067944 Mar 25  2022 amtool
drwxrwxr-x 2 user1 user1     4096 Aug 23  19:21 data
-rw-r--r-- 1 user1 user1    11357 Mar 25  2022 LICENSE
-rw-r--r-- 1 user1 user1     457 Mar 25  2022 NOTICE

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Step 3: Start Alertmanager

To start Alertmanager, run the executable: 
./alertmanager
When Alertmanager is running, you should see output similar to the following, which indicates it is up and listening on port 9093: 
ts=2022-10-04T20:57:44.014Z caller=cluster.go:680 level=info component=cluster msg="Waiting for gossip to settle..."
interval=2s
ts=2022-10-04T20:57:44.065Z caller=coordinator.go:113 level=info component=configuration msg="Loading configuration file" file=alertmanager.yml
ts=2022-10-04T20:57:44.065Z caller=coordinator.go:126 level=info component=configuration msg="Completed loading of configuration file" file=alertmanager.yml
ts=2022-10-04T20:57:44.068Z caller=main.go:535 level=info msg="Listening address=::9093"
ts=2022-10-04T20:57:44.068Z caller=tls_config.go:195 level=info msg="TLS is disabled." http2=false
ts=2022-10-04T20:57:46.014Z caller=cluster.go:705 level=info component=cluster msg="gossip not settled" polls=0 before=0 now=1
elapsed=2.000253818s
ts=2022-10-04T20:57:51.017Z caller=cluster.go:697 level=info component=cluster msg="gossip settled; proceeding"
elapsed=10.002673562s
Now, open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:9093 to access the Alertmanager web interface.

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Step 4: Configure Prometheus to Route Alerts to Alertmanager

To forward alerts from Prometheus to Alertmanager, update Prometheus’s configuration file. Locate the alerting section and add the following configuration under static_configs: 
global:
  scrape_interval: 15s
  evaluation_interval: 15s

alerting:
  alertmanagers:
    - static_configs:
        - targets:
            - alertmanager1:9093
            - alertmanager2:9093

rule_files:
  - "rules.yml"

scrape_configs:
  # Add your scrape configuration details here.
In the static_configs section, specify the IP addresses or hostnames along with the port (9093) of your Alertmanager servers.
Review the Prometheus download page for details on various precompiled binaries and Docker images. This ensures that you select the appropriate binary for your system, based on file sizes and checksums provided.

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Diagram: Prometheus Download Page

The image shows a download page for Prometheus, listing various precompiled binaries and Docker images for different operating systems and architectures, along with their file sizes and checksums.

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Summary of Installation Steps

Follow these steps to successfully install and configure Alertmanager:
StepDescriptionExample Command / URL
Download the BinaryNavigate to the Prometheus download page and select the appropriate Alertmanager binary.URL copied from the download page
Extract the TarballUnpack the tarball and verify the contents.tar -xzf alertmanager-<version>.tar.gz
Start AlertmanagerRun the executable to start the service../alertmanager
Configure PrometheusAdd Alertmanager details in Prometheus configuration under alerting and static_configs.See the YAML configuration snippet above
By following these steps, Alertmanager will be up and running, and Prometheus will be configured to forward alerts to it. This ensures a robust alert handling mechanism in your monitoring setup.

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