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This page shows you how to integrate Grafana with a , create a dashboard and panel, then visualize geospatial data.

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Prerequisites

To follow the steps on this page:
  • Create a target with the Real-time analytics capability enabled.

     You need your connection details. This procedure also works for .

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Connect Grafana to Tiger Cloud

To visualize the results of your queries, enable Grafana to read the data in your :
  1. Log in to Grafana In your browser, log in to either:
    • Self-hosted Grafana: at http://localhost:3000/. The default credentials are admin, admin.
    • Grafana Cloud: use the URL and credentials you set when you created your account.
  2. Add your as a data source
    1. Open Connections > Data sources, then click Add new data source.
    2. Select PostgreSQL from the list.
    3. Configure the connection:
      • Host URL, Database name, Username, and Password Configure using your connection details. Host URL is in the format <host>:<port>.
      • TLS/SSL Mode: select require.
      • PostgreSQL options: enable TimescaleDB.
      • Leave the default setting for all other fields.
    4. Click Save & test.
    Grafana checks that your details are set correctly.

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Create a Grafana dashboard and panel

Grafana is organized into dashboards and panels. A dashboard represents a view into the performance of a system, and each dashboard consists of one or more panels, which represent information about a specific metric related to that system. To create a new dashboard:
  1. On the Dashboards page, click New and select New dashboard
  2. Click Add visualization
  3. Select the data source Select your from the list of pre-configured data sources or configure a new one.
  4. Configure your panel Select the visualization type. The type defines specific fields to configure in addition to standard ones, such as the panel name.
  5. Run your queries You can edit the queries directly or use the built-in query editor. If you are visualizing time-series data, select Time series in the Format drop-down.
  6. Click Save dashboard You now have a dashboard with one panel. Add more panels to a dashboard by clicking Add at the top right and selecting Visualization from the drop-down.

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Use the time filter function

Grafana time-series panels include a time filter:
  1. Call $__timefilter() to link the user interface construct in a Grafana panel with the query For example, to set the pickup_datetime column as the filtering range for your visualizations: 
    SELECT
  --1--
  time_bucket('1 day', pickup_datetime) AS "time",
  --2--
  COUNT(*)
FROM rides
WHERE $__timeFilter(pickup_datetime)
  2. Group your visualizations and order the results by time buckets In this case, the GROUP BY and ORDER BY statements reference time. For example: 
    SELECT
  --1--
  time_bucket('1 day', pickup_datetime) AS time,
  --2--
  COUNT(*)
FROM rides
WHERE $__timeFilter(pickup_datetime)
GROUP BY time
ORDER BY time
    When you visualize this query in Grafana, you see this: SERVICE_LONG and Grafana query results You can adjust the time_bucket function and compare the graphs: 
    SELECT
  --1--
  time_bucket('5m', pickup_datetime) AS time,
  --2--
  COUNT(*)
FROM rides
WHERE $__timeFilter(pickup_datetime)
GROUP BY time
ORDER BY time
    When you visualize this query, it looks like this: SERVICE_LONG and Grafana query results in time buckets

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Visualize geospatial data

Grafana includes a Geomap panel so you can see geospatial data overlaid on a map. This can be helpful to understand how data changes based on its location. This section visualizes taxi rides in Manhattan, where the distance traveled was greater than 5 miles. It uses the same query as the NYC Taxi Cab tutorial as a starting point.
  1. Add a geospatial visualization
    1. In your Grafana dashboard, click Add > Visualization.
    2. Select Geomap in the visualization type drop-down at the top right.
  2. Configure the data format
    1. In the Queries tab below, select your data source.
    2. In the Format drop-down, select Table.
    3. In the mode switcher, toggle Code and enter the query, then click Run. For example: 
      SELECT time_bucket('5m', rides.pickup_datetime) AS time,
       rides.trip_distance AS value,
       rides.pickup_latitude AS latitude,
       rides.pickup_longitude AS longitude
FROM rides
WHERE rides.trip_distance > 5
GROUP BY time,
         rides.trip_distance,
         rides.pickup_latitude,
         rides.pickup_longitude
ORDER BY time
LIMIT 500;
  3. Customize the Geomap settings With default settings, the visualization uses green circles of the fixed size. Configure at least the following for a more representative view:
    • Map layers > Styles > Size > value. This changes the size of the circle depending on the value, with bigger circles representing bigger values.
    • Map layers > Styles > Color > value.
    • Thresholds > Add threshold. Add thresholds for 7 and 10, to mark rides over 7 and 10 miles in different colors, respectively.
    You now have a visualization that looks like this: SERVICE_LONG and Grafana integration