How to Utilize Dynamic Variables in Grafana Queries for Enhanced Dashboards

Описание: Discover how to effectively implement dynamic variables in Grafana queries, enabling you to create a more interactive dashboard experience based on user selections.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/69036291/ asked by the user 'knowledge20' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/9186499/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/69037777/ provided by the user 'Marcelo Ávila de Oliveira' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/4653675/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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The Challenge: Adding Dynamic Variables in Grafana Queries

Grafana is a powerful tool for monitoring and visualization, often used in conjunction with data sources like Prometheus and AWS services. However, many users encounter difficulties when attempting to craft dynamic queries that adjust based on user inputs. A common scenario involves populating query variables from dropdown menus—specifically, when users select an environment (like "dev" or "qas").

If you’ve faced the issue where your dynamic variable doesn't replace correctly and the graph fails to reflect the selection, you're not alone! Let's explore how to effectively manage this within Grafana.

Understanding the Problem

In this situation, you have a Grafana query structured to fetch metrics related to specific environments using dynamic variables. Your original attempt looks something like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

The expectation is that when the user selects an environment from a dropdown, the env_read_val_topic should correspondingly transform to fit the selected environment—for example, perhaps transforming "dev" into "dev_read_val_topic".

However, the issue arises when using the dynamic variable notation in the topic value ($env_read_val_topic) as it does not produce the intended output based on the dropdown selection.

The Solution: Correct Usage of Dynamic Variables

To resolve the issue, it’s essential to adjust the way we reference the dynamic variable in the query. Instead of using the $ syntax on the variable name, we can simply concatenate the value of the environment variable directly within a pair of braces. Here’s the updated query:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Breakdown of the Solution:

Understanding Variable Syntax: The ${} syntax allows you to concatenate the selected environment directly with a string. This means if the selected environment is "dev," it will automatically render "dev_read_val_topic" for the topic variable.

Setting Up Variables:

Make sure to create variables in your Grafana dashboard.

The env variable should be a dropdown menu with values such as "dev" and "qas".

The env_read_val_topic variable does not need to be predefined if it’s derived from the env variable.

Implementing Your Query:

By using the updated query as shown above, Grafana will now dynamically adjust the topic based on the user’s choice from the dropdown.

Conclusion

By following this updated method for crafting your Grafana queries, you can create a more functional and user-friendly dashboard experience. Using dynamic variables not only enhances usability but also allows users to visualize important metrics tailored to their selections instantly.

Mastering dynamic variables in Grafana can significantly enhance how you monitor and visualize your data across different environments. With just a small tweak to your queries, you'll have a powerful and interactive dashboard ready for your users!