Lab 3: Collect and Visualize Host Metrics

Add a host metrics source

To start, we'll add a new host metrics source to the collector that you added in Part 1 of this tutorial. You can add multiple sources for a single collector.
 
Find the collector by name on the Manage Data > Collection > Collection page and select Add > Add Source.

In Part 1, you added a local file source. This time, we'll add a host metrics source. Click Host Metric

Assign these settings and click Save.

• Name. Enter the name you'd like to display for the new Source. You’ll be able to search for the source name using _sourceName.
• Source Host. Enter the hostname of the machine from which the metrics will be collected.
• Source Category. Enter a string as the type of source. You’ll be able to search for the source category using _sourceCategory.
• Scan Interval. This setting determines how frequently the source scans for host metrics data. Selecting a short interval will increase the message volume and could cause your deployment to incur additional charges. The default is 1 minute.
• Metrics. Select check boxes for the metrics to collect. By default, all CPU and memory metrics are collected. 
  • Select a top level check box to select all metrics in a category. A blue checkmark icon  indicates that the category is selected.
  • To select individual metrics, click the right-facing arrow to expand the category and select the individual metrics. The icon changes to , as shown in the screenshot.

 
 
Click Collectors and Sources to return to the list on the Collection page.

The new source is now listed. The green checkmark indicates that its status is active and that Sumo Logic will start ingesting data from the source.

Visualize host metrics data 

To visualize data from your host metrics source, click +New in the tab bar and select Metrics.

 
The Metrics page opens to show the chart area at the top and the query area at the bottom. 

 
We can add a simple query to show some host metrics data. In the query field, specify the source category that you entered when setting up the host metrics source. Notice that the system helps prompt you with matching options.
 
(Specifying  _sourceName would work as well.)

Now let’s add a metric to display. Enter metric, and you’ll be shown a selection of metrics. For this example, let’s choose CPU_LoadAvg_1min to get a feel for the CPU load on the host. 

Press Return to display the visualization. 
 

You've now created your first metrics visualization!

Install the host metrics app

Now let's install the Host Metrics app for some out-of-the-box dashboards.

Click App Catalog in the left nav.

Enter Host in the search field to show the app.

Double-click Host Metrics to open its app page, and click Add to Library.

The dialog box that opens includes options to choose the folder where you install the app and to select a category for your data source.

Let's keep the folder as the default (Personal).

For the Host Metrics data source, enter _sourceCategory=prod/hostmetrics. Defining an appropriate source category will let you zero in on your data anytime by specifying the source in your query.

Click Add to Library to confirm your selections and add the app to the library.

The library page reopens to show the dashboards included in the app. 

Double-click any of the dashboards to open it and display the data.

You've now visualized host metrics data and have the Host Metrics app dashboards.

There’s much more that you can do with metrics. Take a look at the topics in Working with Metrics.