Dashboard Management with Rift

Rift provides built-in support for managing Grafana dashboards on the controller node. The dashboard command allows you to add, list, and validate Grafana dashboards using JSON files.

Prerequisites

Before using the dashboard management features, ensure that:

Grafana is installed and running on your controller node
Grafana is accessible (default: http://localhost:3000)
You have valid Grafana credentials (default: admin/admin)
Your inventory file is properly configured with the controller node

Commands

Add Dashboard

Add a dashboard from a JSON file to Grafana:

rift dashboard add -d <dashboard-file.json> [options]

Options:

-d, --dashboard: Path to dashboard JSON file (required)
-u, --url: Grafana URL (default: http://localhost:3000)
--user: Grafana username (default: admin)
--password: Grafana password (default: admin)

Examples:

# Add dashboard with default settings
rift dashboard add -d my-dashboard.json

# Add dashboard with custom Grafana URL
rift dashboard add -d dashboard.json -u http://grafana.example.com:3000

# Add dashboard with custom credentials
rift dashboard add -d dashboard.json --user myuser --password mypass

List Dashboards

List all existing dashboards in Grafana:

rift dashboard list [options]

Options:

-u, --url: Grafana URL (default: http://localhost:3000)
--user: Grafana username (default: admin)
--password: Grafana password (default: admin)

Example:

rift dashboard list

Validate Dashboard

Validate a dashboard JSON file before importing:

rift dashboard validate -d <dashboard-file.json>

Options:

-d, --dashboard: Path to dashboard JSON file (required)

Example:

rift dashboard validate -d my-dashboard.json

Dashboard Storage

Rift includes a dedicated dashboards/ directory for storing Grafana dashboard JSON files. This directory is:

Development: Located at ./dashboards/ in your rift workspace
Installed: Located at /usr/share/rift/dashboards/ when installed via RPM
Purpose: Central location for all dashboard definitions used in your deployments

Organization

You can organize dashboards in the dashboards directory by:

Application type (e.g., system-monitoring.json, application-metrics.json)
Environment (subdirectories if needed)
Purpose (infrastructure, application, security, etc.)

All JSON files in the dashboards directory are included in the rift release packages.

Dashboard JSON Format

Dashboard JSON files should follow the Grafana dashboard export format. Rift supports both formats:

Wrapped Format: Dashboard JSON wrapped in a “dashboard” object (typical of API exports)
Direct Format: Dashboard JSON as exported directly from Grafana UI

Here’s a minimal example of the wrapped format:

{
  "dashboard": {
    "id": null,
    "title": "My Dashboard",
    "tags": ["monitoring"],
    "timezone": "browser",
    "panels": [
      {
        "id": 1,
        "title": "Sample Panel",
        "type": "graph",
        "targets": [
          {
            "expr": "up",
            "format": "time_series",
            "legendFormat": "Uptime"
          }
        ],
        "gridPos": {
          "h": 8,
          "w": 12,
          "x": 0,
          "y": 0
        }
      }
    ],
    "time": {
      "from": "now-1h",
      "to": "now"
    },
    "refresh": "30s",
    "schemaVersion": 16,
    "version": 1
  }
}

Direct Format Example

{
  "id": null,
  "title": "My Dashboard",
  "tags": ["monitoring"],
  "timezone": "browser",
  "panels": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "title": "Sample Panel",
      "type": "graph",
      "targets": [
        {
          "expr": "up",
          "format": "time_series",
          "legendFormat": "Uptime"
        }
      ],
      "gridPos": {
        "h": 8,
        "w": 12,
        "x": 0,
        "y": 0
      }
    }
  ],
  "time": {
    "from": "now-1h",
    "to": "now"
  },
  "refresh": "30s",
  "schemaVersion": 16,
  "version": 1
}

Features

Automatic Validation

JSON syntax validation
Required field checking
Error reporting with detailed messages

Grafana Integration

Health check before dashboard import
Automatic overwrite of existing dashboards
Dashboard ID and UID tracking

Logging

Dashboard import logs stored in /var/log/rift/
Each dashboard gets a unique log file with import details
Includes dashboard URL for easy access

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Grafana not accessible
- Check that Grafana is running on the controller node
- Verify the Grafana URL is correct
- Ensure firewall rules allow access to Grafana port
Authentication failures
- Verify Grafana username and password
- Check if default credentials have been changed
- Ensure the user has dashboard creation permissions
Invalid JSON format
- Validate JSON syntax using rift dashboard validate
- Check for missing required fields
- Ensure the dashboard format is supported
Permission errors
- Verify the user has sudo access on the controller node
- Check file permissions on dashboard files
- Ensure log directory exists and is writable

Validation Tips

Always validate dashboards before importing using rift dashboard validate
Test with a simple dashboard first to verify connectivity
Check Grafana logs for additional error details

Debug Mode

Enable verbose output for detailed debugging:

rift dashboard add -d dashboard.json -v

Log Files

Dashboard operations create log files in /var/log/rift/:

Dashboard import logs: /var/log/rift/dashboard-<uid>.log
Each log contains dashboard details and import results
Logs include direct links to the imported dashboards

Advanced Usage

Batch Import

Import multiple dashboards at once:

# Import all dashboards from the dashboards directory
for dashboard in dashboards/*.json; do
  rift dashboard add -d "$dashboard"
done

# Import dashboards from installed location
for dashboard in /usr/share/rift/dashboards/*.json; do
  rift dashboard add -d "$dashboard"
done

Custom Configuration

You can customize the dashboard import behavior by:

Setting custom Grafana URL and credentials
Using different inventory files for different environments
Organizing dashboards by environment or application

Automation

Dashboard management can be automated as part of your deployment pipeline:

Deploy your infrastructure: rift deploy
Add monitoring dashboards: rift dashboard add -d monitoring.json
Verify installation: rift test

This ensures that your monitoring dashboards are deployed alongside your infrastructure, providing immediate visibility into your system’s health and performance.