Docker Metrics

Collect and ship Docker container service metrics to Logstash and Elasticsearch.

Metricbeat is a lightweight shipper that helps you monitor Docker by collecting metrics from the containers running on the host system. Configure Metricbeat using the pre-defined examples below to collect and ship Docker container service metrics and statistics to Logstash or Elasticsearch.

Step 1 - Install Metricbeat

First we need to install Metricbeat.

deb (Debian/Ubuntu)

sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https
wget -qO - https://artifacts.elastic.co/GPG-KEY-elasticsearch | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb https://artifacts.elastic.co/packages/oss-6.x/apt stable main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/elastic-6.x.list

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install metricbeat

rpm (Redhat/Centos)

sudo rpm --import https://packages.elastic.co/GPG-KEY-elasticsearch
echo "[elastic-6.x]
name=Elastic repository for 6.x packages
baseurl=https://artifacts.elastic.co/packages/6.x/yum
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://artifacts.elastic.co/GPG-KEY-elasticsearch
enabled=1
autorefresh=1
type=rpm-md" | sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/elastic-beats.repo

sudo yum install metricbeat

sudo chkconfig --add metricbeat

macOS

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/metricbeat/metricbeat-6.7.2-darwin-x86_64.tar.gz
tar xzvf metricbeat-6.7.2-darwin-x86_64.tar.gz

Windows

Download the Metricbeat Windows zip file from the official downloads page.
Extract the contents of the zip file into C:\Program Files.
Rename the metricbeat-<version>-windows directory to Metricbeat.
Open a PowerShell prompt as an Administrator (right-click the PowerShell icon and select Run As Administrator). If you are running Windows XP, you may need to download and install PowerShell.

Run the following commands to install Metricbeat as a Windows service:

PS > cd 'C:\Program Files\Metricbeat'
PS C:\Program Files\Metricbeat> .\install-service-metricbeat.ps1

Security warning
Run only scripts that you trust. While scripts from the internet can be useful,
this script can potentially harm your computer. If you trust this script, use
the Unblock-File cmdlet to allow the script to run without this warning message.
Do you want to run C:\Program Files\Winlogbeat\install-service-metricbeat.ps1?
[D] Do not run  [R] Run once  [S] Suspend  [?] Help (default is "D"): R

Status   Name               DisplayName
------   ----               -----------
Stopped  metricbeat         metricbeat

If script execution is disabled on your system, you need to set the execution policy for the current session to allow the script to run. For example: PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy UnRestricted -File .\install-service-metricbeat.ps1.

My OS isn't here! Don't see your system? Check out the official downloads page for more options (including 32-bit versions).

Step 2 - Locate configuration file

deb/rpm /etc/metricbeat/metricbeat.yml
mac/win <EXTRACTED_ARCHIVE>/metricbeat.yml

Step 3 - Configure output

We'll be shipping to Logstash so that we have the option to run filters before the data is indexed.
Comment out the elasticsearch output block.

## Comment out elasticsearch output
#output.elasticsearch:
#  hosts: ["localhost:9200"]

Uncomment and change the logstash output to match below.

output.logstash:
    hosts: ["your-logstash-host:your-ssl-port"]
    loadbalance: true
    ssl.enabled: true

Step 4 - Enable module

There are several built in metricbeat modules you can use. To enable the docker module, run the following:

deb/rpm

metricbeat modules list
metricbeat modules enable docker

macOS

./metricbeat modules list
./metricbeat modules enable docker

Windows

PS > .\metricbeat.exe modules enable docker

Step 5 - Configure module

Each module has its own configuration file where different metricsets can be enabled / disabled. Locate the configuration file for the docker module.

deb/rpm /etc/metricbeat/modules.d/docker.yml

mac/win ~/<EXTRACTED_ARCHIVE>/modules.d/docker.yml

By default the following metrics are enabled. To enable or disable a metric simply comment or uncomment the line out.

metricbeat.modules:
- module: docker
  metricsets:
    - "container"
    - "cpu"
    - "diskio"
    - "event"
    - "healthcheck"
    - "info"
    #- "image"
    - "memory"
    - "network"
  hosts: ["unix:///var/run/docker.sock"]
  period: 10s
  enabled: true

Step 6 - Start Metricbeat

Ok, time to start gathering metrics!

deb/rpm

sudo systemctl enable metricbeat
sudo systemctl start metricbeat

macOS

./metricbeat

Windows

PS C:\Program Files\Metricbeat> Start-Service metricbeat

Step 7 - Compatibility & configuration notes

The Docker module is currently tested on Linux and Mac with the community edition engine, versions 1.11 and 17.09.0-ce. It is not tested on Windows, but it should also work there.

It is strongly recommended that you run Docker metricsets with a period that is 3 seconds or longer. The request to the Docker API already takes up to 2 seconds. Specifying less than 3 seconds will result in requests that timeout, and no data will be reported for those requests.

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