Use Azure Monitor dashboards with Grafana

This article explains how to use Azure Monitor dashboards with Grafana. It covers creating, editing, importing, and sharing dashboards for monitoring data.

Prerequisites

• Running Azure resources that have created data over at least a 15-minute period.
• Assigned Monitoring Reader for access to Azure Managed Prometheus (Azure Monitor Workspace).

For more information about RBAC and assigning roles, see Azure RBAC.

Use dashboard templates

Azure managed template dashboards are pre-provisioned and automatically updated dashboards for frequently used Azure resources and Azure Kubernetes Services. They help you get started quickly. The following steps are for using these Grafana dashboards that are already available in the Azure portal. Azure managed templates are identified with a tag.

1. Navigate to Azure Monitor in the Azure portal.
2. Select Dashboards with Grafana (Preview).
3. Browse the list of available dashboards in the Azure Monitor or Azure Managed Prometheus listings.
4. Select a dashboard, for example Azure | Insights | Storage Accounts or Azure | Insights | Key Vaults.
5. Choose a subscription and resource group where the target resource exists. The dashboard loads based on the dashboard you chose and the selected resources.

Create a new Grafana dashboard

1. Select New Dashboard from within the Grafana interface.
2. Create the dashboard by specifying a subscription, resource group, and region.
3. Add a visualization.
4. Choose a supported data source (Azure Monitor or Prometheus) for the first panel.
5. Add panels using built-in or code-based query editors.

Save a copy of a dashboard

You can choose Save As to save the dashboard to your subscription and make edits without affecting the original dashboard.

1. Open the dashboard.
2. Choose Save As.
3. Enter a title in the Title field.
4. Choose the subscription for the dashboard from the Subscription dropdown list.
5. Choose the resource group from the Resource Group dropdown list.
6. Choose the ___location (region) from the Location dropdown list.
7. Select Save.
8. Select Yes to open the dashboard copy and begin editing.

Edit a dashboard

1. Open an editable dashboard (created or imported).
2. Select Edit to modify panels, queries, and visualizations.

For more details on editing a Grafana dashboard, see the Grafana documentation.

Import Grafana dashboards using JSON

The following instructions assume you signed in to your Azure account, are in the Azure Monitor area of the Azure portal, and selected Dashboards with Grafana (preview).

Using the Grafana website window or tab, navigate to the dashboard you want to import.

1. Download the JSON file for the dashboard.
2. Using the Azure portal window or tab, on the Dashboards with Grafana (Preview) screen, select New > Import.
3. Select the JSON file.
4. Select Load.
5. Enter a name for the dashboard.
6. Select the subscription, resource group, and region.

Import from Grafana public gallery

1. Visit the Grafana dashboard gallery.
2. Locate a dashboard using a JSON file or Dashboard ID.
3. On the Azure Monitor page in the Azure portal, open Import in Azure Monitor dashboards.
4. Enter the Dashboard ID or upload the corresponding JSON file.
5. Follow the import steps listed above.

Share links to dashboards

Dashboards that you import or create require RBAC access configuration to share them with specific people or groups.

1. Open the dashboard.
2. Select Share. The Share Dashboard pane opens. Copy the link to the dashboard to your clipboard.
3. Select Manage sharing options to use the RBAC workflow for granting view or edit access to users or groups. The Reader role is required for viewing the dashboard. Contributor is required to edit the dashboard.
4. Paste the link into your preferred communication method to share it with the intended people or groups.

Use dashboards with Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)

The Kubernetes cluster must be onboarded to Azure Managed Prometheus.

Prometheus prerequisites

To query Prometheus metrics from an Azure Monitor workspace with Azure Monitor dashboards with Grafana, you need to do the following:

1. Create an Azure Monitor workspace.
2. Ensure that the Azure Monitor workspace is collecting Prometheus metrics from an AKS cluster.
3. Enable Managed Prometheus on an existing AKS cluster (Prometheus only):
   1. Navigate to your cluster in the Azure portal.
   2. In the service menu, under Monitoring, select Insights > Monitor Settings.
   3. Select the Enable Prometheus metrics checkbox only. You do not need to enable Azure Managed Grafana.
   4. Select Advanced settings if you want to select alternate workspaces or create new ones.
   5. Select Configure.

Role assignment

The user must be assigned role that can perform the microsoft.monitor/accounts/read operation on the Azure Monitor workspace.

Select a dashboard

1. Navigate to the AKS cluster you want to work with in the Azure portal.
2. Select Dashboards with Grafana (preview).
3. Select a dashboard. The dashboard is populated with the Data source and the cluster.

The relevant filters for Data Source and Cluster are pre-populated based on your AKS Cluster. Apply additional filters as needed. The dashboard visuals update to reflect selections.

Tag a dashboard

Azure Monitor dashboards with Grafana tags are managed using Azure tags. Open-source Grafana dashboard tags remain in the dashboard JSON during import and export but are not used for populating Azure tags.

To add Dashboard tags to a saved dashboard, add or update the Azure tag with the key GrafanaDashboardTags with your tag names using commas to separate entries.

Dashboards created or saved from the context of an Azure Kubernetes Service cluster automatically have the Azure tag GrafanaDashboardResourceType: microsoft.ContainerService/managedClusters added.

You can also add this tag GrafanaDashboardResourceType: microsoft.ContainerService/managedClusters to a saved dashboard to be able to access and view the dashboard in the context of AKS clusters.

Related content

• Azure Monitor Grafana overview
• Use Manged Grafana