Configuring Grafana dashboards

---

Configuring Grafana dashboards

Creating or configuring a Grafana dashboard generally involves the following steps: logging into Grafana, creating a new dashboard, adding and configuring panels, selecting a data source, creating queries and configuring variables.

---

Logging in to Grafana

Open your web browser and navigate to the Grafana website of m2v Plattform. You can access it by writing grafana. in front of the URL, e.g. https://grafana.meine.cloud. Enter your user name and password to log in.

---

Create dashboard

Click on the plus symbol on the left-hand side and select "Dashboard". A new, empty dashboard is created. If you have already created an empty Grafana dashboard and/or linked it to the m2v Plattform, you can simply open it.

---

Add panel

Click on "Add panel" and select the chart type you want to add. There are many different types of charts to choose from, such as line charts, bar charts, pie charts and more.

---

Select data source

Select the data source (machine) you want to visualize.

---

Create query

Create a query to filter and display the data you want to visualize. You can use functions to manipulate the data and get exactly the information you need.

---

Configure panel

Customize the look and behavior of your panel. You can change colors, axes, legends and more.

---

Save dashboard

Click on the floppy disk icon in the top right corner to save your dashboard. Enter a name for your dashboard and click on "Save".

---

Add more panels

Repeat the previous steps to add more panels to your dashboard. You can add as many panels as you need to visualize your data.

---

Add meta data

If the dashboard is linked to a machine, the meta data of the machine can be displayed in the corresponding panels. To do this, you must insert the English key of the meta data definition in the following schema for KEY: ${MetaData_KEY}. For example, if the English key is Location, the corresponding entry is called ${MetaData_Location} (spaces in the key must be replaced with _).

---

Example configuration of a Grafana dashboard

A selection of frequently used variables is described below using an example configuration. A more detailed overview of the configurable variables of a Grafana dashboard can be found under Report variables.

Prefabricated Grafana template

---

Import the provided Grafana template into Grafana

Do you need help importing the Grafana template?

If you need help importing Grafana templates, please visit the official article on importing dashboards in the Grafana documentation.

For test purposes, e.g. to test the report function, the provided example configuration of a Grafana dashboard can be used. To use the Grafana template provided, please follow the steps below:

1. navigate to the Grafana website and enter your user name and password to log in.
2. click on the "Dashboards" entry in the Grafana navigation menu
3. click on "New" and select "Import" from the drop-down menu
4. upload the following JSON file. The prefabricated Grafana template is then opened.

{
  "annotations": {
    "list": [
      {
        "builtIn": 1,
        "datasource": {
          "type": "grafana",
          "uid": "-- Grafana --"
        },
        "enable": true,
        "hide": true,
        "iconColor": "rgba(0, 211, 255, 1)",
        "name": "Annotations & Alerts",
        "target": {
          "limit": 100,
          "matchAny": false,
          "tags": [],
          "type": "dashboard"
        },
        "type": "dashboard"
      }
    ]
  },
  "editable": true,
  "fiscalYearStartMonth": 0,
  "graphTooltip": 0,
  "id": 96,
  "links": [],
  "liveNow": false,
  "panels": [
    {
      "datasource": {
        "type": "influxdb",
        "uid": "${datasource}"
      },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": {
            "mode": "palette-classic"
          },
          "custom": {
            "axisCenteredZero": false,
            "axisColorMode": "text",
            "axisLabel": "",
            "axisPlacement": "auto",
            "barAlignment": 0,
            "drawStyle": "line",
            "fillOpacity": 0,
            "gradientMode": "none",
            "hideFrom": {
              "legend": false,
              "tooltip": false,
              "viz": false
            },
            "lineInterpolation": "linear",
            "lineWidth": 1,
            "pointSize": 5,
            "scaleDistribution": {
              "type": "linear"
            },
            "showPoints": "auto",
            "spanNulls": false,
            "stacking": {
              "group": "A",
              "mode": "none"
            },
            "thresholdsStyle": {
              "mode": "off"
            }
          },
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              },
              {
                "color": "red",
                "value": 80
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "h": 7,
        "w": 12,
        "x": 0,
        "y": 0
      },
      "id": 2,
      "options": {
        "legend": {
          "calcs": [],
          "displayMode": "list",
          "placement": "bottom",
          "showLegend": true
        },
        "tooltip": {
          "mode": "single",
          "sort": "none"
        }
      },
      "targets": [
        {
          "alias": "datapoint",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "influxdb",
            "uid": "${datasource}"
          },
          "groupBy": [],
          "measurement": "/^$Measurement$/",
          "orderByTime": "ASC",
          "policy": "default",
          "refId": "A",
          "resultFormat": "time_series",
          "select": [
            [
              {
                "params": [
                  "$Field"
                ],
                "type": "field"
              }
            ]
          ],
          "tags": []
        }
      ],
      "title": "Simple Time series Panel",
      "type": "timeseries"
    },
    {
      "datasource": {
        "type": "influxdb",
        "uid": "${datasource}"
      },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": {
            "mode": "palette-classic"
          },
          "custom": {
            "axisCenteredZero": false,
            "axisColorMode": "text",
            "axisLabel": "",
            "axisPlacement": "auto",
            "barAlignment": 0,
            "drawStyle": "line",
            "fillOpacity": 0,
            "gradientMode": "none",
            "hideFrom": {
              "legend": false,
              "tooltip": false,
              "viz": false
            },
            "lineInterpolation": "linear",
            "lineWidth": 1,
            "pointSize": 5,
            "scaleDistribution": {
              "type": "linear"
            },
            "showPoints": "auto",
            "spanNulls": false,
            "stacking": {
              "group": "A",
              "mode": "none"
            },
            "thresholdsStyle": {
              "mode": "off"
            }
          },
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              },
              {
                "color": "red",
                "value": 80
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "h": 7,
        "w": 12,
        "x": 12,
        "y": 0
      },
      "id": 6,
      "options": {
        "legend": {
          "calcs": [],
          "displayMode": "list",
          "placement": "bottom",
          "showLegend": true
        },
        "tooltip": {
          "mode": "single",
          "sort": "none"
        }
      },
      "targets": [
        {
          "alias": "$aggrFunction",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "influxdb",
            "uid": "${datasource}"
          },
          "groupBy": [
            {
              "params": [
                "15m"
              ],
              "type": "time"
            },
            {
              "params": [
                "null"
              ],
              "type": "fill"
            }
          ],
          "measurement": "",
          "orderByTime": "ASC",
          "policy": "default",
          "query": "SELECT $aggrFunction(\"$Field\") FROM \"$Measurement\" WHERE $timeFilter GROUP BY time($selectedInterval) fill(null)",
          "rawQuery": true,
          "refId": "A",
          "resultFormat": "time_series",
          "select": [
            [
              {
                "params": [
                  "Room.relHumidity"
                ],
                "type": "field"
              },
              {
                "params": [],
                "type": "min"
              }
            ]
          ],
          "tags": []
        }
      ],
      "title": "Variable override",
      "type": "timeseries"
    },
    {
      "datasource": {
        "type": "datasource",
        "uid": "grafana"
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "h": 6,
        "w": 4,
        "x": 0,
        "y": 7
      },
      "id": 5,
      "options": {
        "code": {
          "language": "plaintext",
          "showLineNumbers": false,
          "showMiniMap": false
        },
        "content": "**aggrFunction**: ${aggrFunction}\r\n\r\n**selectedInterval**: ${selectedInterval}\r\n\r\n**freeTextVar**: ${freeTextVar}\r\n\r\n**mathVar**: ${mathVar}",
        "mode": "markdown"
      },
      "pluginVersion": "9.3.2",
      "title": "Variables overview",
      "type": "text"
    },
    {
      "datasource": {
        "type": "influxdb",
        "uid": "${datasource}"
      },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": {
            "mode": "thresholds"
          },
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              },
              {
                "color": "red",
                "value": 80
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "h": 6,
        "w": 8,
        "x": 4,
        "y": 7
      },
      "id": 8,
      "options": {
        "colorMode": "value",
        "graphMode": "area",
        "justifyMode": "auto",
        "orientation": "auto",
        "reduceOptions": {
          "calcs": [
            "lastNotNull"
          ],
          "fields": "",
          "values": false
        },
        "textMode": "auto"
      },
      "pluginVersion": "9.3.2",
      "targets": [
        {
          "datasource": {
            "type": "influxdb",
            "uid": "${datasource}"
          },
          "groupBy": [],
          "measurement": "",
          "orderByTime": "ASC",
          "policy": "default",
          "query": "SELECT \"$Field\" * $mathVar FROM \"$Measurement\" WHERE $timeFilter",
          "rawQuery": true,
          "refId": "A",
          "resultFormat": "time_series",
          "select": [
            [
              {
                "params": [
                  "Room.relHumidity"
                ],
                "type": "field"
              }
            ]
          ],
          "tags": []
        }
      ],
      "title": "User-defined variable in query",
      "type": "stat"
    },
    {
      "alignNumbersToRightEnabled": true,
      "columnAliases": [],
      "columnFiltersEnabled": false,
      "columnWidthHints": [],
      "columns": [],
      "compactRowsEnabled": false,
      "datasource": {
        "type": "influxdb",
        "uid": "${datasource}"
      },
      "datatablePagingType": "simple_numbers",
      "datatableTheme": "basic_theme",
      "emptyData": false,
      "fontSize": "100%",
      "gridPos": {
        "h": 9,
        "w": 12,
        "x": 12,
        "y": 7
      },
      "hoverEnabled": true,
      "id": 3,
      "infoEnabled": true,
      "lengthChangeEnabled": true,
      "orderColumnEnabled": true,
      "pagingTypes": [
        {
          "$$hashKey": "object:149",
          "text": "Page number buttons only",
          "value": "numbers"
        },
        {
          "$$hashKey": "object:150",
          "text": "'Previous' and 'Next' buttons only",
          "value": "simple"
        },
        {
          "$$hashKey": "object:151",
          "text": "'Previous' and 'Next' buttons, plus page numbers",
          "value": "simple_numbers"
        },
        {
          "$$hashKey": "object:152",
          "text": "'First', 'Previous', 'Next' and 'Last' buttons",
          "value": "full"
        },
        {
          "$$hashKey": "object:153",
          "text": "'First', 'Previous', 'Next' and 'Last' buttons, plus page numbers",
          "value": "full_numbers"
        },
        {
          "$$hashKey": "object:154",
          "text": "'First' and 'Last' buttons, plus page numbers",
          "value": "first_last_numbers"
        }
      ],
      "panelHeight": 319,
      "rowNumbersEnabled": false,
      "rowsPerPage": 5,
      "scroll": false,
      "scrollHeight": "default",
      "searchEnabled": false,
      "searchHighlightingEnabled": false,
      "showCellBorders": false,
      "showHeader": true,
      "showRowBorders": true,
      "sort": {
        "col": 0,
        "desc": true
      },
      "sortByColumns": [
        {
          "$$hashKey": "object:34",
          "columnData": 0,
          "sortMethod": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "sortByColumnsData": [
        [
          0,
          "desc"
        ]
      ],
      "stripedRowsEnabled": true,
      "styles": [
        {
          "$$hashKey": "object:36",
          "dateFormat": "YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss",
          "pattern": "Time",
          "type": "date"
        },
        {
          "$$hashKey": "object:73",
          "colors": [
            "rgba(245, 54, 54, 0.9)",
            "rgba(237, 129, 40, 0.89)",
            "rgba(50, 172, 45, 0.97)"
          ],
          "dateFormat": "YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss",
          "decimals": 2,
          "mappingType": 1,
          "pattern": "data point",
          "splitPattern": "/ /",
          "thresholds": [],
          "type": "number",
          "unit": "short"
        }
      ],
      "targets": [
        {
          "alias": "datapoint",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "influxdb",
            "uid": "${datasource}"
          },
          "groupBy": [],
          "measurement": "/^$Measurement$/",
          "orderByTime": "ASC",
          "policy": "default",
          "refId": "A",
          "resultFormat": "time_series",
          "select": [
            [
              {
                "params": [
                  "$Field"
                ],
                "type": "field"
              }
            ]
          ],
          "tags": []
        }
      ],
      "themeOptions": {
        "dark": "./styles/dark.scss",
        "light": "./styles/light.scss"
      },
      "themes": [
        {
          "$$hashKey": "object:124",
          "disabled": false,
          "text": "Basic",
          "value": "basic_theme"
        },
        {
          "$$hashKey": "object:125",
          "disabled": true,
          "text": "Bootstrap",
          "value": "bootstrap_theme"
        },
        {
          "$$hashKey": "object:126",
          "disabled": true,
          "text": "foundation",
          "value": "foundation_theme"
        },
        {
          "$$hashKey": "object:127",
          "disabled": true,
          "text": "ThemeRoller",
          "value": "themeroller_theme"
        }
      ],
      "title": "Simple Datatable Panel",
      "transform": "timeseries_to_columns",
      "type": "briangann-datatable-panel"
    },
    {
      "datasource": {
        "type": "datasource",
        "uid": "grafana"
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "h": 3,
        "w": 4,
        "x": 0,
        "y": 13
      },
      "id": 10,
      "options": {
        "code": {
          "language": "plaintext",
          "showLineNumbers": false,
          "showMiniMap": false
        },
        "content": "The title of this panel is determined by the variable `freeTextVar`!",
        "mode": "markdown"
      },
      "pluginVersion": "9.3.2",
      "title": "$freeTextVar",
      "type": "text"
    },
    {
      "datasource": {
        "type": "influxdb",
        "uid": "${datasource}"
      },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": {
            "mode": "thresholds"
          },
          "links": [
            {
              "title": "single",
              "url": ""
            }
          ],
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              },
              {
                "color": "red",
                "value": 80
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "h": 5,
        "w": 4,
        "x": 4,
        "y": 13
      },
      "id": 11,
      "options": {
        "colorMode": "value",
        "graphMode": "area",
        "justifyMode": "auto",
        "orientation": "auto",
        "reduceOptions": {
          "calcs": [
            "lastNotNull"
          ],
          "fields": "",
          "values": false
        },
        "textMode": "auto"
      },
      "pluginVersion": "9.3.2",
      "targets": [
        {
          "datasource": {
            "type": "influxdb",
            "uid": "${datasource}"
          },
          "groupBy": [],
          "measurement": "",
          "orderByTime": "ASC",
          "policy": "default",
          "query": "SELECT \"$Field\" * $mathVar FROM \"$Measurement\" WHERE $timeFilter",
          "rawQuery": true,
          "refId": "A",
          "resultFormat": "time_series",
          "select": [
            [
              {
                "params": [
                  "Room.relHumidity"
                ],
                "type": "field"
              }
            ]
          ],
          "tags": []
        }
      ],
      "title": "Small panel printed individually",
      "type": "stat"
    },
    {
      "datasource": {
        "type": "influxdb",
        "uid": "${datasource}"
      },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": {
            "mode": "thresholds"
          },
          "links": [
            {
              "title": "csv",
              "url": ""
            }
          ],
          "mappings": [],
          "thresholds": {
            "mode": "absolute",
            "steps": [
              {
                "color": "green",
                "value": null
              },
              {
                "color": "red",
                "value": 80
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "overrides": []
      },
      "gridPos": {
        "h": 5,
        "w": 4,
        "x": 8,
        "y": 13
      },
      "id": 12,
      "options": {
        "orientation": "auto",
        "reduceOptions": {
          "calcs": [
            "lastNotNull"
          ],
          "fields": "",
          "values": false
        },
        "showThresholdLabels": false,
        "showThresholdMarkers": true
      },
      "pluginVersion": "9.3.2",
      "targets": [
        {
          "alias": "datapoint",
          "datasource": {
            "type": "influxdb",
            "uid": "${datasource}"
          },
          "groupBy": [],
          "measurement": "",
          "orderByTime": "ASC",
          "policy": "default",
          "query": "SELECT \"$Field\" * $mathVar FROM \"$Measurement\" WHERE $timeFilter",
          "rawQuery": true,
          "refId": "A",
          "resultFormat": "time_series",
          "select": [
            [
              {
                "params": [
                  "Room.relHumidity"
                ],
                "type": "field"
              }
            ]
          ],
          "tags": []
        }
      ],
      "title": "Data export for non-table panels",
      "type": "gauge"
    }
  ],
  "refresh": false,
  "schemaVersion": 37,
  "style": "dark",
  "tags": [],
  "templating": {
    "list": [
      {
        "hide": 2,
        "name": "language",
        "query": "en",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "type": "constant"
      },
      {
        "hide": 2,
        "name": "title",
        "query": "title",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "type": "constant"
      },
      {
        "hide": 2,
        "name": "subtitle",
        "query": "subtitle",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "type": "constant"
      },
      {
        "hide": 2,
        "name": "companyInfo",
        "query": "companyInfo",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "type": "constant"
      },
      {
        "hide": 2,
        "name": "coverTitle",
        "query": "coverTitle",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "type": "constant"
      },
      {
        "hide": 2,
        "name": "coverSubtitle",
        "query": "coverSubtitle",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "type": "constant"
      },
      {
        "hide": 2,
        "name": "coverPreparedBy",
        "query": "coverPreparedBy",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "type": "constant"
      },
      {
        "current": {
          "selected": true,
          "text": "60m",
          "value": "60m"
        },
        "hide": 0,
        "includeAll": false,
        "multi": false,
        "name": "selectedInterval",
        "options": [
          {
            "selected": false,
            "text": "5s",
            "value": "5s"
          },
          {
            "selected": false,
            "text": "10s",
            "value": "10s"
          },
          {
            "selected": false,
            "text": "30s",
            "value": "30s"
          },
          {
            "selected": false,
            "text": "1m",
            "value": "1m"
          },
          {
            "selected": false,
            "text": "5m",
            "value": "5m"
          },
          {
            "selected": false,
            "text": "30m",
            "value": "30m"
          },
          {
            "selected": true,
            "text": "60m",
            "value": "60m"
          }
        ],
        "query": "5s,10s,30s,1m,5m,30m,60m",
        "queryValue": "",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "type": "custom"
      },
      {
        "current": {
          "selected": true,
          "text": "max",
          "value": "max"
        },
        "hide": 0,
        "includeAll": false,
        "multi": false,
        "name": "aggrFunction",
        "options": [
          {
            "selected": true,
            "text": "max",
            "value": "max"
          },
          {
            "selected": false,
            "text": "min",
            "value": "min"
          },
          {
            "selected": false,
            "text": "mean",
            "value": "mean"
          }
        ],
        "query": "max,min,mean",
        "queryValue": "",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "type": "custom"
      },
      {
        "current": {
          "selected": true,
          "text": "1",
          "value": "1"
        },
        "hide": 0,
        "includeAll": false,
        "multi": false,
        "name": "mathVar",
        "options": [
          {
            "selected": true,
            "text": "1",
            "value": "1"
          },
          {
            "selected": false,
            "text": "10",
            "value": "10"
          },
          {
            "selected": false,
            "text": "20",
            "value": "20"
          },
          {
            "selected": false,
            "text": "50",
            "value": "50"
          },
          {
            "selected": false,
            "text": "100",
            "value": "100"
          }
        ],
        "query": "1,10,20,50,100",
        "queryValue": "",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "type": "custom"
      },
      {
        "hide": 2,
        "name": "logo",
        "query": "https://i.ibb.co/G7McTPD/placeholder-logo.png",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "type": "constant"
      },
      {
        "current": {
          "selected": false,
          "text": "This variable could be anything!",
          "value": "This variable could be anything!"
        },
        "hide": 0,
        "name": "freeTextVar",
        "options": [
          {
            "selected": true,
            "text": "This variable could be anything!",
            "value": "This variable could be anything!"
          }
        ],
        "query": "This variable could be anything!",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "type": "textbox"
      },
      {
        "current": {
          "selected": true,
          "text": "",
          "value": ""
        },
        "hide": 0,
        "includeAll": false,
        "multi": false,
        "name": "datasource",
        "options": [],
        "query": "influxdb",
        "queryValue": "",
        "refresh": 1,
        "regex": "",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "type": "datasource"
      },
      {
        "current": {
          "selected": false,
          "text": "",
          "value": ""
        },
        "datasource": {
          "type": "influxdb",
          "uid": "${datasource}"
        },
        "definition": "SHOW MEASUREMENTS",
        "hide": 0,
        "includeAll": false,
        "multi": false,
        "name": "Measurement",
        "options": [],
        "query": "SHOW MEASUREMENTS",
        "refresh": 1,
        "regex": "",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "sort": 0,
        "type": "query"
      },
      {
        "current": {
          "selected": true,
          "text": "room.temperature",
          "value": "Room.temperature"
        },
        "datasource": {
          "type": "influxdb",
          "uid": "${datasource}"
        },
        "definition": "SHOW FIELD KEYS",
        "hide": 0,
        "includeAll": false,
        "multi": false,
        "name": "Field",
        "options": [],
        "query": "SHOW FIELD KEYS",
        "refresh": 1,
        "regex": "",
        "skipUrlSync": false,
        "sort": 0,
        "type": "query"
      }
    ]
  },
  "time": {
    "from": "now-6h",
    "to": "now"
  },
  "timepicker": {},
  "timezone": "",
  "title": "Docu Dashboard",
  "uid": "McELud84k",
  "version": 5,
  "weekStart": ""
}

Define data sources and measuring points

Select "Data source and measuring point" in the imported template and save the dashboard with the defined variables:

Variable	Definition
language	de
title	title
subtitle	subtitle
companyInfo	companyInfo
coverTitle	coverTitle
coverSubtitle	coverSubtitle
coverPreparedBy	coverPreparedBy
selectedInterval	5s, 10s, 30s, 1m, 5m, 30m, 60m
aggrFunction	max, min, mean
mathVar	1, 10, 20, 50, 100
logo	https://i.ibb.co/G7McTPD/placeholder-logo.png
freeTextVar	free text

---

Adjustment of the value display

aggrFunction

The aggrFunction variable is used to determine the aggregation function that is applied to the data in your dashboard. You can use this variable to determine how your data should be summarized, e.g. by averaging (mean), summing (sum), counting (count), etc.

selectedInterval

The selectedInterval variable is used to determine the time interval for data aggregation in your dashboard. You can use this variable to determine the time period over which your data should be aggregated, e.g. per minute, per hour, per day, etc.

---

Data transformation

mathVar

The mathVar variable is used in Grafana to apply mathematical operations to the data before it is displayed in a panel. You can use this variable to apply calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division or more complex math functions to your data. This can be useful to normalize data, calculate percentages or perform other types of data manipulations before the data is visualized.

---

Other use cases

freeTextVar

The freeTextVar variable in Grafana allows you to define a free text as a variable. This can be useful if you want to reuse a specific text or string in multiple panels of your dashboard. You can define the value of the freeTextVar variable and then use this variable in your panel titles, queries or other parts of your dashboard. This can help to increase consistency in your dashboard and make it easier to reuse text.

Once a Grafana dashboard has been created, it can also be created as a dashboard in the Settings app. Reports can then be created for the created dashboard.