How to Install Grafana 8 Monitoring Tool on Debian 11

Grafana is a free and open-source data visualizing tool that is used to monitor metrics from other hosts. It is written in Typescript and Go and allows you to create and edit both log and data graphs and create metrics. It can generate graphs and dashboards from a time-series database including Graphite, InfluxDB, or OpenTSDB and allows you to share them with other users.

Features

Dashboard templating
Provisioning Annotations
Kiosk mode and playlists
Custom plugins
Alerting and alert hooks

In this post, we will show you how to install Grafana 8 on Debian 11.

Prerequisites

A server running Debian 11.
A valid domain name pointed with your server IP.
A root password is configured on the server.

Getting Started

Before starting, it is recommended to update your system to the updated version. You can update all the packages using the following command:

apt-get update -y

After updating all the packages, install other required dependencies using the following command:

apt-get install gnupg2 curl wget git software-properties-common -y

Once all the packages are installed, you can proceed to the next step.

Install Grafana 8

By default, Grafana is not included in the Debian 11 default repository. So you will need to add the Grafana repository to the APT. You can add it using the following command:

curl https://packages.grafana.com/gpg.key | apt-key add -
add-apt-repository "deb https://packages.grafana.com/oss/deb stable main"

Once the repository is added, update the repository cache and install the Grafana using the following command:

apt-get update -y
apt-get install grafana -y

Once the Grafana is installed, start and enable the Grafana service using the following command:

systemctl start grafana-server
systemctl enable grafana-server

You can also check the status of the Grafana service with the following command:

systemctl status grafana-server

You will get the following output:

? grafana-server.service - Grafana instance
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/grafana-server.service; disabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Fri 2022-02-04 04:08:25 UTC; 5s ago
       Docs: http://docs.grafana.org
   Main PID: 8602 (grafana-server)
      Tasks: 9 (limit: 2341)
     Memory: 29.6M
        CPU: 1.299s
     CGroup: /system.slice/grafana-server.service
             ??8602 /usr/sbin/grafana-server --config=/etc/grafana/grafana.ini --pidfile=/run/grafana/grafana-server.pid --packaging=deb cfg:>

Feb 04 04:08:27 debian11 grafana-server[8602]: t=2022-02-04T04:08:27+0000 lvl=info msg="migrations completed" logger=migrator performed=381 s>
Feb 04 04:08:27 debian11 grafana-server[8602]: t=2022-02-04T04:08:27+0000 lvl=info msg="Created default admin" logger=sqlstore user=admin
Feb 04 04:08:27 debian11 grafana-server[8602]: t=2022-02-04T04:08:27+0000 lvl=info msg="Created default organization" logger=sqlstore
Feb 04 04:08:27 debian11 grafana-server[8602]: t=2022-02-04T04:08:27+0000 lvl=info msg="Initialising plugins" logger=plugin.manager
Feb 04 04:08:27 debian11 grafana-server[8602]: t=2022-02-04T04:08:27+0000 lvl=info msg="Plugin registered" logger=plugin.manager pluginId=inp>
Feb 04 04:08:27 debian11 grafana-server[8602]: t=2022-02-04T04:08:27+0000 lvl=info msg="Live Push Gateway initialization" logger=live.push_ht>
Feb 04 04:08:27 debian11 grafana-server[8602]: t=2022-02-04T04:08:27+0000 lvl=info msg="Writing PID file" logger=server path=/run/grafana/gra>
Feb 04 04:08:27 debian11 grafana-server[8602]: t=2022-02-04T04:08:27+0000 lvl=info msg="HTTP Server Listen" logger=http.server address=[::]:3>
Feb 04 04:08:27 debian11 grafana-server[8602]: t=2022-02-04T04:08:27+0000 lvl=info msg="warming cache for startup" logger=ngalert
Feb 04 04:08:27 debian11 grafana-server[8602]: t=2022-02-04T04:08:27+0000 lvl=info msg="starting MultiOrg Alertmanager" logger=ngalert.multio>

By default, Grafana listens on port 3000. You can check it with the following command:

ss -antpl | grep 3000

You will get the following output:

LISTEN 0      4096               *:3000            *:*    users:(("grafana-server",pid=8602,fd=8))

Install Nginx as a Reverse Proxy for Grafana

Next, you will need to install and configure the Nginx as a reverse proxy for Grafana. First, install the Nginx using the following command:

apt-get install nginx -y

Once the Nginx is installed, create an Nginx virtual host configuration file with the following command:

nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/grafana.conf

Add the following lines:

server {
        server_name grafana.example.com;
        listen 80;
        access_log /var/log/nginx/grafana.log;

        
        location / {
                proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
                proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host:$server_port;
                proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Server $host;
                proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        }
}

Save and close the file when you are finished. Then, verify the Nginx for any syntax error with the following command:

nginx -t

If everything is fine, you will get the following output:

nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok
nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful

Next, restart the Nginx to apply the configuration changes.

systemctl restart nginx

You can also check the Nginx status with the following command:

systemctl status nginx

You will get the following output:

? nginx.service - A high performance web server and a reverse proxy server
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/nginx.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Fri 2022-02-04 04:09:20 UTC; 4s ago
       Docs: man:nginx(8)
    Process: 8631 ExecStartPre=/usr/sbin/nginx -t -q -g daemon on; master_process on; (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
    Process: 8632 ExecStart=/usr/sbin/nginx -g daemon on; master_process on; (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
   Main PID: 8633 (nginx)
      Tasks: 2 (limit: 2341)
     Memory: 2.5M
        CPU: 35ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/nginx.service
             ??8633 nginx: master process /usr/sbin/nginx -g daemon on; master_process on;
             ??8634 nginx: worker process

Feb 04 04:09:20 debian11 systemd[1]: Starting A high performance web server and a reverse proxy server...
Feb 04 04:09:20 debian11 systemd[1]: nginx.service: Failed to parse PID from file /run/nginx.pid: Invalid argument
Feb 04 04:09:20 debian11 systemd[1]: Started A high performance web server and a reverse proxy server.

At this point, Nginx is installed and configured as a reverse proxy for Grafana. You can now proceed to the next step.

Access Grafana Dashboard

Now, open your web browser and access the Grafana web interface using the URL http://grafana.example.com. You will be redirected to the Grafana login page:

Provide your admin username, password, and click on the Log in button. You should see the Grafana password reset screen:

Set your new password and click on the Submit button. You should see the Grafana dashboard on the following screen:

Secure Grafana with Let's Encrypt

Next, you will need to install the Certbot client package to install and manage the Let's Encrypt SSL.

First, install the Certbot with the following command:

apt-get install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

Once the installation is finished, run the following command to install the Let's Encrypt SSL on your website:

certbot --nginx -d grafana.example.com

You will be asked to provide a valid email address and accept the term of service as shown below:

Saving debug log to /var/log/letsencrypt/letsencrypt.log
Plugins selected: Authenticator nginx, Installer nginx
Enter email address (used for urgent renewal and security notices) (Enter 'c' to
cancel): [email protected]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Please read the Terms of Service at
https://letsencrypt.org/documents/LE-SA-v1.2-November-15-2017.pdf. You must
agree in order to register with the ACME server at
https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(A)gree/(C)ancel: A

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Would you be willing to share your email address with the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, a founding partner of the Let's Encrypt project and the non-profit
organization that develops Certbot? We'd like to send you email about our work
encrypting the web, EFF news, campaigns, and ways to support digital freedom.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(Y)es/(N)o: Y
Obtaining a new certificate
Performing the following challenges:
http-01 challenge for grafana.example.com
Waiting for verification...
Cleaning up challenges
Deploying Certificate to VirtualHost /etc/nginx/conf.d/grafana.conf

Next, choose whether or not to redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS as shown below:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1: No redirect - Make no further changes to the webserver configuration.
2: Redirect - Make all requests redirect to secure HTTPS access. Choose this for
new sites, or if you're confident your site works on HTTPS. You can undo this
change by editing your web server's configuration.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Select the appropriate number [1-2] then [enter] (press 'c' to cancel): 2

Type 2 and hit Enter to finish the installation. You should see the following output:

Redirecting all traffic on port 80 to ssl in /etc/nginx/conf.d/grafana.conf

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Congratulations! You have successfully enabled https://grafana.example.com

You should test your configuration at:
https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=grafana.example.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

IMPORTANT NOTES:
 - Congratulations! Your certificate and chain have been saved at:
   /etc/letsencrypt/live/grafana.example.com/fullchain.pem
   Your key file has been saved at:
   /etc/letsencrypt/live/grafana.example.com/privkey.pem
   Your cert will expire on 2022-05-07. To obtain a new or tweaked
   version of this certificate in the future, simply run certbot again
   with the "certonly" option. To non-interactively renew *all* of
   your certificates, run "certbot renew"
 - Your account credentials have been saved in your Certbot
   configuration directory at /etc/letsencrypt. You should make a
   secure backup of this folder now. This configuration directory will
   also contain certificates and private keys obtained by Certbot so
   making regular backups of this folder is ideal.
 - If you like Certbot, please consider supporting our work by:

   Donating to ISRG / Let's Encrypt:   https://letsencrypt.org/donate
   Donating to EFF:                    https://eff.org/donate-le

 - We were unable to subscribe you the EFF mailing list because your
   e-mail address appears to be invalid. You can try again later by
   visiting https://act.eff.org.

Conclusion

Congratulations! you have successfully installed Grafana 8 with Nginx and Let's Encrypt SSL on Debian 11. You can now add your remote hosts and start monitoring them from the Grafana dashboard. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions.

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How to Install Grafana 8 Monitoring Tool on Debian 11

On this page

Prerequisites

Getting Started

Install Grafana 8

Install Nginx as a Reverse Proxy for Grafana

Access Grafana Dashboard

Secure Grafana with Let's Encrypt

Conclusion

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