[Release] Grafana Plugin 3.0.0-beta.1

Announcements
#1

We are happy to announce the next major release of our Checkmk Grafana data source plugin! It underwent a major update, as the Web-API used by this plugin has been removed with Checkmk 2.2. We rewrote both the UI and the underlying code to improve usability and pave the way for future changes.

The pre-release version is already available here, and it is ready for you to test. Please let us know what you think! Bugs can be reported directly on GitHub, and more general questions are welcome here in the forum.

To update from the previous version, you will need to set the correct version of your Checkmk site in the data source settings (see Breaking Changes below).

Checkmk Grafana plugin is used to directly query data from your Checkmk site in Grafana. See chapter Integrating Checkmk in Grafana in the official documentation to learn more about how to use it.

Highlights

  • Checkmk 2.2.0 Support

    • The Plugin is able to fetch data from Checkmk 2.2.0 and current daily builds

  • UI improvements: Clearer layout for both the RAW and CEE Query Editor

    • RAW filters are now displayed vertically aligned
    • The filter type of existing filters can no longer be changed, they have to be removed, and another filter can be added.
    • Errors in the Query Editor Fields are more prominently featured in the inputs themselves

  • Lines displayed in the Grafana graphs are now displayed in the same color as in Checkmk interface

Breaking Changes

  • Wording

  • “Template” Graphs are now called “Predefined Graphs”

  • “Metric” Graphs are now called “Single Metric”

  • Configuration

    • A version range dropdown has been added to the data source Configuration
      • This defaults to ‘>= 2.2’
      • You have to adjust this manually if you are still using a Checkmk Version below 2.2.0
5 Likes
#2

Hello Philipp,
what about Hostname Variables? Is this feature now supported?
So far, I always get the following error, wehen using hostname variables:

“Template variables could not be initialized: Template Variable Support not implemented.”

regards
Christian

#3

Hello Christian,

sadly, we were unable to address variable support yet. We have the feature on our radar and given our new foundation for future work, we hope to ship it soon.

Regards
Philipp

1 Like
#4

Okay, thanks for the info.
Very sad that this feature is still not implemented. For almost 2 years, several customers say that you can’t actually use the plugin properly without variable support.

Regards
Christian

#5

Hi @CFriedrich,
on our last conference, we said, that the next new feature will be the implementation of the variable support. And we will keep our word. As the support for the Web-API has been removed with the upcoming Checkmk version, we had to cover that problem first.
All other changes are more or less side effects of the transition to the Rest-API, or has been part of an initial training to get two new colleagues into the topic/plugin.

The support of variables is not off the table and still will be the next new feature!

3 Likes
#6

HI @marcel.arentz
thanks for this info :slight_smile:

regards
Christian

#7

You’re very welcome! And I also hear you: Variables are the most important feature for this plugin.

#8

Good. But why not publish it at Grafana and sign it. It will also make updates easier.

#9

You can not just publish at Grafana and get it signed. Sign a plugin | Grafana documentation

You can create, sign and distribute plugins with dependent technologies that are closed source or commercially backed, by entering into a Commercial Plugin Subscription with Grafana Labs.

Commercial Plugins are published on the official Grafana catalog, and are available to the Grafana community.

Checkmk was not considered a Community Plugin, even though the plugin also supports our open source edition as well. Therefore we have to enter a “Commercial Plugin Subscription with Grafana Labs”. We have been in discussions since July 2021 with Grafana and thanks to @marcel.arentz’s work and the help of our large customers, we are hopefully on the final steps to close this deal.

3 Likes