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How to Start Grafana on Minikube: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Minikube

Minikube is a popular tool for running Kubernetes locally, and Grafana is widely used for monitoring and observability. This guide walks you through deploying Grafana on Minikube, making it easy to monitor and visualize data.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have the following installed:

  1. Minikube (latest version).
  2. kubectl (Kubernetes CLI).
  3. Basic understanding of Kubernetes and Helm (optional but helpful).

Step 1: Start Minikube

  1. Open a terminal and start Minikube:

bash

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minikube start

  1. Confirm the Minikube cluster is running:

bash

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kubectl cluster-info

Step 2: Enable Minikube Add-ons (Optional)

For a better experience, enable the Ingress add-on:

bash

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minikube addons enable ingress

Step 3: Deploy Grafana

You can deploy Grafana using Helm or Kubernetes manifests.

Option A: Using Helm

  1. Add the Grafana Helm repository:

bash

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helm repo add grafana https://grafana.github.io/helm-charts

helm repo update

  1. Install Grafana:

bash

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helm install grafana grafana/grafana –namespace grafana –create-namespace

  1. Verify the installation:

bash

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kubectl get all -n grafana

Option B: Using Kubernetes Manifests

If you don’t use Helm, you can apply YAML manifests:

  1. Create a namespace for Grafana:

bash

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kubectl create namespace grafana

  1. Apply a Grafana deployment:

bash

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kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/grafana/grafana/main/deploy/kubernetes/grafana-deployment.yaml -n grafana

  1. Confirm the pods are running:

bash

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kubectl get pods -n grafana

Step 4: Expose Grafana Service

To access Grafana, expose the service using a NodePort or port-forwarding.

Using NodePort

  1. Edit the Grafana service to use NodePort:

bash

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kubectl edit svc grafana -n grafana

Change the type field to NodePort.

  1. Find the NodePort:

bash

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kubectl get svc -n grafana

  1. Access Grafana in your browser:

text

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http://<Minikube_IP>:<NodePort>

Find the Minikube IP using:

bash

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minikube ip

Using Port-Forward

Alternatively, use kubectl port-forward:

bash

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kubectl port-forward svc/grafana 3000:3000 -n grafana

Access Grafana at http://localhost:3000.

Step 5: Log in to Grafana

The default credentials for Grafana are:

  • Username: admin
  • Password: admin

You’ll be prompted to change the password upon first login.

Minikube

Step 6: Configure Grafana

  1. Add data sources like Prometheus or Loki to Grafana for visualization.
  2. Create dashboards for monitoring your Kubernetes cluster or other resources.

Conclusion

Starting Grafana on Minikube is straightforward with the right tools and setup. Whether you use Helm or manifests, you can quickly deploy Grafana to monitor and visualize your data. Take advantage of Minikube’s local Kubernetes environment to experiment with Grafana’s features and improve your monitoring capabilities.

FAQs

Can I install Prometheus along with Grafana on Minikube?
Yes, Prometheus can be installed using Helm or manifests, and it pairs seamlessly with Grafana.

How do I access Grafana externally on Minikube?
You can expose the Grafana service as a NodePort or configure an Ingress resource.

What is the default port for Grafana?
The default port for Grafana is 3000.

How do I troubleshoot if Grafana doesn’t start?
Check the pod logs using:

bash

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kubectl logs <grafana-pod-name> -n grafana

Is Grafana free to use?
Yes, Grafana is open-source and free to use, though it also offers premium features and enterprise editions.

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