How to Run PromQL Queries in YugabyteDB Anywhere Embedded Prometheus

Environment

• YugabyteDB Anywhere (YBA): All versions

Summary

YugabyteDB Anywhere (YBA) includes an embedded Prometheus instance that allows you to run custom PromQL queries for advanced monitoring and troubleshooting.

Steps to Run PromQL Queries

1. Navigate to the Metrics Page

   • In the YBA UI, go to Universes > [Your Universe Name] > Metrics.

2. Open the Prometheus Query Editor

   • On any metrics graph, click the Prometheus Icon (top-right corner).
   • This opens a Prometheus query editor window.

3. Enter and Run Your PromQL Query

   • Paste your PromQL query into the editor and execute it to view the results.

   Example Queries:

label_replace(
  avg by (exported_instance) (
    avg_over_time(generic_heap_size{node_prefix="yb-demo-yugabyte-disk-demo-rf1",metric_id= "yb.tabletserver"}[$__interval])
  )
  , "label", "$2", "exported_instance", "(yb-demo-yugabyte-disk-demo-rf1-)?(.*)$"
)
or
label_replace(
  avg (
    server_memory_soft_limit{node_prefix="yb-demo-yugabyte-disk-demo-rf1",metric_id= "yb.tabletserver"}
  )
  , "label", "max soft_limit", "label", "")
or
label_replace(
  max (
    server_memory_hard_limit{node_prefix="yb-demo-yugabyte-disk-demo-rf1",metric_id= "yb.tabletserver"}
  )
  , "label", "max hard_limit", "label", "")    

• Node_prefix value can be found on the Nodes tab for the Universe. For example, if there is a node called yb-demo-yugabyte-disk-demo-rf1-n1, the correct prefix value for this Universe is yb-demo-yugabyte-disk-demo-rf1.
• Make sure the Prometheus UI port is not blocked, otherwise user won't be able to open Prometheus UI in browser and thus will not be able to run PromQLs. 

When to Use Custom PromQL Queries

Custom PromQL queries are useful when you need deeper insights beyond standard dashboards. Some scenarios include:

• Troubleshooting performance issues
  Identify memory bottlenecks, CPU pressure, or query latency trends.

• Validating resource configuration
  Compare actual heap usage with configured soft and hard memory limits.

• Custom monitoring dashboards
  Build targeted graphs for specific universes, nodes, or workloads.

• Alert fine-tuning
  Run test queries before creating custom alerts in YBA.

Additional Resources

• YBA Metrics and Monitoring Documentation

Reference: SUPPORT-775