This note is about [[Prometheus#Prometheus Real-time Data Visualization Tool]] , however, it would be useful to learn about the etymology around the word:"Prometheus". # The word: *Prometheus* Prometheus is a figure from Greek mythology who plays a significant role in both the creation of humanity and the theft of fire from the gods. He is a Titan, a race of powerful deities who predate the Olympian gods. According to the myth, Prometheus was entrusted by Zeus to create humans. To give humanity an advantage over other creatures, Prometheus decided to steal fire from Mount Olympus and share it with them. This act angered Zeus, who punished Prometheus by chaining him to a rock in the Caucasus Mountains. Each day, an eagle would come and eat his liver, which would regenerate overnight, leading to eternal torment. Prometheus became known as a symbol of rebellion and defiance against oppressive authority. He represented human progress, intelligence, and enlightenment. Many ancient Greek playwrights depicted Prometheus as a heroic character fighting for justice and freedom. The story of Prometheus has inspired numerous works of art, literature, and music throughout history. One notable example is Aeschylus' play "Prometheus Bound," where he portrays Prometheus as a symbol of human suffering and endurance. In modern times, Prometheus has gained further significance with the scientific concept known as "Prometheus" or "Promethean." In this context, it refers to advances in technology and knowledge that bring progress and innovation but can also have unintended consequences. Overall, Prometheus remains an enduring figure whose story continues to resonate with themes of rebellion against oppression and the pursuit of knowledge for the betterment of humanity. # Prometheus: Real-time Data Visualization Tool Prometheus is a popular open-source software tool for real-time data visualization and monitoring. It was originally developed by SoundCloud and later donated to the [[Cloud Native Computing Foundation]] ([[CNCF]]). Prometheus is widely used in the field of DevOps and is a key component of the CNCF's Cloud Native Computing Stack. Prometheus is designed to collect, store, and analyze metrics and time series data. It employs a pull-based model, where it periodically scrapes metrics from configured targets such as web servers, databases, or other applications. These metrics are then stored in a time-series database for further analysis. One of the key features of Prometheus is its powerful query language called PromQL. PromQL allows users to query and aggregate collected data to gain insights into system performance, resource utilization, or any other metric that has been instrumented. Prometheus also provides a web-based graphical user interface called the Prometheus Expression Browser. This interface allows users to explore collected metrics visually through customizable graphs, charts, and dashboards. Additionally, Prometheus supports alerting capabilities that allow users to define rules based on specific conditions or thresholds. When these conditions are met, Prometheus can trigger alerts via various channels such as email, Slack, PagerDuty, or other notification systems. Prometheus has become highly popular within the cloud-native ecosystem due to its simplicity, scalability, and extensive integration capabilities. It can be easily integrated with various tools and platforms such as Kubernetes for container orchestration or Grafana for advanced visualization options. # Prometheus and Grafana (by Bard) [[Prometheus]] and [[Literature/PKM/Tools/Open Source/Grafana]] are two powerful open-source tools that work hand-in-hand to provide comprehensive monitoring and observability for applications and systems. They're like a tag team, each playing a crucial role: **Prometheus:** - **The data collector:** Imagine Prometheus as the tireless scout, gathering and storing mountains of metrics from your systems. It scrapes data from applications, services, and infrastructure, keeping tabs on everything from CPU and memory usage to request rates and response times. [Opens in a new window](https://blog.balena.io/monitoring-the-edge-with-prometheus-pt-1/)[blog.balena.io](https://blog.balena.io/monitoring-the-edge-with-prometheus-pt-1/) Prometheus monitoring system - **The numbers whiz:** Prometheus stores this data efficiently as time series, allowing you to analyze trends and patterns over time. Think of it as a giant warehouse where each metric has its own shelf, neatly labeled with timestamps. - **The query master:** Prometheus speaks a language called PromQL, which lets you ask specific questions about your data. Want to know how CPU usage has changed over the past hour? Or compare request rates across different servers? PromQL is your key. **Grafana:** - **The data storyteller:** Now, all this data collected by Prometheus is raw, just a bunch of numbers. That's where Grafana comes in, the maestro of visualization. It transforms these numbers into beautiful and informative graphs, charts, and dashboards. [Opens in a new window](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/fundamentals/dashboards-overview/)[grafana.com](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/fundamentals/dashboards-overview/) Grafana dashboards - **Insights at a glance:** Grafana brings your metrics to life, showcasing trends, anomalies, and correlations in a way that's easy to understand. You can see how metrics interact, identify potential issues, and even predict future behavior. - **Customization king:** Grafana is incredibly flexible. You can build dashboards tailored to your specific needs, choose from various visualization types, and even set alerts to notify you when things go beyond normal thresholds. **Together, they're unstoppable:** Think of Prometheus as the eyes and ears of your system, constantly collecting information. And Grafana is the brain, interpreting that information and giving you the insights you need to make informed decisions. They're a powerful duo, working together to provide a clear view of your system's health and performance. Here's an analogy to solidify their relationship: Imagine [[Prometheus]] as a diligent sous chef, meticulously preparing all the ingredients (data) needed for the dish. Then, [[Literature/PKM/Tools/Open Source/Grafana]] takes over as the head chef, skillfully cooking and presenting those ingredients into a delicious and visually appealing meal (insights) that everyone can enjoy and understand. # Who developed Prometheus Prometheus was developed by the [[Cloud Native Computing Foundation]] ([[CNCF]]), which is a Linux Foundation project. It was originally created by a team at SoundCloud in 2012 and later donated to the CNCF in 2016. Since then, Prometheus has become one of the most popular open-source monitoring and alerting systems in the cloud-native ecosystem. # Conclusion Overall, Prometheus serves as a powerful tool for real-time data visualization and monitoring in modern software development environments. With its ability to collect data from diverse sources and provide actionable insights through flexible querying and visualization options, Prometheus helps teams effectively monitor their systems' performance and make informed decisions to optimize their applications. # References ```dataview Table title as Title, authors as Authors where contains(subject, "Prometheus") ```