Queries And Dashboards

Dashboard and datasource definitions are Ambari metadata. Metric samples remain in VictoriaMetrics and browsers query them only through the bounded Ambari proxy.

Operation	Required permission
Read dashboards/datasources and query metrics	CLUSTER.VIEW_METRICS
Open the Targets route	HOST.VIEW_METRICS
Open service Metrics tabs	SERVICE.VIEW_METRICS
Create/update/delete dashboards	CLUSTER.MANAGE_USER_PERSISTED_DATA
Create/update/delete/default a datasource	AMBARI.MANAGE_SETTINGS

Permissions are also checked by Ambari Server. A visible menu is not authorization to mutate a datasource or dashboard.

Configure A Datasource

1. Open Data sources and inspect the cluster's datasource list.
2. For an Ambari-managed VictoriaMetrics installation without VMAUTH authentication, check the automatically provisioned default datasource.
3. For another authentication or routing topology, create an explicit datasource using the query endpoint reachable from Ambari Server. A VMAGENT ingestion endpoint is not a VictoriaMetrics query endpoint.
4. Configure authentication and TLS through the datasource settings, test the connection, enable the datasource, and select the intended default.
5. Return to the Explorer and verify a recent query before diagnosing dashboard layout.

A failed datasource test can indicate networking, authentication, TLS, tenant routing, or an invalid URL. Fix the boundary reported by the error rather than disabling certificate verification globally.

Start With PromQL

Select a datasource and a time range. These examples use cluster1; substitute the real cluster label.

up{cluster="cluster1",ambari_target="host"}

A value of one indicates a successful scrape for that target. A missing series differs from an explicit zero: check target discovery and the selected time window as well as exporter health.

ambari_agent_memory_available_bytes{cluster="cluster1",ambari_target="host"}

This gauge reports available memory in bytes. Host queries must include ambari_target="host" so similarly named component metrics cannot be mistaken for host metrics.

sum by (host) (
  rate(ambari_agent_cpu_seconds_total{
    cluster="cluster1",ambari_target="host",cpu="total",mode!="idle"
  }[2m])
)

This example sums non-idle CPU time rates from the aggregate CPU series; it is not a pre-normalized utilization percentage. For ready-made capacity/utilization panels, use the packaged Linux dashboards.

Use And Customize Dashboards

The packaged catalog contains eleven dashboards: Linux Fleet Overview, Linux Host Detail, HDFS, NameNode, DataNode, HBase Master, HBase RegionServer, HiveServer2, NodeManager, ResourceManager, and ResourceManager host metrics.

This runtime capture comes from the pinned three-node monitoring evidence. Its values describe that development environment, not a sizing benchmark.

Open a dashboard, choose its datasource/time range, and use its variables to narrow the displayed hosts or components. The service tabs provisioned in this baseline cover HDFS, YARN, HBase, and Hive; other services need their own telemetry and dashboard integration.

The editor supports panel configuration, variables, cloning, JSON import/export, saving, and chart sharing. Keep exported dashboard definitions under version control without embedding datasource secrets. A cloned dashboard can use the packaged queries as a starting point while retaining their cluster and unit conventions.

Ambari binds the reserved cluster variable to the current application cluster and computes __rate_interval as the larger of four query steps or 120 seconds. These reserved variables are not user-editable dashboard filters. Counters use rate or increase; gauges are queried directly.

API Examples

The query endpoint below is relative to Ambari's normal /api/v1 base. Use a datasource ID from the datasource list, not a dashboard ID. Keep the query URL-encoded:

export DATASOURCE_ID=1
curl --fail --get --user "$AMBARI_USER" \
  --data-urlencode 'query=up{cluster="cluster1",ambari_target="host"}' \
  "$AMBARI_URL/api/v1/metrics/$DATASOURCE_ID/api/v1/query"

Range queries use the corresponding query_range endpoint with query, start, end, and step. Set the environment variables described in the deployment guide before using this example.

Limits And Recovery

The query boundary limits a query to 65,536 characters, a range to 11,000 points, a batch to 64 queries, datasource responses to 16 MiB, and configured request timeouts to at most 60 seconds. Narrow the time window or increase the query step before retrying an oversized request.

Panel requests cancel when their context changes, and a failed panel does not erase unrelated successful panels. Distinguish empty data from a permission error, unavailable datasource, stale target, or invalid expression. Check Targets, then the Explorer, before changing a dashboard.

Chart sharing is part of Ambari's authorization and cluster-binding model, not a promise of anonymous public access. Test shares with the intended recipient's permissions.

Implementation References

See the pinned Metrics API client, Monitoring screens, and Linux collectors.