Docker and Databricks Integration

Input and output integration overview

<p>The Docker input plugin allows you to collect metrics from your Docker containers using the Docker Engine API, facilitating enhanced visibility and monitoring of containerized applications.</p>

<p>Use Telegraf’s HTTP output plugin to push metrics straight into a Databricks Lakehouse by calling the SQL Statement Execution API with a JSON-wrapped INSERT or volume PUT command.</p>

Integration details

Docker

<p>The Docker input plugin for Telegraf gathers valuable metrics from the Docker Engine API, providing insights into running containers. This plugin utilizes the Official Docker Client to interface with the Engine API, allowing users to monitor various container states, resource allocations, and performance metrics. With options for filtering containers by names and states, along with customizable tags and labels, this plugin supports flexibility in monitoring containerized applications in diverse environments, whether on local systems or within orchestration platforms like Kubernetes. Additionally, it addresses security considerations by requiring permissions for accessing Docker’s daemon and emphasizes proper configuration when deploying within containerized environments.</p>

Databricks

<p>This configuration turns Telegraf into a lightweight ingestion agent for the Databricks Lakehouse. It leverages the Databricks SQL Statement Execution API 2.0, which accepts authenticated POST requests containing a JSON payload with a <code>statement</code> field. Each Telegraf flush dynamically renders a SQL INSERT (or, for file-based workflows, a <code>PUT ... INTO /Volumes/...</code> command) that lands the metrics into a Unity Catalog table or volume governed by Lakehouse security. Under the hood Databricks stores successful inserts as Delta Lake transactions, enabling ACID guarantees, time-travel, and scalable analytics. Operators can point the <code>warehouse_id</code> at any serverless or classic SQL warehouse, and all authentication is handled with a PAT or service-principal token—no agents or JDBC drivers required. Because Telegraf’s HTTP output supports custom headers, batching, TLS, and proxy settings, the same pattern scales from edge IoT gateways to container sidecars, consolidating infrastructure telemetry, application logs, or business KPIs directly into the Lakehouse for BI, ML, and Lakehouse Monitoring. Unity Catalog volumes provide a governed staging layer when file uploads and <code>COPY INTO</code> are preferred, and the approach aligns with Databricks’ recommended ingestion practices for partners and ISVs.</p>

Configuration

Docker

Databricks

Input and output integration examples

Docker

<ol> <li> <p><strong>Monitoring the Performance of Containerized Applications</strong>: Use the Docker input plugin in order to track the CPU, memory, disk I/O, and network activity of applications running in Docker containers. By collecting these metrics, DevOps teams can proactively manage resource allocation, troubleshoot performance bottlenecks, and ensure optimal application performance across different environments.</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Integrating with Kubernetes</strong>: Leverage this plugin to gather metrics from Docker containers orchestrated by Kubernetes. By filtering out unnecessary Kubernetes labels and focusing on key metrics, teams can streamline their monitoring solutions and create dashboards that provide insights into the overall health of microservices running within the Kubernetes cluster.</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Capacity Planning and Resource Optimization</strong>: Use the metrics collected by the Docker input plugin to perform capacity planning for Docker deployments. Analyzing usage patterns helps identify underutilized resources and over-provisioned containers, guiding decisions on scaling up or down based on actual usage trends.</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Automated Alerting for Container Anomalies</strong>: Set up alerting rules based on the metrics collected through the Docker plugin to notify teams of unusual spikes in resource usage or service disruptions. This proactive monitoring approach helps maintain service reliability and optimize the performance of containerized applications.</p> </li> </ol>

Databricks

<ol> <li><strong>Edge-to-Lakehouse Telemetry Pipe</strong>: Deploy Telegraf on factory PLCs to sample vibration metrics and post them every second to a serverless SQL warehouse. Delta tables power PowerBI dashboards that alert engineers when thresholds drift.</li> <li><strong>Blue-Green CI/CD Rollout Metrics</strong>: Attach a Telegraf sidecar to each Kubernetes canary pod; it inserts container stats into a Unity Catalog table tagged by <code>deployment_id</code>, letting Databricks SQL compare error-rate percentiles and auto-rollback underperforming versions.</li> <li><strong>SaaS Usage Metering</strong>: Insert per-tenant API-call counters via the HTTP plugin; a nightly Lakehouse query aggregates usage into invoices, eliminating custom metering micro-services.</li> <li><strong>Security Forensics Lake</strong>: Upload JSON batches of Suricata IDS events to a Unity Catalog volume using <code>PUT</code> commands, then run <code>COPY INTO</code> for near-real-time enrichment with Delta Live Tables, producing a searchable threat-intel lake that joins network logs with user session data.</li> </ol>

Feedback

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