Top 5 Datadog Dashboards

Staring at a blank screen, trying to make sense of endless metrics? You’re not alone. For many DevOps and SRE teams, Datadog dashboards can feel like a deep ocean of data. It can be tough to know where to start or what to focus on. The good news is, you don’t need to be a dashboard design pro to get the most out of Datadog. With the right approach, you can craft dashboards that give you quick, useful insights into your systems. That’s why, in this article, we’re going to look at five top Datadog dashboards. They will help you to gain better control of your infrastructure.

The Power of a Great Datadog Dashboard

A well-designed dashboard is more than just a collection of charts. It’s a window into the health and performance of your systems. When done right, a dashboard can quickly show problems, highlight trends, and let you know how well your applications are doing. It’s about seeing the signals within the noise, and knowing what to do when those signals show a change.

The aim isn’t to cram every possible metric onto one screen. Instead, it’s about picking the right data, presented in a way that’s clear and easy to understand. Think of it as telling a story. Each chart is a sentence, and the dashboard is the entire narrative. It should tell the state of your infrastructure in a simple and visual way. With these points in mind, let’s look at the top five Datadog dashboards.

Top 5 Datadog Dashboards

Here are the five dashboards that will make your life easier. They include:

1. The Overview Dashboard: This is your high-level view of everything that matters.
2. The Application Performance Dashboard: This lets you focus on your applications’ health.
3. The Infrastructure Monitoring Dashboard: A deep dive into the performance of servers and resources.
4. The Security Insights Dashboard: A look at the security posture of your systems.
5. The Custom Metric Dashboard: Tailor it to your unique needs and focus on what’s important to you.

Now, let’s look at these dashboards in more detail.

1. The Overview Dashboard: Your Single Pane of Glass

This dashboard should be your starting point. It’s the place to check first to see if there’s something wrong. The Overview Dashboard is your single pane of glass, showing the most vital metrics at a glance. It’s a high-level view of your systems and apps. This is a crucial first step before digging deeper into specific areas.

What to Include

• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Choose a few key numbers to put at the top. Things like error rates, request latency, and CPU usage. These are the main things you want to keep an eye on.
• System Status: Put up charts that show your services and how healthy they are. This can be as simple as a list of services with a green, yellow, or red dot.
• Alert Summary: Add a summary of current alerts. Show which alerts are active and how urgent they are.
• High-Level Resource Usage: Have charts that track things like CPU, memory, and disk use, for the big things. These numbers are for your entire system and should show any big changes.
• User Activity: Put up charts that show the user activity on your apps or systems. This includes unique users, active sessions, or how many actions have been done.
• Response Time: Have a gauge to show the current response time of the main services and also show the average response time.

Why It Matters

This dashboard is your go-to for quick health checks. It quickly shows if everything is fine or if something needs attention. It lets you see problems early and start fixing them before they get worse. The Overview Dashboard is also great for team check-ins. It gives everyone a simple view of the system’s state, with a clear overview.

Making It Work For You

• Keep It Clean: Don’t make it cluttered. Only add the main metrics that matter the most to you.
• Use Colors: Use colors to show the different system states and also alert severity. This lets you see problems fast.
• Make It Real-Time: Show numbers in real-time for the best and fastest view of your systems.

The Overview Dashboard is not about showing all the data at once. It’s about a clear and easy-to-understand view of your entire system.

2. The Application Performance Dashboard: Focus on Your Code

Your apps are the heart of your business. So, keeping them running smoothly is key. The Application Performance Dashboard is all about looking at how well your apps are doing. It lets you go deep into their speed, errors, and overall health.

What to Include

• Request Latency: This is a key number. It shows how long it takes for your app to respond to a request. Chart it so that you see changes and trends over time.
• Error Rates: Keep a close eye on error rates. A quick change in these numbers can mean there’s a real problem that needs fixing.
• Throughput: See how many requests your app handles. This number can show you how well the app is handling its work load.
• Database Performance: If your app uses a database, track its performance. This will include query time, number of connections, and error rates.
• Service Dependencies: Show a view of your app’s dependencies. The services that are connected to the application. This can include any external APIs or microservices. This helps you know if a problem is coming from another service.
• Deployment Tracking: Use a chart or a widget to show the frequency of your deployments. This helps to correlate the new deployments with performance changes.

Why It Matters

This dashboard is key to making sure your apps are working as they should. By looking at these numbers, you can see bottlenecks, slow code, or problems with databases. This lets you make changes before they affect users. The Application Performance Dashboard also helps you track how well your code is doing after changes are deployed. You can see if a new feature helps or harms your app’s performance.

Making It Work For You

• Focus On Key Metrics: Choose the numbers that show the most about how your app is doing. Don’t add too many things that can clutter the view.
• Use Time Series: It’s best to use time series charts. This helps you see trends and find patterns over time, especially latency and error rates.
• Set Thresholds: Set alerts to trigger if your numbers go over a certain level. This will let you know right away when something is wrong.

The Application Performance Dashboard is all about getting into the details of your code. It is about ensuring your apps are fast, stable, and reliable.

3. The Infrastructure Monitoring Dashboard: Under the Hood

The Infrastructure Monitoring Dashboard dives deep into the hardware and software that runs your systems. This is about making sure your servers, networks, and other resources are running well. It’s where you track the physical and virtual parts that make your apps work.

What to Include

• CPU Usage: Track the amount of CPU use across all your servers. This lets you find the servers that are working too hard.
• Memory Usage: Monitor how much memory your servers are using. If you’re running low on memory it will slow the system.
• Disk Usage: Keep an eye on how much disk space your servers are using. When the disk is full, it can stop the system.
• Network Traffic: Track how much data is going in and out of your network. This helps find network issues or traffic spikes.
• Load Balancer Metrics: If you use load balancers, keep track of their performance. Things like request rates, server health, and response time.
• Container Metrics: If you’re using containers, track their performance, such as memory usage, restarts, and CPU usage.

Why It Matters

This dashboard lets you see what’s going on at the hardware and software level. It lets you find resources that are over or under used. This helps you to fix problems that might be slowing down your system or even stop it. This dashboard also helps you plan better for the future. For example, if you see that a server is using all of its CPU, then you know it’s time to make some changes.

Making It Work For You

• Group Resources: Put your servers in groups by function. This makes it easier to see problems and also trends with specific types of hardware or software.
• Use Heat Maps: Use heat maps to see resource use at a quick glance. Red spots can point to servers that need your attention fast.
• Compare Regions: If you have resources across different locations, then compare the performance of these regions. This helps find any local problems.

The Infrastructure Monitoring Dashboard goes deep into the engine of your system. It lets you keep all of your hardware and software working at the top level.

4. The Security Insights Dashboard: Keeping it Safe

Security is a key part of any system. The Security Insights Dashboard helps you keep track of your system’s security posture. This lets you see any threats and fix problems before they harm your system. This dashboard is about giving a view of your system’s security in a clear way.

What to Include

• Failed Login Attempts: Track how many login attempts fail. This helps show possible brute-force attacks or problems with user access.
• Unauthorized Access Attempts: Keep an eye on any unauthorized access attempts. This will show any bad actors trying to get into your system.
• Vulnerability Scans: Show the results of any security scans you do. This can include vulnerabilities that were found on any system or applications.
• Traffic Anomalies: Look for any strange traffic patterns. This can show a possible attack.
• Security Compliance: Keep track of your security compliance. This helps you meet industry standards.
• Alerts on Security Events: Show any recent alerts based on security-related events.

Why It Matters

This dashboard is key for finding any security risks before they can hurt your system. It can quickly spot unusual activities that might show a security breach. It also lets you keep up to date on compliance and any changes you need to make to keep the system secure.

Making It Work For You

• Set Clear Alerts: Set alerts for any security events that are high risk. This helps to respond fast to any breach.
• Segment by Region: View the security posture by region or environment, such as development and production. This can show if a specific place needs more attention.
• Use Visuals: Use visuals that are clear and simple to see. Use red to show critical security threats.

The Security Insights Dashboard lets you keep your system secure. This helps keep your systems and data safe from any security threats.

5. The Custom Metric Dashboard: Your Unique View

Sometimes you need a dashboard that is totally your own. The Custom Metric Dashboard is all about building a view that is exactly tailored to your needs. This can be anything from specific business numbers to detailed technical metrics.

What to Include

• Business Metrics: Show data about your business like sales numbers, the number of new sign-ups, or any other custom metrics.
• Specific App Metrics: Show detailed data on a specific part of your system or application.
• Combined Metrics: Bring in data from different places, combining data from your infrastructure, application, and business metrics in one view.
• Custom Queries: Make queries that are unique to your specific needs, pulling exactly the numbers you need.
• Experimental Data: Show any experimental data, such as A/B test metrics or the results of specific projects.
• Third-Party Integration: Bring data from other sources into this dashboard, connecting to tools that are unique to your system.

Why It Matters

This dashboard is powerful. It lets you track exactly what matters most to you. It’s not only useful for one-off needs, but for showing any metrics that are outside the standard dashboards. You can look at numbers that are specific to your business. This dashboard helps you to find and fix any custom problems.

Making It Work For You

• Know Your Needs: Before you start building the dashboard, know exactly what you need to see. This will help you focus the data that matters the most.
• Test and Adjust: Put up the dashboard and then review how well it meets your needs. Change things if they are not helpful or if you need different metrics.
• Use Datadog’s Query Language: Know how to use Datadog’s query language to make your own charts and get data in the way you want.

The Custom Metric Dashboard is all about showing data in a way that is best for you. It is where you can view and track the numbers that really matter for your business and team.

Key Tips for Effective Dashboards

Making the most out of your dashboards is not just about putting the right charts in the right places. It is about taking care with the design and the way the data is used. Here are some key tips that will help you to make sure your dashboards are effective:

Clear and Simple Layout

The design of your dashboard should be simple and clear. The most important information should be at the top. Use different sections to divide the data. This helps you read and find things quickly. Keep the design clear and easy to see so anyone can use the dashboards.

Consistent Use of Colors

Use colors in a consistent way. Red should show issues or alerts. Green shows that everything is okay. This clear color-coding helps you understand the data at a glance. Consistency is important. Once the color coding is set up, don’t change it without a clear reason.

Real-Time Data

Always use real-time data on your dashboards. It helps you see the current state of the system. Real-time views help find and fix issues faster. This is especially important for the main dashboards. Any delay in showing the data can impact how fast you respond to problems.

Specific Metrics

Keep focused on the important metrics and numbers. Only track numbers that help you with decision-making. Too many metrics just make the dashboard too busy. You have to make sure every chart and gauge on the dashboard is there for a good reason.

Make Use of Alerts

Set alerts for the metrics you track. This will let you know if the system has a problem. Make sure alerts are based on the most important issues. Clear and timely alerts allow you to respond to problems faster. Do not have too many alerts, that can cause alert fatigue.

Update and Refine

Your dashboards are not static. Keep them updated. Always change them as your system or team changes. Set a schedule to go over and update the dashboards on a regular basis. Check how well your dashboards are working and fix any problems. Make them better as time goes on.

Provide Context and Tooltips

Use tooltips and labels to show extra information. This helps people better understand the data in the charts. You should always add tooltips that show what a metric means and its purpose. Clear context for every number makes it easier to use the data in the dashboards.

Collaborate With Your Team

Involve the entire team in making the dashboards. Their feedback will make the dashboards better. Make sure everyone on the team is trained on how to use the dashboards and know how to use the metrics for their jobs. This makes dashboards more helpful.

By following these tips, you’ll be able to create dashboards that show data in a way that is useful and helpful. They’ll help you to see what’s happening in your system, fix problems faster, and make better decisions.

Putting It All Together

Datadog dashboards are more than just pretty charts. They are a vital tool for any DevOps or SRE team. By using the right dashboards you can keep your systems running, spot problems early, and make sure everything is safe and secure. We looked at five dashboards in this article. The Overview Dashboard, the Application Performance Dashboard, the Infrastructure Monitoring Dashboard, the Security Insights Dashboard, and the Custom Metric Dashboard, all of which are key to keeping your system running and safe.

Setting up effective dashboards takes planning, design, and thought. Use the tips and guidelines from this article to make your dashboards work better for your team. And always keep in mind the goal of these dashboards: a clear view of your system. Always keep in mind that dashboards are about making complex data simple. Always make sure they are giving you the right information to make better decisions.

Should You Build Your Own?

The question of “should you build your own” is important and should be carefully considered. Building custom dashboards does offer a high level of control over what you track and how you visualize data. It lets you track specific metrics that are only important to you or your business. The biggest drawback of building a custom dashboard is that it takes a lot of effort and time. It’s also important to remember that the maintenance of those dashboards will also cost time. The dashboards should be always updated to make sure they are aligned with the needs of the team.

The pre-built dashboards on Datadog provide a good starting point. They are great for many common monitoring needs, and they save time and effort to set up a good system. With pre-built dashboards, you can be up and running quickly and see clear data on the different parts of your system. But even the pre-built dashboards can be customized to add specific metrics or change the layout for the best view of your system.

The decision to choose a custom dashboard, pre-built, or a mix of both will be based on your team’s needs, resources, and specific needs. You have to think about the data that you want to track, how often the dashboards should be updated, and how well your team is trained. Do not be afraid to test and adjust, trying both pre-built and custom dashboards to see which ones fit your needs the best. The goal is to build a system that works for you, giving you clear and useful data for your team.