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Dashboards
The IBM RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin provides pre-built sample dashboards that you can install, as well as the ability to import dashboards from other sources and integrate with IBM Z OMEGAMON dashboards.
Installing sample dashboards
After you install and enable the IBM RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin, you can install the DDS sample dashboards and Prometheus sample dashboards to visualize RMF metrics.

Overview
Grafana is a platform for monitoring and visualizing data. It enables users to create, explore, and share dashboards that are interactive and customizable. The IBM® RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin provides effortless analysis and visualization of Resource Measurement Facility for z/OS (RMF for z/OS) Monitor III metrics and reports within the Grafana platform. Thereby, you can monitor and analyze the health and performance of applications.
Release notes
This article covers the new features and enhancements in the IBM RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin.
Prerequisites
Before you install the RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin, ensure that the following software requirements are met.
Installation
You must install the RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin to analyze and visualize RMF Monitor III metrics and reports.
Upgrading the plugin
You must ensure that the RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin is up to date to leverage its enhanced functionalities. You can do so by either installing or upgrading to the latest version of the RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin.
Creating RMF data sources
To access RMF Monitor III metrics in Grafana, you need to connect to the Distributed Data Server (DDS) by adding an RMF data source.
Dashboards
The IBM RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin provides pre-built sample dashboards that you can install, as well as the ability to import dashboards from other sources and integrate with IBM Z OMEGAMON dashboards.
- Installing sample dashboards
  After you install and enable the IBM RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin, you can install the DDS sample dashboards and Prometheus sample dashboards to visualize RMF metrics.
- Prometheus sample dashboards
  The RMF Distributed Data Server exposes Monitor III data to third-party tools using the OpenMetrics exposition format.
- Integrating DDS dashboards with OMEGAMON Web UI
  To enhance visibility and provide deeper insights, the DDS dashboards can be integrated with IBM Z OMEGAMON Web UI dashboards.
- Importing Performance Monitoring dashboards
  You can import dashboards exported from RMF Performance Monitoring (.po files) into the IBM RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin. The import process automatically creates the associated data sources and converts the dashboards to Grafana format.
Applying visualization to RMF data
By adding panels to dashboards, you can effectively present your RMF data in a visual format. Each panel must require at least one query to display a significant visualization.
IBM RMF query languages
In Grafana, queries are essential for fetching and transforming data from RMF data sources.
RMF Variable Query syntax
Variables are a powerful tool to create more interactive and dynamic dashboards. They offer a way to replace hard-coded values in metric queries and panel titles with placeholders for values.
Alerts
Grafana Alerting feature provides a reliable solution to detect and respond to system issues in real time.
Historical data
In Grafana, you can view historical data using absolute and relative time ranges.
Error types
Whenever you encounter issues while using the IBM RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin, you can view detailed error messages that contain sufficient information to help you identify and troubleshoot the problem.
Troubleshooting issues
This section guides how to analyze and address typical issues that may arise when using the IBM® RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin.
Grafana through z/OSMF
When you use IBM® z/OS Management Facility to monitor the performance of the z/OS sysplexes in your environment, you can also access Grafana dashboards from z/OSMF.
PDF Guide
You can find the link to view or download IBM RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin user guide as a PDF file.

Installing sample dashboards

After you install and enable the IBM RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin, you can install the DDS sample dashboards and Prometheus sample dashboards to visualize RMF metrics.

Before you begin

You must have completed the following tasks:

Installed the IBM RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin. See Installing the RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin v2.0.1 or later.
Created at least one RMF data source. See Creating RMF data sources.

About this task

The RMF for z/OS Grafana plugin provides sample dashboards that demonstrate how to visualize RMF Monitor III metrics. When you install the sample dashboards, the plugin creates a folder with a reserved UID and adds the dashboards to that folder. The folder and the dashboards are not owned by the plugin and can be managed by users.

Procedure

Go to More apps > IBM RMF.

Note: The navigation of the Grafana user interface can differ based on the Grafana version that is currently installed.
On the IBM RMF page, locate the DDS Sample Dashboards section.

The destination folder path is displayed under the section heading. The DDS sample dashboards are installed into the IBM RMF (DDS) folder.
Click Install DDS Dashboards.
The plugin creates the IBM RMF (DDS) folder and installs all DDS sample dashboards into it.
Optional: To install Prometheus sample dashboards, locate the Prometheus Sample Dashboards section and click Install Prometheus Dashboards.

The Prometheus sample dashboards are installed into the IBM RMF (Prometheus) folder. For information about configuring Prometheus to scrape RMF metrics, see Prometheus sample dashboards.
Optional: To update or reset the dashboards to their default state, click Update / Reset.

Note: Clicking Update / Reset deletes the destination folder with the reserved UID and re-installs all sample dashboards. Any customizations made to the sample dashboards will be lost.
Optional: To remove installed sample dashboards, click Delete.

This removes the destination folder and all dashboards within it.

Results

The sample dashboards are installed successfully. After the installation is complete, the option changes to Go to DDS Dashboards (or Go to Prometheus Dashboards), which navigates to the dashboard folder.

Important: After the installation is complete, you may need to reload the page to see the folders under the Dashboards section.