Datadog Agent Agent not collecting Kubernetes metrics

What is Datadog Agent Agent not collecting Kubernetes metrics

Understanding Datadog Agent

Datadog Agent is a powerful tool designed to collect metrics, logs, and traces from your infrastructure. It provides real-time visibility into your systems and applications, helping you monitor performance and troubleshoot issues effectively. When integrated with Kubernetes, the Datadog Agent can collect a wide range of metrics from your Kubernetes clusters, providing insights into resource usage, application performance, and more.

Identifying the Symptom

One common issue users encounter is the Datadog Agent not collecting Kubernetes metrics. This symptom is typically observed when expected metrics from Kubernetes nodes, pods, or containers are missing from the Datadog dashboard. Users may notice gaps in data or complete absence of Kubernetes-related metrics.

Exploring the Issue

The root cause of this issue is often related to configuration problems. Specifically, Kubernetes metrics collection might not be enabled, or the Datadog Agent might not be properly configured to access the Kubernetes API. Without access to the API, the agent cannot retrieve the necessary metrics from the cluster.

Configuration Verification

First, ensure that the Datadog Agent is correctly configured to collect Kubernetes metrics. This involves checking the agent's configuration files and verifying that the necessary settings are enabled.

Steps to Resolve the Issue

Step 1: Enable Kubernetes Metrics Collection

To enable Kubernetes metrics collection, you need to modify the Datadog Agent configuration. Locate the datadog.yaml configuration file, which is typically found in the /etc/datadog-agent directory on your nodes. Ensure that the following settings are enabled:

kubernetes: collect_events: true collect_kubernetes_events: true

For more detailed configuration options, refer to the official Datadog documentation.

Step 2: Verify API Access

Ensure that the Datadog Agent has the necessary permissions to access the Kubernetes API. This typically involves setting up a Kubernetes service account with the appropriate roles and binding it to the Datadog Agent. You can create a service account and cluster role binding using the following commands:

kubectl create serviceaccount datadog-agentkubectl create clusterrolebinding datadog-agent --clusterrole=cluster-admin --serviceaccount=default:datadog-agent

For more information on setting up permissions, visit the Datadog Kubernetes setup guide.

Step 3: Restart the Datadog Agent

After making configuration changes, restart the Datadog Agent to apply the new settings. You can do this by executing the following command on each node:

sudo systemctl restart datadog-agent

Conclusion

By ensuring that Kubernetes metrics collection is enabled and verifying the Datadog Agent's access to the Kubernetes API, you can resolve the issue of missing Kubernetes metrics. Regularly reviewing your configuration and permissions will help maintain seamless monitoring of your Kubernetes clusters. For further assistance, consider reaching out to Datadog Support.