<!--startmeta
custom_edit_url: "https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/src/go/plugin/go.d/collector/consul/README.md"
meta_yaml: "https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/src/go/plugin/go.d/collector/consul/metadata.yaml"
sidebar_label: "Consul"
learn_status: "Published"
learn_rel_path: "Collecting Metrics/Collectors/Applications"
keywords: ['service networking platform', 'hashicorp', 'autopilot']
message: "DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE DIRECTLY, IT IS GENERATED BY THE COLLECTOR'S metadata.yaml FILE"
endmeta-->

# Consul


<img src="https://netdata.cloud/img/consul.svg" width="150"/>


Plugin: go.d.plugin
Module: consul

<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/maintained%20by-Netdata-%2300ab44" />

## Overview

This collector monitors [key metrics](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/docs/agent/telemetry#key-metrics) of Consul Agents: transaction timings, leadership changes, memory usage and more.


It periodically sends HTTP requests to [Consul REST API](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/api-docs).

Used endpoints:

- [/operator/autopilot/health](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/api-docs/operator/autopilot#read-health)
- [/agent/checks](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/api-docs/agent/check#list-checks)
- [/agent/self](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/api-docs/agent#read-configuration)
- [/agent/metrics](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/api-docs/agent#view-metrics)
- [/coordinate/nodes](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/api-docs/coordinate#read-lan-coordinates-for-all-nodes)


This collector is supported on all platforms.

This collector supports collecting metrics from multiple instances of this integration, including remote instances.


### Default Behavior

#### Auto-Detection

This collector discovers instances running on the local host, that provide metrics on port 8500.

On startup, it tries to collect metrics from:

- http://localhost:8500
- http://127.0.0.1:8500


#### Limits

The default configuration for this integration does not impose any limits on data collection.

#### Performance Impact

The default configuration for this integration is not expected to impose a significant performance impact on the system.

## Setup


You can configure the **consul** collector in two ways:

| Method                | Best for                                                                                 | How to                                                                                                                                 |
|-----------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| [**UI**](#via-ui)     | Fast setup without editing files                                                         | Go to **Nodes → Configure this node → Collectors → Jobs**, search for **consul**, then click **+** to add a job. |
| [**File**](#via-file) | If you prefer configuring via file, or need to automate deployments (e.g., with Ansible) | Edit `go.d/consul.conf` and add a job.                                                                        |

:::important

UI configuration requires paid Netdata Cloud plan.

:::


### Prerequisites

#### Enable Prometheus telemetry

[Enable](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/docs/agent/config/config-files#telemetry-prometheus_retention_time) telemetry on your Consul Agent, by increasing the value of `prometheus_retention_time` from `0`.


#### Add required ACLs to Token

Required **only if authentication is enabled**.

|       ACL       | Endpoint                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
|:---------------:|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `operator:read` | [autopilot health status](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/api-docs/operator/autopilot#read-health)                                                                                                                                                                                      |
|   `node:read`   | [checks](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/api-docs/agent/check#list-checks)                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
|  `agent:read`   | [configuration](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/api-docs/agent#read-configuration), [metrics](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/api-docs/agent#view-metrics), and [lan coordinates](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/api-docs/coordinate#read-lan-coordinates-for-all-nodes) |



### Configuration

#### Options

The following options can be defined globally: update_every, autodetection_retry.


<details open><summary>All options</summary>



| Group | Option | Description | Default | Required |
|:------|:-----|:------------|:--------|:---------:|
| **Collection** | update_every | Data collection interval (seconds). | 1 | no |
|  | autodetection_retry | Autodetection retry interval (seconds). Set 0 to disable. | 0 | no |
| **Target** | url | Consul HTTP API URL. | http://localhost:8500 | yes |
|  | timeout | HTTP request timeout (seconds). | 1 | no |
| **HTTP Auth** | acl_token | Consul ACL token sent with every request (`X-Consul-Token` header). |  | no |
|  | username | Username for Basic HTTP authentication. |  | no |
|  | password | Password for Basic HTTP authentication. |  | no |
|  | bearer_token_file | Path to a file containing a bearer token (used for `Authorization: Bearer`). |  | no |
| **TLS** | tls_skip_verify | Skip TLS certificate and hostname verification (insecure). | no | no |
|  | tls_ca | Path to CA bundle used to validate the server certificate. |  | no |
|  | tls_cert | Path to client TLS certificate (for mTLS). |  | no |
|  | tls_key | Path to client TLS private key (for mTLS). |  | no |
| **Proxy** | proxy_url | HTTP proxy URL. |  | no |
|  | proxy_username | Username for proxy Basic HTTP authentication. |  | no |
|  | proxy_password | Password for proxy Basic HTTP authentication. |  | no |
| **Request** | method | HTTP method to use. | GET | no |
|  | body | Request body (e.g., for POST/PUT). |  | no |
|  | headers | Additional HTTP headers (one per line as key: value). |  | no |
|  | not_follow_redirects | Do not follow HTTP redirects. | no | no |
|  | force_http2 | Force HTTP/2 (including h2c over TCP). | no | no |
| **Virtual Node** | vnode | Associates this data collection job with a [Virtual Node](https://learn.netdata.cloud/docs/netdata-agent/configuration/organize-systems-metrics-and-alerts#virtual-nodes). |  | no |


</details>


#### via UI

Configure the **consul** collector from the Netdata web interface:

1. Go to **Nodes**.
2. Select the node **where you want the consul data-collection job to run** and click the :gear: (**Configure this node**). That node will run the data collection.
3. The **Collectors → Jobs** view opens by default.
4. In the Search box, type _consul_ (or scroll the list) to locate the **consul** collector.
5. Click the **+** next to the **consul** collector to add a new job.
6. Fill in the job fields, then click **Test** to verify the configuration and **Submit** to save.
    - **Test** runs the job with the provided settings and shows whether data can be collected.
    - If it fails, an error message appears with details (for example, connection refused, timeout, or command execution errors), so you can adjust and retest.


#### via File

The configuration file name for this integration is `go.d/consul.conf`.

The file format is YAML. Generally, the structure is:

```yaml
update_every: 1
autodetection_retry: 0
jobs:
  - name: some_name1
  - name: some_name2
```
You can edit the configuration file using the [`edit-config`](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/docs/netdata-agent/configuration/README.md#edit-configuration-files) script from the
Netdata [config directory](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/docs/netdata-agent/configuration/README.md#locate-your-config-directory).

```bash
cd /etc/netdata 2>/dev/null || cd /opt/netdata/etc/netdata
sudo ./edit-config go.d/consul.conf
```

##### Examples

###### Basic

An example configuration.

```yaml
jobs:
  - name: local
    url: http://127.0.0.1:8500
    acl_token: "ec15675e-2999-d789-832e-8c4794daa8d7"

```
###### Basic HTTP auth

Local server with basic HTTP authentication.

<details open><summary>Config</summary>

```yaml
jobs:
  - name: local
    url: http://127.0.0.1:8500
    acl_token: "ec15675e-2999-d789-832e-8c4794daa8d7"
    username: foo
    password: bar

```
</details>

###### Multi-instance

> **Note**: When you define multiple jobs, their names must be unique.

Collecting metrics from local and remote instances.


<details open><summary>Config</summary>

```yaml
jobs:
  - name: local
    url: http://127.0.0.1:8500
    acl_token: "ec15675e-2999-d789-832e-8c4794daa8d7"

  - name: remote
    url: http://203.0.113.10:8500
    acl_token: "ada7f751-f654-8872-7f93-498e799158b6"

```
</details>



## Alerts


The following alerts are available:

| Alert name  | On metric | Description |
|:------------|:----------|:------------|
| [ consul_node_health_check_status ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/src/health/health.d/consul.conf) | consul.node_health_check_status | node health check ${label:check_name} has failed on server ${label:node_name} datacenter ${label:datacenter} |
| [ consul_service_health_check_status ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/src/health/health.d/consul.conf) | consul.service_health_check_status | service health check ${label:check_name} for service ${label:service_name} has failed on server ${label:node_name} datacenter ${label:datacenter} |
| [ consul_client_rpc_requests_exceeded ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/src/health/health.d/consul.conf) | consul.client_rpc_requests_exceeded_rate | number of rate-limited RPC requests made by server ${label:node_name} datacenter ${label:datacenter} |
| [ consul_client_rpc_requests_failed ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/src/health/health.d/consul.conf) | consul.client_rpc_requests_failed_rate | number of failed RPC requests made by server ${label:node_name} datacenter ${label:datacenter} |
| [ consul_gc_pause_time ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/src/health/health.d/consul.conf) | consul.gc_pause_time | time spent in stop-the-world garbage collection pauses on server ${label:node_name} datacenter ${label:datacenter} |
| [ consul_autopilot_health_status ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/src/health/health.d/consul.conf) | consul.autopilot_health_status | datacenter ${label:datacenter} cluster is unhealthy as reported by server ${label:node_name} |
| [ consul_autopilot_server_health_status ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/src/health/health.d/consul.conf) | consul.autopilot_server_health_status | server ${label:node_name} from datacenter ${label:datacenter} is unhealthy |
| [ consul_raft_leader_last_contact_time ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/src/health/health.d/consul.conf) | consul.raft_leader_last_contact_time | median time elapsed since leader server ${label:node_name} datacenter ${label:datacenter} was last able to contact the follower nodes |
| [ consul_raft_leadership_transitions ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/src/health/health.d/consul.conf) | consul.raft_leadership_transitions_rate | there has been a leadership change and server ${label:node_name} datacenter ${label:datacenter} has become the leader |
| [ consul_raft_thread_main_saturation ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/src/health/health.d/consul.conf) | consul.raft_thread_main_saturation_perc | average saturation of the main Raft goroutine on server ${label:node_name} datacenter ${label:datacenter} |
| [ consul_raft_thread_fsm_saturation ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/src/health/health.d/consul.conf) | consul.raft_thread_fsm_saturation_perc | average saturation of the FSM Raft goroutine on server ${label:node_name} datacenter ${label:datacenter} |
| [ consul_license_expiration_time ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/src/health/health.d/consul.conf) | consul.license_expiration_time | Consul Enterprise licence expiration time on node ${label:node_name} datacenter ${label:datacenter} |


## Metrics

Metrics grouped by *scope*.

The scope defines the instance that the metric belongs to. An instance is uniquely identified by a set of labels.

The set of metrics depends on the [Consul Agent mode](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/docs/install/glossary#agent).


### Per Consul instance

These metrics refer to the entire monitored application.

This scope has no labels.

Metrics:

| Metric | Dimensions | Unit | Leader | Follower | Client |
|:------|:----------|:----|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| consul.client_rpc_requests_rate | rpc | requests/s | • | • | • |
| consul.client_rpc_requests_exceeded_rate | exceeded | requests/s | • | • | • |
| consul.client_rpc_requests_failed_rate | failed | requests/s | • | • | • |
| consul.memory_allocated | allocated | bytes | • | • | • |
| consul.memory_sys | sys | bytes | • | • | • |
| consul.gc_pause_time | gc_pause | seconds | • | • | • |
| consul.kvs_apply_time | quantile_0.5, quantile_0.9, quantile_0.99 | ms | • | • |   |
| consul.kvs_apply_operations_rate | kvs_apply | ops/s | • | • |   |
| consul.txn_apply_time | quantile_0.5, quantile_0.9, quantile_0.99 | ms | • | • |   |
| consul.txn_apply_operations_rate | txn_apply | ops/s | • | • |   |
| consul.autopilot_health_status | healthy, unhealthy | status | • | • |   |
| consul.autopilot_failure_tolerance | failure_tolerance | servers | • | • |   |
| consul.autopilot_server_health_status | healthy, unhealthy | status | • | • |   |
| consul.autopilot_server_stable_time | stable | seconds | • | • |   |
| consul.autopilot_server_serf_status | active, failed, left, none | status | • | • |   |
| consul.autopilot_server_voter_status | voter, not_voter | status | • | • |   |
| consul.network_lan_rtt | min, max, avg | ms | • | • |   |
| consul.raft_commit_time | quantile_0.5, quantile_0.9, quantile_0.99 | ms | • |   |   |
| consul.raft_commits_rate | commits | commits/s | • |   |   |
| consul.raft_leader_last_contact_time | quantile_0.5, quantile_0.9, quantile_0.99 | ms | • |   |   |
| consul.raft_leader_oldest_log_age | oldest_log_age | seconds | • |   |   |
| consul.raft_follower_last_contact_leader_time | leader_last_contact | ms |   | • |   |
| consul.raft_rpc_install_snapshot_time | quantile_0.5, quantile_0.9, quantile_0.99 | ms |   | • |   |
| consul.raft_leader_elections_rate | leader | elections/s | • | • |   |
| consul.raft_leadership_transitions_rate | leadership | transitions/s | • | • |   |
| consul.server_leadership_status | leader, not_leader | status | • | • |   |
| consul.raft_thread_main_saturation_perc | quantile_0.5, quantile_0.9, quantile_0.99 | percentage | • | • |   |
| consul.raft_thread_fsm_saturation_perc | quantile_0.5, quantile_0.9, quantile_0.99 | percentage | • | • |   |
| consul.raft_fsm_last_restore_duration | last_restore_duration | ms | • | • |   |
| consul.raft_boltdb_freelist_bytes | freelist | bytes | • | • |   |
| consul.raft_boltdb_logs_per_batch_rate | written | logs/s | • | • |   |
| consul.raft_boltdb_store_logs_time | quantile_0.5, quantile_0.9, quantile_0.99 | ms | • | • |   |
| consul.license_expiration_time | license_expiration | seconds | • | • | • |

### Per node check

Metrics about checks on Node level.

Labels:

| Label      | Description     |
|:-----------|:----------------|
| datacenter | Datacenter Identifier |
| node_name | The node's name |
| check_name | The check's name |

Metrics:

| Metric | Dimensions | Unit | Leader | Follower | Client |
|:------|:----------|:----|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| consul.node_health_check_status | passing, maintenance, warning, critical | status | • | • | • |

### Per service check

Metrics about checks at a Service level.

Labels:

| Label      | Description     |
|:-----------|:----------------|
| datacenter | Datacenter Identifier |
| node_name | The node's name |
| check_name | The check's name |
| service_name | The service's name |

Metrics:

| Metric | Dimensions | Unit | Leader | Follower | Client |
|:------|:----------|:----|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| consul.service_health_check_status | passing, maintenance, warning, critical | status | • | • | • |



## Troubleshooting

### Debug Mode

**Important**: Debug mode is not supported for data collection jobs created via the UI using the Dyncfg feature.

To troubleshoot issues with the `consul` collector, run the `go.d.plugin` with the debug option enabled. The output
should give you clues as to why the collector isn't working.

- Navigate to the `plugins.d` directory, usually at `/usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/`. If that's not the case on
  your system, open `netdata.conf` and look for the `plugins` setting under `[directories]`.

  ```bash
  cd /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/
  ```

- Switch to the `netdata` user.

  ```bash
  sudo -u netdata -s
  ```

- Run the `go.d.plugin` to debug the collector:

  ```bash
  ./go.d.plugin -d -m consul
  ```

  To debug a specific job:

  ```bash
  ./go.d.plugin -d -m consul -j jobName
  ```

### Getting Logs

If you're encountering problems with the `consul` collector, follow these steps to retrieve logs and identify potential issues:

- **Run the command** specific to your system (systemd, non-systemd, or Docker container).
- **Examine the output** for any warnings or error messages that might indicate issues.  These messages should provide clues about the root cause of the problem.

#### System with systemd

Use the following command to view logs generated since the last Netdata service restart:

```bash
journalctl _SYSTEMD_INVOCATION_ID="$(systemctl show --value --property=InvocationID netdata)" --namespace=netdata --grep consul
```

#### System without systemd

Locate the collector log file, typically at `/var/log/netdata/collector.log`, and use `grep` to filter for collector's name:

```bash
grep consul /var/log/netdata/collector.log
```

**Note**: This method shows logs from all restarts. Focus on the **latest entries** for troubleshooting current issues.

#### Docker Container

If your Netdata runs in a Docker container named "netdata" (replace if different), use this command:

```bash
docker logs netdata 2>&1 | grep consul
```


