Which Data Source should i take?

1

Hello Community ,

im new here , and i wanted to try grafana , and now i saw that there are many kind of " Data Source Options"
Like Prometheus and so on ,
I work with a SQLServer Database, which Data Source should i take or does it even matter which one i take?

Hope someone can help me out

thanks

2

When you say “I work with a SQLserver database”, do you mean that this is the
one you know best and generally interact with (quite independently of anything
to do with Grafana), or do you mean that the data you want to visualise in
Grafana is stored in a SQLserver database?

My answer to “which data source should you use” is more based on “what sort of
data do you need to store and visualise” and “where is that data coming from”
than it is based on what you may happen to be most familiar with.

Many people using Grafana can and do quite reasonably treat the data store as
a “black box” which data goes into from whatever source is generating it, and
which Grafana uses to display the graphs on its dashboards, but the details of
what happens in between are really not important.

So, what data do you want to work with and where is that coming from?

Once we know that, some people might be able to advise you on configurations
they’ve used for similar stuff in their own projects.

Regards,

Antony.

3

So , all my Data is stored in a SQL Server . I Use “Microsoft SQL Management server” .
I Study and im working as a trainee at a company , and they wanted me to calculate the KPIs and visualise those and creating a dashboard

i hope i could clarify my questions

Thanks

4

Hi amagonawin!
You can find more information about how use Microsoft SQL Management server in documentation:

5

Thanks for that .
But still im a but confused , i looked into the dashboard section , and i did not found a single example of a MMSQL Dashboard why is that? is it that bad ? Do you guys know where i can find examples of good mmsql dashboards?

Thanks

6

It is MSSQL not MMSQL.
What do you mean by a ‘good’ example? If you are talking about what the dashboard looks like then that is little to do with the underlying database.

7

I am not sure if I fully understand your question. But here is couple resources that you could review and that could help you with starting with Grafana + Microsoft SQL Management server:



8

well just wanted to see how a good dashboard with mssql looks like , something i can relate to if i have problems … i dont know how to describe that

9

What it looks like is (virtually) nothing to do with the underlying database. If you see a dashboard you like then it should be possible to replicate that with a different data source provided the data you want to display is in the database in an appropriate format.

10

Ah ok, now i understand.
And i know its not part of grafana , but does someone maybe what the best way is to calculate or create KPIs?
Thanks

11

See https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-a-key-performance-indicator

12

Thanks for that
other question , so could i use for my MSSQL something like prometheus or do i HAVE TO take as Data Source MSSQL? Or would the be problem with the data behind it ?

13

It doesn’t make any difference how the data is collected. What matters is where it is stored. If if is stored in an MSSQL database then obviously you have to use the MSSQL plugin to read it in grafana. If it is stored in an Influxdb database then you have to use the influxdb plugin.

14

Ok thank you all for your help :slight_smile: i will try my best , if u have any more advice for me i will gladly accept it :slight_smile:
Stay at home and have a nice day