orb.live Signup and Basic How To

Summary

In this tutorial, Shannon Weir from NS1 Labs guides viewers through the process of signing up for Orb.live, a community SaaS site for the open-source Orb dynamic edge observability platform. The video covers creating an account, setting up an agent, defining a policy for metric collection, and syncing data with Prometheus for visualization in Grafana. It provides a step-by-step walkthrough, from accessing the project website to deploying the agent and monitoring metrics, showcasing the ease of getting started with Orb for network observability.

Takeaways

• 🌐 The video is a tutorial on signing up for orb.live, a community SaaS site for the open-source Orb Dynamic Edge Observability platform.
• 📝 The registration process is quick and does not require a credit card; it only needs basic information like a first name, email address, password, and agreement to terms of service.
• 🔍 The tutorial covers how to create an account on the getorb.io project website, which also provides extensive information and documentation about the platform.
• 🛠️ After signing up, the next step is to create an agent within the Orb platform, which is done through the 'Fleet' menu.
• 📜 The video demonstrates how to use a provisioning command to connect the new agent to the system by running a Docker container with the provided credentials.
• 🔗 It explains how to use tags for grouping and accessing agents, which is crucial for sending policies to them.
• 📊 The process of creating a policy is outlined, which involves specifying which metrics the agent should collect, in this case, DNS metrics.
• 👥 The concept of 'Agent Groups' is introduced, which allows policies to be sent to specific agents based on matching tags.
• 📈 The tutorial includes setting up a Prometheus time-series database for the agent to send metrics to, using Grafana Cloud as an example.
• 🔄 The final steps involve creating a data set to connect the policy, agent group, and Prometheus database, and then sending the policy to the agent to start collecting metrics.
• 📊 The video concludes with verifying the metrics collection by checking the Grafana dashboard, which should show incoming data from the agent.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the 'orb.live' platform mentioned in the video?

Orb.live is a community SaaS site for the open-source Orb Dynamic Edge Observability platform where users can sign up and try out the service for free.

What does the acronym 'SaaS' stand for?

SaaS stands for Software as a Service, which means that the software is provided over the internet, rather than being installed locally on the user's device.

How long does it typically take to sign up for the Orb platform?

The video mentions that it only takes a few minutes to sign up for the Orb platform.

Is a credit card required during the sign-up process for Orb.live?

No, a credit card is not required for signing up; the platform can be tried out for free.

What is the first step in setting up an Orb agent after signing up?

The first step is to go into the 'Fleet' menu and click on 'Agents' to create a new agent, naming it and setting optional tags for grouping and access control.

What is a provisioning command and why is it used in the script?

A provisioning command is a set of instructions used to configure and run a Docker container with the necessary credentials for the newly created Orb agent.

How can you verify that the Orb agent is running and connected to the platform?

You can check the logs of the Docker container to see if the agent is running and connected to the platform.

What is a policy in the context of the Orb platform?

A policy in the Orb platform is a set of rules that determine which metrics the agent collects.

What is the purpose of creating an agent group in the Orb platform?

An agent group is created to match against the tags of the agents, allowing for the assignment of policies to specific agents based on those tags.

What is the role of the Prometheus time series database in the Orb platform?

The Prometheus time series database is used to store and manage the metrics collected by the Orb agents.

How does the Grafana dashboard relate to the Orb platform?

The Grafana dashboard is used to visualize the metrics collected by the Orb agents and sent to the Prometheus database.

What is a data set in the context of the Orb platform?

A data set in the Orb platform is a way to connect all the pieces created so far, including the policy, agent group, and Prometheus database, to send out instructions to the agent.

Outlines

00:00

📝 Introduction to Signing Up for Orb.live

Shannon Weir from NS1 Labs introduces a tutorial on signing up for Orb.live, a community SaaS site for the open-source Orb dynamic edge observability platform. The process is quick, requiring minimal information and no credit card. The tutorial covers registration, creating an agent, setting up a policy for metric collection, and establishing a Prometheus data sync for Grafana visualization. The instructions are detailed on the getorb.io project website, and the video guides viewers through account creation on orb.live, exploring the platform's features, and setting up the first agent with a provisioning command.

05:01

🔧 Configuring an Orb Agent and Policy

The tutorial continues with the configuration of an Orb agent, including naming it 'demo agent' and adding tags for grouping and policy distribution. It then demonstrates how to use the provisioning command in a terminal to run the Docker container for the agent. After confirming the agent's connection to the platform, the video proceeds to policy management, where a general policy is created to collect DNS metrics. The policy is then associated with an agent group based on the previously set tags, ensuring the policy is sent to the correct agent.

🔄 Setting Up Prometheus Sync and Data Collection

The script explains the next steps in setting up a sync for the agent to send metrics to a Prometheus time series database, using Grafana Cloud as an example. It details the process of creating a sync, entering credentials for the sync, and confirming the setup. The final step involves creating a data set that connects the policy, agent group, and Prometheus database, and sending the policy to the agent to start collecting metrics. The tutorial concludes with instructions to verify metric collection on a Grafana dashboard, showcasing the agent's activity and the effectiveness of the implemented policy.

Keywords

💡Orb.live

Orb.live is a community SaaS (Software as a Service) site for the open-source Orb Dynamic Edge Observability Platform. It is a key component of the video's theme, as the video is a tutorial on how to sign up and use this platform. The script mentions it as the starting point for the registration process and as the platform where users can create agents, policies, and sync metrics.

💡Observability Platform

An observability platform is a tool used to monitor and observe the state and behavior of systems, networks, and applications. In the context of the video, the Orb Dynamic Edge Observability Platform is the main focus, which allows users to collect metrics and visualize them. The platform is open-source, meaning it is freely available for anyone to use and modify.

💡Agent

In the video, an 'agent' refers to a software component that runs on a user's system and is responsible for collecting metrics. The script walks through the process of creating the first agent, naming it 'demo agent', and provides instructions on how to connect it to the Orb platform using a provisioning command.

💡Policy

A 'policy' in this context is a set of rules or instructions that determine which metrics an agent collects. The video explains how to create a policy, which is a crucial step in configuring what data the agent will monitor and report back to the platform. The script mentions creating a 'general policy' to collect as much information as possible.

💡Prometheus

Prometheus is an open-source time-series database used for storing and querying metrics. In the video, it is mentioned as the destination for the metrics collected by the Orb agent. The script details the process of setting up a 'Prometheus data sync' to send the collected metrics to a Prometheus instance for storage and later visualization.

💡Grafana

Grafana is an open-source platform for monitoring and visualizing time-series data. The video mentions Grafana as the tool to visualize the metrics collected by the Orb agent and stored in Prometheus. The script includes instructions on how to use Grafana Cloud, a hosted version of Grafana, to create dashboards and view the metrics.

💡Fleet Menu

The 'fleet menu' is a section within the Orb platform that allows users to manage their agents. The video script describes navigating to this menu to create a new agent and manage existing ones. It is part of the user interface that facilitates the interaction with the observability platform.

💡Tags

Tags are used in the video to categorize and group agents for easier management and policy application. The script explains adding a simple tag to the 'demo agent' for grouping and accessing purposes. Tags are key-value pairs that help in organizing and targeting specific agents with policies.

💡Agent Groups

Agent groups are collections of agents that are grouped based on matching tags. The video script describes creating an agent group called 'test group' that matches the 'test true' tag created earlier. This grouping is essential for applying policies to specific sets of agents.

💡Sync Management

Sync management is the process of configuring where and how the collected metrics are sent. In the video, this involves setting up a sync to a Prometheus time-series database. The script details creating a sync called 'Prometheus database' and using credentials to establish a connection with Grafana Cloud.

💡Data Set

A 'data set' in the video is a configuration that connects the policy, agent group, and sync, enabling the flow of metrics from the agent to the specified database. The script explains creating a data set to send the 'general policy' to the 'test group' and sync the data to the 'Prometheus database', which is crucial for the metrics collection process.

Highlights

Introduction to signing up for orb.live, a free community SaaS site for the open-source Orb Dynamic Edge Observability Platform.

No credit card required for signing up, making it accessible for anyone interested in trying out the platform.

Overview of creating an account on the getorb.io project website, including the availability of extensive documentation.

Step-by-step guide on navigating to orb.live and registering for an account with minimal required information.

Exploration of the orb.live website's features and menu options post-registration.

Demonstration of creating the first agent named 'demo agent' and the process of adding optional tags for grouping and access.

Instructions on using the provisioning command to connect the new agent into the system via Docker.

Verification of the agent's successful connection and activity within the platform.

Creation of a simple policy to define which metrics the agent will collect.

Explanation of policy management and the selection of the default pcap tap for data collection.

Inclusion of DNS metrics as the focus for the policy being created.

Formation of agent groups based on tags to manage and send policies to specific agents.

Utilization of a Prometheus time-series database for storing and managing metrics.

Configuration of Grafana Cloud for remote write capabilities to visualize metrics.

Process of creating a data set to connect all created components and send the policy to the agent.

Confirmation of the agent receiving instructions and beginning to collect metrics as per the policy.

Final step of verifying metric collection on a Grafana dashboard using the community dashboard available on grafana.com.

Conclusion of the tutorial with a summary of the process and an invitation to join future videos for further exploration.

Transcripts

hey everyone this is shannon weirich

coming to you from ns1 labs and today

we're going to walk through signing up

for orb.live this is the community sas

site which you can try out for free it

is the open source orb dynamic edge

observability platform it only takes a

few minutes you don't need a credit card

and in this video we're going to walk

through that registration we're going to

help you create your first agent create

your first policy which is going to

determine which metrics you collect from

that agent and create your first

prometheus data sync to have a place to

send those metrics to and visualize in

grafana

let's jump in what we're looking at is

the getorb.io

project website here there's a lot of

great information on the project you can

read all about it you can find out how

to install things and read the

documentation

on creating an account we're going to

walk through

in this video exactly what's in

these instructions

so let's open a new tab

and go over to

orb dot live

this is the community sas site

and on the right hand side here we see

the login form and below that a register

button we'll click on that and we'll

create an account we just need a minimal

amount of information here this is a

first name

an optional company name

we do need an email address

a password

which we do need to confirm

and finally

the terms of service you can read

through those

and click to agree

and that's it we'll click on register

and we are now into the orb website

we can poke around a bit here we see a

menu on the left side showing different

things we can do

and we're going to get started by

creating an agent

so to create an agent we go into the

fleet menu

and click on agents we don't have any

yet

so we'll click over here to create our

first agent

we're going to call this demo agent

and click next

we can enter optional tags here

this is for

grouping and accessing the agents to be

able to send policies

so we'll start with a simple tag these

are just arbitrary key value pairs

click next and then save now what we see

here is the information that we'll need

to connect this new agent

into the system

we can copy the provisioning command

that we see here

switch over to our terminal

and paste it in

this has all the information that we

need to run the docker container

with the given credentials that we have

for the agent we just created

so docker has now

run

our orb agent and given us a container

that we can look at

if we check the logs

we can see that our agent is running and

is connected

to the platform

so we'll close

this box and head back

and we see already that our demo agent

is online our tag is set we see some

activity we're going to go ahead and

click into our demo agent

and we see that there's not much here

yet because we haven't sent it anything

to do

so let's fix that

so next we're going to create a simple

policy that we can send to our agent to

tell it

how and which metrics we're interested

in collecting

so on the left hand side we'll click on

policy management

and we don't see any policies yet so

we'll click on a new policy

and we're just going to make a general

policy that's going to collect

as much information as we can

descriptions are always optional

we'll put something in and click next

now we have to figure out which tap

we're interested in pulling the data

from

and in our current agent the only one

available is our default pcap tap so

we're going to pick that

we have more advanced options we're not

going to look at in this video so we're

going to accept the default and click

next

and now we need to add our handlers

what we're interested in collecting

today

is dns metrics

so we will select the dns handler and

again we have several advanced options

that we're not going to go through so we

will again

keep the defaults and click save

we have our dns handler in place so

we'll click save

and that's our simple first general

policy

we now need a way to send this policy to

the agent we've created and we do that

with agent groups so we'll click on

agent groups

and this works by matching against the

tags that we created in the agent

if you remember we created a test true

tag so we're going to make a group that

matches that tag we click on new agent

group

we're going to call this the test group

description is optional

and here's where we make the tag

that's going to match against our agent

and as soon as we click that in we see

that it says we're going to match

against one agent we click next

and on this screen we can even verify

that our demo agent matches against the

group that we're creating

so we'll click save

and we have our group

the next thing we need is a place for

our agent to send metrics to

so we're going to use a prometheus time

series database

and that's handled in the sync

management

so we're going to create our first sync

and call it our prometheus database

and we're using grafana cloud in this

example which supports remote write and

is very convenient place for us to send

our metrics to

so we'll click next and then we need our

credentials for the sync

so we've gotten this directly off of the

grafana cloud site we're just going to

copy and paste it in

we do have separate instructions on

how to

create the grafana cloud

account to give you a place to send your

metrics

once we've added the credentials we're

able to add organizational tags if we'd

like but this is optional so we're going

to skip it in this step

and then we'll just confirm our

information

so our sync is in place

the final step to be able to extract the

metrics from our agent and get them

into our grafana cloud prometheus and be

able to dashboard it is to actually send

that policy out to the agent and we do

that with a data set

we have no data sets yet we're going to

create one here

and this is the way that we connect all

the pieces that we've created so far

so we have our general data set

which we're going to send to our test

group

using the general policy

and sync that data to our prometheus

database

we confirm the information

and send it out

now at this point what we expect is that

our agent has received those

instructions and has begun

collecting those metrics if we click on

our agent what we see

is that a active policy has showed up

it's our general policy

and it's running our general data set

okay so the final step is to go to our

grafana dashboard and make sure that we

can see the metrics coming in for our

agent

so we'll switch over and what we're

going to be using is the community

dashboard that's available directly on

the grafana.com site

and it's going to expose a dashboard

that uses all the metrics that pack

advisor can send into prometheus

and we do see that our demo agent is

connected and is sending in metrics we

do have a filter set up for our policy

of course we only have one policy at the

moment

and because we had been using our mock

traffic generator we see our traffic

coming in so

this dashboard will start to give you an

idea of some of the different metrics

you can pull out

as you explore

the traffic on your systems

okay that's all we have for today thanks

very much for your time and be sure to

join us for other videos as we explore

how to use orb and pac advisor