While Kubernetes has solved many challenges related to container orchestration, it has given rise to new complexities related to monitoring and logs. Typically a Kubernetes cluster looks like a single source for managing containerized applications and nodes, but at the backend, there are multiple monitoring and logging tools deployed to ensure its proper performance.

In this article, we will discuss the most popular and reliable Kubernetes monitoring tools to help you mitigate the challenge of managing Kubernetes clusters.

ContainIQ

ContainIQ is another easy-to-use Kubernetes monitoring suite for your clusters, available both as an on-prem installation and as a cloud offering. The solution focuses on Kubernetes metrics, logging, and tracing with their prebuilt dashboards, which monitor Kubernetes services, events, and pod metrics without requiring additional configuration.

ContainIQ offers a toolset for Kubernetes monitoring and troubleshooting. ContainIQ is unique in that it uses eBPF to deliver APM-like features without being an APM. For example, with ContainIQ’s profiler, users are able to gain performance visibility into every workload running in a K8s cluster. They can capture stack traces from individual applications and then all the way down to the kernel system calls and functions they rely on. All without any code instrumentation on your end.

For more information on ContainIQ, visit their documentation page.

Pros:

• All-in-one solution for Kubernetes metrics, logging, tracing, and alerting.
• Uses eBPF to achieve AMP-like functionality without any code changes.
• Kubernetes native.

Cons:

• No free version, only 14-day trial.

Datadog

Datadog is a Kubernetes monitoring solution that collects data such as logs, events, and metrics in real time from each node of your Kubernetes cluster. In addition, users can leverage Datadog dashboards and graphs, which help them visualize, troubleshoot or monitor nodes’ overall health and performance.

Datadog can also monitor Kubernetes at a higher abstraction layer/cluster level via Datadog Cluster Agent and allows you to set up cluster alerts and notifications through collaboration platforms such as Slack.

Deploying Datadog is very straightforward. It runs as a DaemonSet, which will deploy the agent to every cluster node. For more information about pricing and how to monitor Kubernetes using DataDog, check out the documentation.

Pros:

• Real-time dashboards, easily visualizable metrics, and events
• Machine Learning-based Alerts and Customizable Metric Retention Duration
• More than 500 app integrations. The full list here

Cons:

• Alerts and Custom Metrics are only available with paid versions.
• Plans include monitoring of 10 to 20 containers per host. Additional containers will be billed at $0.002 per container per hour.
• Only top-of-the-line Enterprise plan includes automated insights and advanced administrative tools.

New Relic

New Relic is another Kubernetes monitoring tool that seamlessly integrates with your clusters to provide a high-level overview of services and applications.

New Relic complements complex DevOps environments with various data capturing and monitoring facilities. Cluster admins can quickly find and visualize metadata for nodes, pods, and deployments and drill down further into them via cluster explorer for troubleshooting abnormal behavior.

New Relic also provides powerful searching capabilities with tag-based alerting, which helps you track aggregated resource usage across cluster nodes for optimal functionality.

Another way New Relic stands different from other Kubernetes monitoring tools is its integration with Pixie. Pixie is a Kubernetes-based observability tool that helps provide deeper visibility into Kubernetes cluster data using Extended Berkeley Packet Filters (eBPF).

New Relic Pixie is widely supported with various cloud-hosted Kubernetes services and provides access to system-level metrics such as cluster events and control plane data.

For more information, check the Kubernetes monitoring guide on how to monitor Kubernetes using NewRelic.

Pros:

• New Relic Pixie provides kernel-level visibility into Kubernetes Metrics
• Unlimited Dashboards, User Accounts, and Alerting feature even in the free version.
• 24*7 Support and up to 1 hour SLA

Cons:

• Support only in paid versions.
• Need to buy the Data Plus extension package for increased metric retention and advanced security compliance features.

Dynatrace

Dynatrace offers class-leading Kubernetes monitoring and observability platform with support for all major cloud platforms such as OpenShift, EKS, AKS, and GKE.

Dynatrace provides a host of features for your deployed applications on the Kubernetes Cluster. A Dynatrace OneAgent Operator takes care of continuous discovery & observability by tracking the overall availability and health of your Kubernetes cluster, while the Purepath and Smartscape operator helps in advanced observability through topology mapping and distributed tracing.

For more information about Dynatrace Kubernetes monitoring check their documentation

Pros:

• Automated and continuous monitoring of Kubernetes cluster
• All in one platform for Kubernetes monitoring, tracing, and visualization

Cons:

• Steep Learning Curve
• Expensive if you want a tool just for Kubernetes Monitoring.

Grafana

Grafana is an open-source dashboard widely used for visualizing and analyzing Kubernetes metrics. Typically in a Kubernetes setup, Grafana is used in conjunction with monitoring systems such as Prometheus to get a comprehensive view of the Kubernetes cluster.

Grafana offers an alert system, filtering, and querying capabilities that allow you to visualize Kubernetes metrics stored in monitoring platforms such as Prometheus and Elastic search. Setting up grafana is easy. Many Kubernetes distributions include Grafana by default for Kubernetes metrics visualization.

For more information on how to use Grafana with Kubernetes, check their documentation.

Pros:

• Support for different types of data metrics and monitoring solutions.
• Open-source
• Centralized Alerting System

Cons:

• Need to be combined with other tools for comprehensive Kubernetes monitoring
• Need to set up a data source. Does not work out of the box

Which one to choose?

Choosing the right Kubernetes monitoring tool entirely depends upon your use case. Some tools in this article provide more than just monitoring for Kubernetes clusters. They are a complete Kubernetes management platform that provides logging, troubleshooting, and tracing capabilities.

For organizations starting off with their Kubernetes monitoring journey, we strongly suggest trying open-source projects such as Grafana first. These are backed up by active communities, which will provide you help in most scenarios at no additional cost.

Whereas if your organization requires a platform that completely removes the complexity of monitoring Kubernetes clusters, we recommend using platforms such as ContainIQ, DataDog, Dynatrace, and NewRelic.

You can also refer to part 1 of our top-5 kubernetes monitoring tools picks.