Set up the Dynatrace GCP metric and/or log integration in a Kubernetes container (legacy)

  • How-to guide
  • 16-min read
  • Published Mar 12, 2021
  • Deprecated

This page describes how to install version 0.1 of the GCP integration in a Kubernetes container, which is scheduled for deprecation.

To ingest metrics and/or logs from Google Cloud, you need to deploy a container on GKE (it also works on Google Autopilot). After it's deployed, you get metrics for services defined in the configmap, preset dashboards, and predefined alerts.

Set up generic log ingestion optional

For complete observability of your workloads, be sure to set up generic log ingestion before installation. This requires additional configuration and a second container to forward the logs. See below for instructions.

  1. If you are using Log Monitoring v1, enable the latest version of Dynatrace log monitoring.

  2. Create a Pub/Sub topic and add a subscription to it. There are two ways to do this:

    Set up a Pub/Sub topic and add a subscription to it.

    When editing the subscription, we recommend the following values:

    • Acknowledgement deadline: 120 seconds
    • Message retention duration: 1 day
    • Retain acknowledged messages: not selected

    Run the following shell script in the GCP project you've selected for deployment.

    Be sure to replace <your-subscription-name> and <your-topic-name> with your own values.

    wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dynatrace-oss/dynatrace-gcp-monitor/master/scripts/deploy-pubsub.sh
    chmod +x deploy-pubsub.sh
    ./deploy-pubsub.sh --topic-name <your-topic-name> --subscription-name <your-subscription-name>

  3. Configure log export to send the desired logs to the GCP Pub/Sub topic created in Step 2.

  4. If you choose to use an existing ActiveGate during deployment, configure ActiveGate for generic log ingestion.

Prerequisites

To deploy the Dynatrace GCP Monitor in a Kubernetes container, you need to make sure the following GCP and Dynatrace requirements are met.

GCP requirements

Permissions

Running the deployment script requires a list of permissions. You can create a custom role (see below) and use it to deploy dynatrace-gcp-monitor.

  1. Create a YAML file named dynatrace-gcp-monitor-helm-deployment-role.yaml with the following content:
title: Dynatrace GCP Monitor helm deployment role
description: Role for Dynatrace GCP Monitor helm and pubsub deployment
stage: GA
includedPermissions:
  - container.clusters.get
  - container.configMaps.create
  - container.configMaps.delete
  - container.configMaps.get
  - container.configMaps.update
  - container.deployments.create
  - container.deployments.delete
  - container.deployments.get
  - container.deployments.update
  - container.namespaces.create
  - container.namespaces.get
  - container.pods.get
  - container.pods.list
  - container.replicaSets.create
  - container.replicaSets.get
  - container.replicaSets.getScale
  - container.replicaSets.getStatus
  - container.replicaSets.list
  - container.secrets.create
  - container.secrets.delete
  - container.secrets.get
  - container.secrets.list
  - container.secrets.update
  - container.serviceAccounts.create
  - container.serviceAccounts.delete
  - container.serviceAccounts.get
  - container.services.create
  - container.services.delete
  - container.services.get
  - container.statefulSets.create
  - container.statefulSets.delete
  - container.statefulSets.get
  - container.statefulSets.update
  - iam.roles.create
  - iam.roles.list
  - iam.roles.update
  - iam.serviceAccounts.actAs
  - iam.serviceAccounts.create
  - iam.serviceAccounts.getIamPolicy
  - iam.serviceAccounts.list
  - iam.serviceAccounts.setIamPolicy
  - pubsub.subscriptions.create
  - pubsub.subscriptions.get
  - pubsub.subscriptions.list
  - pubsub.topics.attachSubscription
  - pubsub.topics.create
  - pubsub.topics.getIamPolicy
  - pubsub.topics.list
  - pubsub.topics.setIamPolicy
  - pubsub.topics.update
  - resourcemanager.projects.get
  - resourcemanager.projects.getIamPolicy
  - resourcemanager.projects.setIamPolicy
  - serviceusage.services.enable
  - serviceusage.services.get
  1. Run the command below, replacing <your_project_ID> with the project ID where you want to deploy the dynatrace integration.
gcloud iam roles create dynatrace_monitor.helm_deployment --project=<your_project_ID> --file=dynatrace-gcp-monitor-helm-deployment-role.yaml

Be sure to add this role to your GCP user.

Tools

If you run the deployment from GCP Cloud Shell, you don't need to install additional tools.

If you run the deployment from any host with bash, you need to install:

Settings

If you run the deployment on an existing GKE standard cluster, you need to:

If you run the deployment on an existing GKE Autopilot cluster, or on a new Autopilot cluster that will be automatically created by deployment script, there are no additional settings.

Dynatrace requirements

Review the requirements for ActiveGate and tokens as described below.

ActiveGate

For ActiveGate, you have two options:

  • Have the installation script create a dedicated ActiveGate (default option). recommended
  • Use an existing ActiveGate version 1.213+. required

Tokens

The requirements for API and PaaS tokens are as follows:

Install

To install the GCP Monitor in a Kubernetes cluster, follow the instructions below.

Step 1

Download the helm deployment package in Google Cloud Shell

Step 2

Determine the URL for your environment

Step 3

Configure parameter values

Step 4

Connect your Kubernetes cluster

Step 5

Run the script

Step 1 Download the helm deployment package in Google Cloud Shell

Download and run the installation script below, making sure to replace <VERSION> with the release version you want to download, for example 0.1.19.

Be sure to choose one of the versions before release-1.0.0, as the newer versions require different installation instructions.

wget -q "https://github.com/dynatrace-oss/dynatrace-gcp-monitor/releases/download/release-<VERSION>/helm-deployment-package.tar"; tar -xvf helm-deployment-package.tar; chmod +x helm-deployment-package/deploy-helm.sh

Step 2 Determine the URL for your environment

  • For Dynatrace SaaS: https://<your-environment-id>.live.dynatrace.com
  • For Dynatrace Managed: https://<your-domain>/e/<your-environment-id>
  • For ActiveGate (if you choose to use an existing ActiveGate to ingest logs): https://<your-active-gate-IP-or-hostname>:9999/e/<your-environment-id>

To determine <your-environment-id>, see environment ID.

Step 3 Configure parameter values

The values.yaml file located in helm-deployment-package/dynatrace-gcp-monitor allows you to set the required and optional parameter values. See below for the complete list of parameters available for this integration.

Parameters for metrics and logs ingestion (deployment type: all)

Parameter nameDescriptionDefault value
gcpProjectIdThe GCP project ID where the Dynatrace GCP Monitor should be deployed. Use the GCP project of log Sink Pub/Sub subscription. For details, see Set up generic log ingestion.Your current project ID
deploymentTypeSet to 'all'.all
dynatraceAccessKeyYour Dynatrace API token with the required permissions according to your selected deployment. For details, see Token requirements.
activeGate.dynatracePaasTokenYour PaaS token. For details, see Token requirements.
dynatraceUrlYour Dynatrace environment endpoint. For details, see Determine the URL for your environment.
logsSubscriptionIdThe ID of your log Sink Pub/Sub subscription. For details, see Set up generic log ingestion.

Optional additional parameters for metrics and logs ingestion

optional

Parameter nameDescriptionDefault value
activeGate.useExistingSet to true if you choose to use an existing ActiveGate to ingest logs. For details, see ActiveGate requirements.false
dynatraceLogIngestUrlYour ActiveGate endpoint used to ingest logs to Dynatrace. For details, see Determine the URL for your environment.
requireValidCertificateIf set to true, Dynatrace requires the SSL certificate of your Dynatrace environment.true
selfMonitoringEnabledSend custom metrics to GCP to quickly diagnose if dynatrace-gcp-monitor processes and sends metrics/logs to Dynatrace properly.false
dockerImageDynatrace GCP Monitor docker image. We recommend using the default value, but you can adapt it if needed.dynatrace/dynatrace-gcp-monitor
logIngestContentMaxLengthThe maximum content length of a log event. Should be less than or equal to the setting on your Dynatrace environment.8192
logIngestAttributeValueMaxLengthThe maximum length of the log event attribute value. If it exceeds the server limit, content will be truncated.250
logIngestRequestMaxEventsThe maximum number of log events in a single payload to the logs ingestion endpoint. If it exceeds the server limit, payload will be rejected with code 413.5000
logIngestRequestMaxSizeThe maximum size in bytes of a single payload to the logs ingestion endpoint. If it exceeds the server limit, payload will be rejected with code 413.1048576
logIngestEventMaxAgeSecondsDetermines the maximum age of a forwarded log event. Should be less than or equal to the setting on your Dynatrace environment.86400
printMetricIngestInputIf set to true, the GCP Monitor outputs the lines of metrics to stdout.false
serviceUsageBookingService usage booking is used for metrics and determines a caller-specified project for quota and billing purposes. If set to source, monitoring API calls are booked in the project where the Kubernetes container is running. If set to destination, monitoring API calls are booked in the project that is monitored. For details, see Monitor multiple GCP projects - Step 4.source
useProxyDepending on the value you set for this flag, the GCP Monitor will use the following proxy settings: Dynatrace (set to DT_ONLY), GCP API (set to GCP_ONLY), or both (set to ALL).By default, proxy settings are not used.
httpProxyThe proxy HTTP address; use this flag in conjunction with USE_PROXY.
httpsProxyThe proxy HTTPS address; use this flag in conjunction with USE_PROXY.
importDashboardsImport predefined dashboards for selected services.true
importAlertsImport predefined alerting rules for selected services.true
gcpServicesYamlConfiguration file for GCP services.
queryIntervalMetrics polling interval in minutes. Allowed values: 1 - 63

Parameters for metrics-only ingestion (deployment type: metrics)

Parameter nameDescriptionDefault value
deploymentTypeSet to 'metrics'.all
dynatraceAccessKeyYour Dynatrace API token with the required permissions according to your selected deployment. For details, see Token requirements.
dynatraceUrlYour Dynatrace environment endpoint. For details, see Determine the URL for your environment.

Optional additional parameters for metrics-only ingestion

optional

Parameter nameDescriptionDefault value
requireValidCertificateIf set to true, Dynatrace requires the SSL certificate of your Dynatrace environment.true
selfMonitoringEnabledSend custom metrics to GCP to quickly diagnose if dynatrace-gcp-monitor processes and sends metrics/logs to Dynatrace properly.false
dockerImageDynatrace GCP Monitor docker image. We recommend using the default value, but you can adapt it if needed.dynatrace/dynatrace-gcp-monitor
printMetricIngestInputIf set to true, the GCP Monitor outputs the lines of metrics to stdout.false
serviceUsageBookingService usage booking is used for metrics and determines a caller-specified project for quota and billing purposes. If set to source, monitoring API calls are booked in the project where the Kubernetes container is running. If set to destination, monitoring API calls are booked in the project that is monitored. For details, see Monitor multiple GCP projects - Step 4.source
useProxyDepending on the value you set for this flag, the GCP Monitor will use the following proxy settings: Dynatrace (set to DT_ONLY), GCP API (set to GCP_ONLY), or both (set to ALL).By default, proxy settings are not used.
httpProxyThe proxy HTTP address; use this flag in conjunction with USE_PROXY.
httpsProxyThe proxy HTTPS address; use this flag in conjunction with USE_PROXY.
importDashboardsImport predefined dashboards for selected services.true
importAlertsImport predefined alerting rules for selected services.true
gcpServicesYamlConfiguration file for GCP services.
queryIntervalMetrics polling interval in minutes. Allowed values: 1 - 63

Parameters for logs-only ingestion (deployment type: logs)

Parameter nameDescriptionDefault value
gcpProjectIdThe GCP project ID where the Dynatrace GCP Monitor should be deployed. Use the GCP project of log Sink Pub/Sub subscription. For details, see Set up generic log ingestion.Your current project ID
deploymentTypeSet to 'logs'.all
dynatraceAccessKeyYour Dynatrace API token with the required permissions according to your selected deployment. For details, see Token requirements.
activeGate.dynatracePaasTokenYour PaaS token. For details, see Token requirements.
dynatraceUrlYour Dynatrace environment endpoint. For details, see Determine the URL for your environment.
logsSubscriptionIdThe ID of your log Sink Pub/Sub subscription. For details, see Set up generic log ingestion.

Optional additional parameters for logs-only ingestion

optional

Parameter nameDescriptionDefault value
activeGate.useExistingSet to true if you choose to use an existing ActiveGate to ingest logs. For details, see ActiveGate requirements.false
dynatraceLogIngestUrlYour ActiveGate endpoint used to ingest logs to Dynatrace. For details, see Determine the URL for your environment.
requireValidCertificateIf set to true, Dynatrace requires the SSL certificate of your Dynatrace environment.true
selfMonitoringEnabledSend custom metrics to GCP to quickly diagnose if dynatrace-gcp-monitor processes and sends metrics/logs to Dynatrace properly.false
dockerImageDynatrace GCP Monitor docker image. We recommend using the default value, but you can adapt it if needed.dynatrace/dynatrace-gcp-monitor
logIngestContentMaxLengthThe maximum content length of a log event. Should be less than or equal to the setting on your Dynatrace environment.8192
logIngestAttributeValueMaxLengthThe maximum length of the log event attribute value. If it exceeds server limit, content will be truncated.250
logIngestRequestMaxEventsThe maximum number of log events in a single payload to the logs ingestion endpoint. If it exceeds the server limit, payload will be rejected with code 413.5000
logIngestRequestMaxSizeThe maximum size in bytes of a single payload to the logs ingestion endpoint. If it exceeds the server limit, payload will be rejected with code 413.1048576
logIngestEventMaxAgeSecondsDetermines the maximum age of a forwarded log event. Should be less than or equal to the setting on your Dynatrace environment.86400

Step 4 Connect your Kubernetes cluster

  • If you want to have a new GKE Autopilot cluster created by the deployment script, add --create-autopilot-cluster to the script. No connection is needed in this case, because the deployment script will connect to the new cluster automatically.
  • If you run the deployment on an existing GKE standard cluster or an existing GKE Autopilot cluster, you can connect to your cluster from the GCP console or via terminal. Follow the instructions below.
  1. In your GCP console, go to your Kubernetes Engine.
  2. Select Clusters > Connect.
  3. Select Run in Cloud Shell.

Step 5 Run the script

  • If you run the deployment on an existing GKE standard cluster or an existing GKE Autopilot cluster, the script will create an IAM service account with the necessary roles and deploy dynatrace-gcp-monitor to your Kubernetes cluster.
  • If you run the deployment with the --create-autopilot-cluster option, the script will automatically create the new GKE Autopilot cluster and deploy dynatrace-gcp-monitor to it.

To run the script, follow the instructions below.

You have two options:

  • Run the script without parameters if you want to use the default values provided (dynatrace-gcp-monitor-sa for the IAM service account name and dynatrace_monitor for the IAM role name prefix):
cd helm-deployment-package
./deploy-helm.sh
  • Run the script with parameters if you want to set your own values (be sure to replace the placeholders with your desired values):
cd helm-deployment-package
./deploy-helm.sh [--service-account <service-account-to-be-created/updated>] [--role-name <role-to-be-created/updated>]

Verify installation

To check whether installation was successful

  1. Check if the container is running.

    After the installation, it may take couple of minutes until the container is up and running.

    kubectl -n dynatrace get pods

  2. Check the container logs for errors or exceptions. You have two options:

  • For deployments of type 'metrics', run:

    kubectl -n dynatrace logs -l app=dynatrace-gcp-monitor -c dynatrace-gcp-monitor-metrics

  • For deployments of type 'logs', run:

    kubectl -n dynatrace logs -l app=dynatrace-gcp-monitor -c dynatrace-gcp-monitor-logs

  • For deployments of type 'all', run:

    kubectl -n dynatrace logs -l app=dynatrace-gcp-monitor -c dynatrace-gcp-monitor-metrics
    kubectl -n dynatrace logs -l app=dynatrace-gcp-monitor -c dynatrace-gcp-monitor-logs

  1. Check if dashboards are imported (for deployments of type 'metrics' or 'all').

    Go to Dashboards or Dashboards Classic and filter by Tag for Google Cloud. A number of dashboards for Google Cloud Services should be available.

View metrics and/or logs

After deploying the integration, depending on your deployment type, you can:

  • See metrics from monitored services: go to Metrics.
  • View and analyze GCP logs: in Dynatrace, go to Logs or Logs & Events Classic and, to look for GCP logs, filter by cloud.provider: gcp.

Log gcp

Troubleshoot

To investigate potential deployment and connectivity issues, see Troubleshoot Google Cloud monitoring setup.

Related tags
Infrastructure Observability