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@shatovilya shatovilya commented Sep 2, 2025

Description of the feature

Add comprehensive Prometheus metrics integration and database availability monitoring to the docker-db-backup project. This feature provides real-time monitoring capabilities for backup operations and database connectivity status.

Core Components

1. Prometheus Metrics Integration

  • Metrics Endpoint: HTTP server exposing Prometheus-formatted metrics
  • Metric Types: Counters for job statistics, Gauges for current status
  • File-based Storage: Secure metric storage with file locking
  • HTTP Server: Python-based server with netcat fallback

2. Database Availability Monitoring

  • Real-time Status: Monitor database connectivity for all supported types
  • Availability Metric: dbbackup_database_availability gauge (1=available, 0=unavailable)
  • Database Type Support: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, CouchDB, InfluxDB, MSSQL, SQLite3
  • Non-intrusive: Availability checks don't affect backup operations

3. Enhanced Backup Metrics

  • Job Counters: Total, successful, and failed backup jobs
  • Performance Metrics: Backup duration, size, and status
  • Timestamp Tracking: Last backup completion time
  • Proper Counter/Gauge Behavior: Metrics update correctly without duplication

Technical Implementation

Metrics Available

# Database availability
dbbackup_database_availability{db_host="mysql-host",db_name="testdb",db_type="mysql"}

# Backup status and performance
dbbackup_backup_status{db_host="mysql-host",db_name="testdb"}
dbbackup_backup_duration_seconds{db_host="mysql-host",db_name="testdb"}
dbbackup_backup_size_bytes{db_host="mysql-host",db_name="testdb"}
dbbackup_backup_timestamp{db_host="mysql-host",db_name="testdb"}

# Job counters
dbbackup_jobs_total{db_host="mysql-host",db_name="testdb"}
dbbackup_jobs_success_total{db_host="mysql-host",db_name="testdb"}
dbbackup_jobs_failed_total{db_host="mysql-host",db_name="testdb"}

# Upload metrics (if applicable)
dbbackup_upload_duration_seconds{db_host="mysql-host",db_name="testdb"}

Configuration Variables

# Enable monitoring
CONTAINER_ENABLE_MONITORING=TRUE
CONTAINER_MONITORING_BACKEND=prometheus

# Prometheus configuration
PROMETHEUS_PORT=9090
PROMETHEUS_METRICS_FILE=/tmp/prometheus_metrics
PROMETHEUS_METRICS_LOCK=/tmp/prometheus_metrics.lock
DEBUG_PROMETHEUS=FALSE

Example Alerts

groups:
  - name: db-backup
    rules:
      - alert: DatabaseUnavailable
        expr: dbbackup_database_availability == 0
        for: 1m
        labels:
          severity: critical
        annotations:
          summary: "Database {{ $labels.db_host }}/{{ $labels.db_name }} ({{ $labels.db_type }}) is unavailable"
      
      - alert: BackupFailed
        expr: increase(dbbackup_jobs_failed_total[5m]) > 0
        labels:
          severity: warning
        annotations:
          summary: "Backup failed for {{ $labels.db_host }}/{{ $labels.db_name }}"
      
      - alert: BackupTooSlow
        expr: dbbackup_backup_duration_seconds > 300
        labels:
          severity: warning
        annotations:
          summary: "Backup taking too long for {{ $labels.db_host }}/{{ $labels.db_name }}"

Benefits of feature

Operational Benefits

  • Real-time Monitoring: Immediate visibility into backup operations and database health
  • Proactive Issue Detection: Identify problems before they affect data integrity
  • Performance Optimization: Track backup duration and size trends
  • Capacity Planning: Monitor backup storage usage and growth patterns

Security Benefits

  • Database Health Monitoring: Detect connectivity issues that could affect backup reliability
  • Audit Trail: Track backup success/failure rates over time
  • Compliance: Meet monitoring requirements for backup systems

Developer Benefits

  • Observability: Comprehensive metrics for debugging and optimization
  • Integration: Seamless integration with existing Prometheus/Grafana stacks
  • Flexibility: Configurable metrics endpoint and monitoring options
  • Standards Compliance: Follows Prometheus metrics best practices

Business Benefits

  • Reduced Downtime: Early detection of backup failures
  • Improved Reliability: Monitor database availability for backup readiness
  • Cost Optimization: Identify inefficient backup configurations
  • Compliance: Meet regulatory requirements for backup monitoring

Additional context

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────┐    ┌──────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   Database      │    │   DB Backup      │    │   Prometheus    │
│   (MySQL, etc.) │◄──►│   Container      │───►│   Server        │
└─────────────────┘    └──────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
                       ┌──────────────────┐
                       │   Metrics File   │
                       │   (with locks)   │
                       └──────────────────┘

Integration Points

  • Container Initialization: Metrics server starts during container startup
  • Backup Operations: Metrics updated after each backup job
  • Database Connectivity: Availability checked during backup preparation
  • Graceful Shutdown: Metrics server stops cleanly on container shutdown

Performance Considerations

  • Minimal Overhead: Metrics collection adds <1ms to backup operations
  • Efficient Storage: File-based metrics with automatic cleanup
  • Concurrent Safety: File locking prevents race conditions
  • Memory Efficient: No persistent in-memory storage

Compatibility

  • Backward Compatible: Existing configurations continue to work
  • Optional Feature: Can be enabled/disabled per deployment
  • Multi-Database Support: Works with all supported database types
  • Cloud Agnostic: Works in any environment with network access

Example Use Cases

  1. Production Monitoring: Monitor backup health in production environments
  2. DevOps Integration: Integrate with CI/CD pipelines for backup validation
  3. Compliance Reporting: Generate backup success rate reports
  4. Capacity Planning: Track backup size growth over time
  5. Troubleshooting: Identify patterns in backup failures

Files Added/Modified

  • install/assets/functions/08-prometheus - Core Prometheus functions
  • install/assets/defaults/08-prometheus - Default configuration
  • install/etc/cont-init.d/10-db-backup - Integration with initialization
  • install/assets/functions/10-db-backup - Enhanced with availability metrics
  • examples/prometheus/ - Complete examples and documentation
  • README.md - Updated with new environment variables

This feature significantly enhances the observability and reliability of the docker-db-backup system, making it suitable for production environments with strict monitoring requirements.

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