OBSERVABILITY PLATFORM

Panels

Visualize dashboard contents with panels

Panels allow you to visualize, filter, and transform the results of a query. Standard dashboards provide visualizations designed to work with other Chronosphere Observability Platform features, such as Metrics Explorer.

Panels react to the time range set for a dashboard, and can be dynamically customized by using dashboard variables.

Classic dashboards have their own panels and methods of configuring them. For details about panels in classic dashboards, see Classic dashboard panels.

Common panel elements

All panels consist of common settings and features. You can add these during panel creation, or edit them at a later time.

Name: The panel’s configured name.
Group: The panel group that contains the panel.
Description: A description of the panel displayed when holding the pointer over an Information icon.
Type: A panel’s type defines its visualization method or content. By default, new panels are the Time Series Chart type.
Links: An icon that reveals any links configured for the panel.
Expand: Expands the panel to a the full width and height of the browser for a more detailed view.
Options: Opens a menu of panel-related actions, depending on the panel type.
- Edit panel: Used to update the panel.
- Open in Metrics Explorer: Click to open a new tab using the panel’s queries in Metrics Explorer. When opening Metrics Explorer from this link, Resolution settings carry over.
- Copy as link: Copy a link directly to this panel. When used, the link opens the panel in full-screen mode.
- Copy as image: Copy the panel as an image to the operating system clipboard.
- Export as PNG: Download the panel as a PNG file. The filename matches the panel name.
- Add to dashboard: Copy this panel to another dashboard. Select an existing dashboard or create a new one.
- Metrics DDx: On time series panels, use this link to open the metrics differential diagnosis page.

Panels can also have additional options presented in tabs of the Edit panel interface. Most panels provide these tabs:

Query: Observability Platform uses results from queries to populate the panel’s visualization.
Settings: Configuration options for the selected panel type.
Links: Links associated with the panel, which can optionally use variables provided by Observability Platform related to the panel or dashboard.
JSON: An editable, automatically updated JSON representation of the panel’s configuration.

Create panels in a dashboard

To add and use panels in a dashboard, you must first create a dashboard or select an existing dashboard to which you’ll add the panel.

Each panel in a dashboard belongs to a panel group, which is a container of one or more panels. If a dashboard doesn’t have any panel groups, Observability Platform creates one for you when you add a panel.

To add a panel to a standard dashboard with no existing panel groups:

Open the dashboard. You can view a list of all dashboards or select from a list of dashboards in a collection.
Click Edit on the dashboard.
Click Panel.
In the Add Panel interface that appears, provide a Name for the new panel.
Optional: Configure the panel based on the panel options and panel type you want to use.
Click Add to add the panel or Cancel to discard it.

To add a new panel to a panel group:

In the panel group to which you want to add a panel, click the Add panel to group icon.
In the Add Panel interface that appears, provide a Name for the new panel.
Click Add to add the panel or Cancel to discard it.

Panels aren’t permanently added to a dashboard until you save all changes to the dashboard by clicking Save on the dashboard.

You can save a new panel to a dashboard with as little as a name, then edit it later to configure it and add or modify queries.

Panel types

For details about these settings or unique features in a panel type, see its documentation. The panel types available for visualizing data include:

Time Series Chart: A line or bar chart representation of time series data returned by the panel’s queries.
Bar Chart: A bar chart representation of data returned by the panel’s queries.
Heat Map: The density of data points across ranges of values returned by a query, visualized by colors that represent the magnitude of data for each range of values.
Stat Chart: A stat chart visualizes statistic numbers returned by a query.
Gauge Chart: A value for each data point returned by a query, visualized as a configurable gauge depicting a minimum and maximum range and configurable thresholds.
Markdown: Renders defined Markdown text.
Table: Presents the data returned by the query as a customizable table.
Pie Chart: A pie chart representation of data returned by the panel’s queries.
Distribution Chart: A visualization of histograms by bucket.
Service Topology: View trace data related to this dashboard.

⚠️

All panel types except Markdown and Service topology use queries.

Queries that return an extremely large number of data points or invalid results can result in panel errors. For example, a query might return an error for exceeding server resource limits.

Observability Platform reports these errors with an icon that appears in the corner of the Preview pane of the Add panel or Edit panel interfaces, or on the panel when viewing it on the dashboard. Hold the pointer over the icon to view the error message.

Copy a panel to another dashboard

Copy panels from an existing dashboard to another dashboard by using one of the following methods:

To copy a panel to any dashboard using keyboard shortcuts:

Open a dashboard.
Click the panel you want to copy.
Press Control+C (Command+C on macOS) to copy the panel to the clipboard.
Open the target dashboard.
Click a panel group to select it. If you don’t select a group, the panel pastes into the last panel group on the page.
Press Control+V (Command+V on macOS) to paste the panel into the dashboard. The panel uses the same configuration as it had on the origin dashboard.
Click Save to save the updated dashboard.

To customize your panel while copying a panel to another dashboard, or a new, personal dashboard:

Open a dashboard.
On the panel you want to copy, click the three dots icon, and then select Add to dashboard.
In the Add a dashboard dialog, enter the following information:
- A Panel name: The dialog populates with the name of the panel you selected. Keep this name, or update the field with a new name.
- Select an existing dashboard:
  Leave Select an existing dashboard blank to create a new dashboard. The dashboard will be added to your personal collection. If you don’t have a personal collection, one will be created for you.
  1. Click Create new dashboard.
  2. The dialog updates with the following fields:
    
    Dashboard name: The name defaults to [Quick Dash]: USER_ID - TIMESTAMP where:
    
    USER_ID is your username.
    
    TIMESTAMP is the date and time you clicked the Add to dashboard button.
    
    Owner: Optional: Select an owner for the dashboard.
Optional: Update the Preview.
Click Add to dashboard when you’re finished.
The message Panel successfully added to dashboard. Go to dashboard. displays. Click the Go to dashboard link to view the dashboard.

Edit a panel

You can customize the features of each panel in a dashboard and edit the queries used to populate it.

To edit a panel in a standard dashboard:

Open the dashboard. You can view a list of all dashboards or select from a list of dashboards in a collection.
Click Edit for the dashboard.
Click Edit for the panel you want to edit.
In the Edit panel interface that appears, configure the panel based on the panel options and panel type you want to use.
Click Apply to apply the changes or Cancel to discard them.

After you’ve finished editing panels, click Save on the dashboard to save your changes.

Change a panel’s type

You can change the type of panel at any time.

To change a panel’s type:

Open the panel’s editor.
Click the Type dropdown.
Select a panel type.
Click Apply to save any panel type changes and exit the panel editor.

Change a panel’s query

Queries populate panels with data to visualize. Use one of the following methods to create a query:

In the Code tab, write your own query or paste a known query.
Use the Builder tab to create a query using the query builder.

You can change the query a panel uses when the data doesn’t match your needs.

Open the panel’s editor.
Select the Query tab.
Optional:
- Change the Resolution of a query. This setting controls the maximum data points per series. Options are:
  - Low: Prioritizes query performance over accuracy.
  - Medium: (Default) Balances performance and accuracy.
  - High: Uses more data points to provide more precise results, but might have degraded performance.
  - Custom: Set a custom step size. If you select Custom, you must enter a Custom resolution with time units. For example, 30m. This field supports duration variables. For more details, see Dashboard query interval and resolution.
  - Change the Time preference:
    - Toggle Use dashboard time.
    - Add a Relative time override. You can use custom variables in the override if they’re duration-based.
Select a Datasource for the query. This selection determines the syntax you can enter. For example, selecting Metrics (Prometheus) accepts PromQL syntax, whereas selecting Logs accepts Chronosphere log syntax.
Enter expressions for the query you want to edit.

The visualization preview changes as you edit the query. If the query doesn’t return any data, the visualization preview doesn’t indicate any changes. If the query or results return an error, an icon appears next to the panel name.
Optional: Add a Series alias to define the name displayed for the series in the panel’s tooltip and legend.

If you select a Logs query that includes a field which contains a period (.) in its name (such as k8s.namespace), and you want to use signals to group notifications, use an alias for that field name. Otherwise, periods are converted to underscores in the generated visualization.
Optional: Change the Resolution of a query. This setting controls the maximum data points per series. Options are:
- Low: Prioritizes query performance over accuracy.
- Medium: (Default) Balances performance and accuracy.
- High: Uses more data points to provide more precise results, but might have degraded performance.
- Custom: Set a custom step size. If you select Custom, you must enter a Custom resolution with time units. For example, 30m. This field supports duration variables.
  
  Lower resolutions will return results faster, but can reduce data spikes due to downsampling. If you find you’re missing spikes at Low resolution, changing to High resolution or using an aggregation function like max_over_time can help. See Disappearing spikes when increasing the range (opens in a new tab) in the Chronosphere blog for a detailed explanation.
Optional: Add additional queries by clicking Add query.
Optional: Hide a visualized query by clicking Hide query, or show a hidden query by clicking Show query.
Change a query’s Options based on the panel type.
Click Apply to save any query changes and exit the panel editor.

For details about writing queries, read the querying documentation.

You can use dashboard variables in a query to let dashboard users dynamically customize them without modifying the query itself.

If you include a dashboard variable that doesn’t exist, Observability Platform notifies you of the missing variable in the query editor and includes a link of the variable name that automatically creates and configures the suggested variable.

Add links to a panel

To add links to a panel:

Open the panel’s editor.
Click Links.
Click Add link.
Choose a Link type, and then configure it:
If you select Dashboard:
1. Click the Select dashboard box and choose a dashboard.
2. Select or clear the following options:
  - Include current time range
  - Include current variable values
Click Save link to save the link.

View a panel’s JSON

To view the JSON for a single panel:

Open the panel’s editor.
Select the JSON tab.

Exit the panel editor

To save changes to a panel and exit the panel editor, click Apply.

To exit the panel editor without saving changes, click Cancel.

Delete a panel

To delete a panel:

Open the dashboard you want to change.
In the panel you want to delete, click the Delete icon.
Click Delete to confirm or Cancel to go back.

Save changes to a dashboard

Changes made to panels in a dashboard aren’t saved until you save all changes to the dashboard, even after applying the changes to the panels in the Edit panel interface.

To save changes to a dashboard’s panels and layout from the dashboard view, click Save.

Dashboards Bar chart