Visualize time series with charts

A time series chart visualizes time series data returned by a query. The chart depicts each returned time series as either a line or bar chart representing each data point or interval, with time depicted along the X axis and values along the Y axis. Time series charts are the default panel type when creating new panels in Chronosphere Observability Platform.

Use time series charts to analyze trends and patterns in data over spans of time. For example, you can render time series data about a service’s resource consumption to identify points in time where unexpected demand exhausted capacity and reduced the service’s performance or availability.

When combined with other charts in a dashboard, you can focus on that point in time and correlate the event with other time series visualizations. Dashboards also support variables that can dynamically replace values in the panel and its query with those defined by the dashboard’s editor and selected by its viewers.

To create a time series chart or learn more about the configuration options common to all panels, see Panels.

Use a time series chart’s tooltip

When you hold the pointer over a time series’s line or bar, Observability Platform displays a tooltip that includes the date and time where the cursor is pointing. The tooltip also displays the value of that series at that point in time. If multiple series are under the cursor, Observability Platform displays the values for each series. Moving the cursor along the series updates the values in the tooltip to the new point in time.

To pin the tooltip to a specific point in time, click the chart. The tooltip remains visible until you click Unpin inside the tooltip. Next to any time series, click the expand icon to open the graph in an overlay window, filtered to that time series.

To configure which series Observability Platform includes in the tooltip, see Modify a time series chart’s tooltip.

In time series bar charts, certain data points display a time value such as 2h to indicate the step size.

Time series chart queries

Time series charts use one or more queries to retrieve data to visualize.

Time series charts use the following query Options to refine the displayed information, depending on your Datasource:

Configure a time series chart

You can configure a time series chart by modifying its Settings.

Any changes you make in the panel’s Settings tab are immediately reflected in the Preview pane but take effect only when you click Apply in the Edit panel interface and then Save the dashboard.

Observability Platform doesn’t fully support directly editing a panel’s JSON representation and recommends configuring panels in the user interface. Use the JSON representation only for managing your configuration as code with tools such as Chronoctl and Terraform.

Several time series chart options use regular expressions.

Modify a time series chart’s colors

The Advanced tab in a time series chart’s Edit Panel interface contains an Overrides section where you can add, remove, and configure color overrides. You can apply color overrides to a specific series or all series that match a regular expression.

To add a color override:

1. Click the plus sign (+) in the Override section header.
2. In the field that appears, select whether you want the override to select a series based on the series name or a series name with a matching regex.
3. Enter the series name or regular expression to override.
4. Click Add property, then click Color.
5. Optional: Repeat these steps to create additional color overrides.

To delete a color override, click the Delete icon on its corresponding row of the Overrides section.

Modify a time series line style

You can modify the style of line displayed on a time series chart.

1. Click the plus sign (+) in the Override section header.
2. In the field that appears, select whether you want the override to select a series based on the series name or a series name with a matching regex.
3. Enter the series name or regular expression to override.
4. Click Add property, then click Line style.
5. Select Solid (default) or Dashed.
6. Optional: Repeat these steps to add line styles to additional time series.
7. Click Apply.

To delete a line style override, click the Delete icon on its corresponding row of the Overrides section.

Modify a time series chart’s legend

The Legend section in a time series chart’s Settings tab controls whether to display a legend alongside the chart, and if so it also configures where and how it appears.

• Show: Toggles whether to display the legend. Defaults to disabled.

• Position: Selects whether to display the legend Below or to the Right of the chart. Defaults to Below.

• Mode: Selects whether to display the legend as a List of time series with a color swatch associating it with a line or bar on the chart, or as a Table with a header row. Defaults to List.

• Size: Defines the legend’s size relative to the chart as either Small or Medium. Defaults to Small.

• Values: Toggles whether to display certain values for each time series, such as its average, minimum, maximum, and total values, in the legend. Defaults to showing no values.

  • Avg: The series’ mean value, excluding null values.
  • First: The series’ first value.
  • First *: The series’ first numeric value.
  • Last: The series’ last value.
  • Last *: The series’ last numeric value.
  • Min: The series’ minimum value.
  • Max: The series’ maximum value.
  • Total: The sum of all values in the series.

  Units, abbreviations, and decimal places configured in the Unit and Formatting settings also apply here.

Modify a time series chart’s visual representation

The Visual section in a time series chart’s Settings tab controls how Observability Platform visualizes the query’s time series results in the chart.

• Display: Toggles whether to visualize the data as a Line or Bar chart. Defaults to line.
• Line Width: Defines the series’ width in pixels. In the Settings tab, use the slider to define a value between 0 and 3. Defaults to 1.5.
• Area Opacity: Defines the opacity of the space beneath each line, from fully transparent (0) to fully opaque (1). The fill color for each series is the same as its line or bar color. Defaults to 0.
• Stack Series: Determines how to display the values for a series. Choose one of the following values:
  • None: Display each series’ value independently. Default.
  • All: Display series’ values stacked cumulatively on top of each other.
  • Percent: Display series’ values by relative percentage to help show the proportions of each series change over time.
• Color Palette: Determines the chart’s color palette. The Classic palette uses six colors and prioritizes readability, while the Consistent palette includes more colors and lets you assign a color to a series consistently across multiple panels. Defaults to Classic.
• Show Points: Determines whether to render data points as dots on the chart. Auto renders data points only if doing so doesn’t degrade browser performance. Always and Never respectively render or hide data points regardless of the number of data points. Defaults to Auto.
• Null Behavior: Determines how to chart data points with null values. To connect points in a Line chart even if there are null values between data points, select Connected. To treat null values as zeroes, select Null as zero. Defaults to Auto, which disconnects the series in a Line chart if any points are null.

Modify time series units and formatting

The Unit and formatting section changes the display of units on the chart.

• Unit: Defines the unit used to render the Y axis. This has the most significant effect when you enable Abbreviate. Defaults to Decimal.

  • Decimal: Base 10 values. Observability Platform renders a value of 1000000 as 1M.

  • Bytes: As decimal multiple-byte units. Observability Platform renders a value of 1000000 as 1MB.

  • Time: Determines the unit of time that Observability Platform uses to interpret a numeric value.

  • Percent: Interprets the value as a percentile, representing 0% to 100% on a range of either 0.0 to 1.0 (Percent (0.0-1.0)) or 0 and 100 (Percent (0-100)).

    For example, Observability Platform renders a value of 1.0 in Percent (0.0-1.0) as 100%, and in Percent (0-100) as 1%.

• Decimals: Defines how many decimal places Observability Platform renders for values. Default renders decimal places only if necessary and rounds to the nearest value. Numeric values from 0 to 4 render the corresponding number of decimal places.
• Abbreviate: Toggles whether to abbreviate units on the Y axis. For example, if you enable Abbreviate, Observability Platform renders a value of 100000000 as 100M. You can toggle this setting only if you set the Unit to Decimal or Bytes; Time units are always abbreviated and Percent values don’t require it. Defaults to true.

Modify a time series chart’s Y axis

The Y axis section in a time series chart’s Settings tab controls whether Observability Platform renders a chart’s Y axis, and if so what information it includes.

These settings apply to all values on the chart regardless of time series, and includes any values you enabled in the chart’s legend.

• Show: Toggles whether to show the Y axis on the chart. Defaults to true.
• Label: Renders the given text vertically next to the Y axis. Defaults to no value.
• Min and Max: Define the minimum and maximum values, respectively, to render on the chart. Observability Platform doesn’t render values smaller than the minimum or larger than the maximum. Defaults to no value, which dynamically changes the axis’s range to display all data.

Add a second Y axis

You can create a series override in a time series chart’s Advanced tab that adds a second Y axis for the chart. Use this to indicate the scale and units of a second series in a single time series chart.

To create an override that adds a right Y axis:

1. Click the plus sign (+) in the Override section header.
2. In the field that appears, select whether you want the override to select a series based on the series name or a series name with a matching regex.
3. Enter the series name or regular expression to override.
4. Click Add property, then click Right y-axis.
5. Configure the right Y axis, which has the same settings available as the primary left Y axis.

To delete a right Y axis, click the Delete icon on its corresponding row of the Overrides section.

Modify a time series chart’s tooltip

The Tooltip section in a time series chart’s Settings tab determines whether to render a tooltip when you move the cursor over the chart and which time series it displays.

The Mode toggle has three available states, which you can toggle by clicking them:

Regardless of this setting’s value, the tooltip and chart always highlight the time series that’s directly beneath the cursor.

Modify a time series chart’s thresholds

The Thresholds section in a chart’s Settings tab defines values where Observability Platform renders threshold lines over the chart. You can define threshold values as either absolute numeric values or percentiles. Observability Platform renders threshold lines as dashed lines.

The threshold’s Mode defines whether all thresholds use Absolute numeric values, which is the default mode, or Percent values. Percent values are relative to the Y axis’ minimum and maximum.

To create a new threshold:

1. Click the plus sign (+) in the Thresholds section header.

2. In the field that appears, enter a value where you want Observability Platform to render the threshold line.

3. Optional: Click the color indicator, depicted as a colored circle, to open a color selector and choose a color for the threshold line.

4. Optional: Click the caret (>) to expand the threshold definition, and enter text in the Label field to display on the chart if the threshold is met. This text displays when you hold the pointer over the area of the chart exceeding the threshold.

   Drag the Area opacity slider to highlight the background of the area exceeding the threshold.

5. In the Edit panel dialog, click Apply to save your changes.

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

To delete a threshold line, click the caret (>) to expand the threshold definition, and then click the Delete icon on its corresponding row of the Thresholds section.