How to install Grafana OSS on Ubuntu

Grafana is free software based on the Apache 2.0 license, ​which enables the visualization and formatting of metric data. It lets you create dashboards and graphs from multiple sources, including time-series databases such as MySQL, Graphite, InfluxDB and OpenTSDB.

In this article, we will explain how to install it on an Ubuntu 20.04 LTS server using NGINX as a reverse proxy and obtaining a certificate with Certbot.

Installing Grafana OSS

First, you will need to obtain the grafana repository key and add it (Ubuntu 20.04 LTS):

# wget -q -O - https://packages.grafana.com/gpg.key | apt-key add -

If you are using Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or later, apt-key is deprecated. Use the following command:

# curl -fsSL https://packages.grafana.com/gpg.key | gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/grafana.gpg

Then add the Grafana repository:

# echo "deb https://packages.grafana.com/oss/deb stable main" | tee -a  /etc/apt/sources.list.d/grafana.list

Next, update the repositories and install Grafana:

# apt update && apt install grafana -y

Once installed, reload the daemons:

# systemctl daemon-reload

And start the Grafana server:

# systemctl start grafana-server

You can check the status with:

# systemctl status grafana-server

But do not forget to enable the service:

# systemctl enable grafana-server.service

Installing and configuring NGINX Reverse Proxy

Once you have completed the steps above, install the web server for the proxy:

# apt install nginx

Copy the default configuration file:

# cp /etc/nginx/sites-available/default /etc/nginx/sites-available/grafana

And edit the configuration file:

# nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/grafana

You will need to modify server_name to specify the DNS record or records that point to the server:

server_name grafana.dominio.com;

Also, to set up the reverse proxy, replace the line:

try_files $uri $uri/ =404;

With proxying to the Grafana port:

proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;

Reload the NGINX configuration:

# systemctl reload nginx.service

Install Certbot with the python package for NGINX:

# apt install python3-certbot-nginx -y

Finally, obtain the certificate with Certbot (add more -d records if necessary):

# certbot --nginx --redirect -d grafana.dominio.com

Then access it using a web browser with the default Grafana username and password (admin/admin) to change the password as soon as possible for security.

We hope this tutorial has helped you. Have you tried it? Leave us your comments! 🙂

Remember, if you have questions about this or any other issue related to your servers on Clouding, do not hesitate to write to soporte@clouding.io We are here for you whenever you need us!