Getting Started with Netwarden

Getting Started with Netwarden

Welcome to Netwarden! This guide will walk you through the initial setup process to get your monitoring infrastructure up and running in just a few minutes.

What is Netwarden?

Netwarden is a comprehensive infrastructure monitoring platform that provides real-time insights into your servers, applications, containers, and cloud services. Unlike complex enterprise solutions, Netwarden focuses on simplicity without sacrificing power.

Key Features

• Real-time Monitoring: Get instant visibility into CPU, memory, disk, and network metrics
• Smart Alerts: Intelligent alerting that reduces noise and focuses on what matters
• Service Discovery: Automatically detects and monitors your running services
• Custom Dashboards: Create beautiful, customized dashboards for different teams
• Multi-platform Support: Monitor Linux, Windows, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud services
• 5-Minute Setup: Get started monitoring in minutes, not hours

Step 1: Create Your Account

1. Visit app.netwarden.com/auth/signup
2. Enter your email address and create a strong password
3. Verify your email address
4. Choose your plan (start with the free tier if you're just testing)

Once logged in, you'll be directed to your dashboard.

Step 2: Get Your Credentials

After logging in, you'll need to get your monitoring credentials:

1. Navigate to Settings → Agent Tokens in the dashboard
2. Click "Generate New Token"
3. Copy your credentials:
   • Tenant ID: A 10-character identifier (e.g., abc1234567)
   • API Key: Your authentication key (starts with nw_sk_)
4. Keep these credentials secure - they authenticate your agents

Step 3: Install Your First Agent

Choose the quickest installation method for your platform:

Linux Quick Install

bashCopy
curl -sSL https://get.netwarden.com/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- --tenant-id YOUR_TENANT_ID --api-key YOUR_API_KEY

Manual Configuration After Install

After installation, configure the agent with your credentials:

bashCopy
sudo nano /etc/netwarden/netwarden.conf

Update the configuration file:

yamlCopy
# Required credentials
tenant_id: "YOUR_TENANT_ID"
api_key: "YOUR_API_KEY"

Starting the Service

bashCopy
# Start and enable the agent
sudo systemctl enable --now netwarden

For detailed installation instructions, see the Installation Guide.

Step 4: Verify Agent Connection

After installation, your agent should connect within 1-2 minutes. Check the connection:

1. Return to the Netwarden dashboard
2. Look for your host in the "Hosts" section
3. You should see a green status indicator

Troubleshooting Connection Issues

If your agent doesn't appear:

bashCopy
# Check agent status
sudo systemctl status netwarden

# Check logs for errors
sudo journalctl -u netwarden -n 50

# Test connectivity
curl -I https://api.netwarden.com/health

Step 5: Explore Your Metrics

Once connected, you'll immediately start seeing metrics:

Main Dashboard

The main dashboard provides an overview of all your monitored infrastructure:

Host Detail View

Click on any host to see detailed metrics:

• CPU Usage: Real-time and historical CPU utilization
• Memory: RAM usage, swap, and cache statistics
• Disk I/O: Read/write operations and throughput
• Network: Bandwidth usage and packet statistics
• Processes: Top processes by CPU and memory
• Services: Status of system services

Step 6: Set Up Your First Alert

Let's create a basic CPU alert:

1. Navigate to Monitoring → Alerts
2. Click "Create Alert"
3. Configure the alert:

• Alert Name: High CPU Usage
• Metric: cpu.usage.percent
• Condition: Greater than
• Threshold: 80%
• Duration: 5 minutes
• Notification Method: Email

4. Click "Save Alert"

Now you'll be notified if CPU usage exceeds 80% for more than 5 minutes.

Common Alert Templates

Here are some recommended alerts to start with:

| Alert | Metric | Condition | Threshold | Duration | |-------|--------|-----------|-----------|----------| | High CPU | cpu.usage.percent | > | 80% | 5 min | | Low Memory | memory.available.mb | < | 500 MB | 5 min | | Disk Space | disk.usage.percent | > | 90% | 10 min | | Host Down | host.status | = | down | 1 min | | High Load | system.load.5m | > | 4.0 | 5 min |

Step 7: Install on Additional Hosts

To monitor more servers, repeat the installation process with the same token:

Batch Installation

For multiple Linux servers, create a simple script:

bashCopy
#!/bin/bash
TENANT_ID="YOUR_TENANT_ID"
API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
HOSTS="server1.example.com server2.example.com server3.example.com"

for host in $HOSTS; do
  echo "Installing on $host..."
  ssh $host "curl -sSL https://get.netwarden.com/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- --tenant-id $TENANT_ID --api-key $API_KEY"
done

Using Configuration Management

Ansible Playbook

yamlCopy
---
- name: Install Netwarden Agent
  hosts: all
  become: yes
  vars:
    netwarden_api_key: "YOUR_API_KEY"
    netwarden_tenant_id: "YOUR_TENANT_ID"

  tasks:
    - name: Download and run installer
      shell: |
        curl -sSL https://get.netwarden.com/install.sh | bash -s -- --tenant-id {{ netwarden_tenant_id }} --api-key {{ netwarden_api_key }}
      args:
        creates: /usr/bin/netwarden

    - name: Configure agent
      template:
        src: netwarden.conf.j2
        dest: /etc/netwarden/netwarden.conf
        mode: '0600'

    - name: Ensure agent is running
      systemd:
        name: netwarden
        state: started
        enabled: yes

Terraform Example

hclCopy
resource "aws_instance" "web" {
  # ... instance configuration ...

  user_data = <<-EOF
    #!/bin/bash
    curl -sSL https://get.netwarden.com/install.sh | bash -s -- --tenant-id ${var.netwarden_tenant_id} --api-key ${var.netwarden_api_key}

    # Configure agent
    cat > /etc/netwarden/netwarden.conf <<CONFIG
    tenant_id: "${var.netwarden_tenant_id}"
    api_key: "${var.netwarden_api_key}"
    CONFIG

    systemctl restart netwarden
  EOF
}

Step 8: Organize with Tags

Tags help you organize and filter your infrastructure:

1. Go to Hosts page
2. Click on a host
3. Add tags like:
   • environment:production
   • region:us-east-1
   • team:backend
   • service:api

Tags can be used to:

• Filter views in the dashboard
• Create tag-based alerts
• Generate team-specific reports
• Control access permissions

Step 9: Invite Team Members

Share monitoring with your team:

1. Go to Settings → Team
2. Click "Invite Member"
3. Enter email address and select role:
   • Admin: Full access to all features
   • Editor: Can modify alerts and dashboards
   • Viewer: Read-only access

Team members will receive an invitation email to join your workspace.

Step 10: Customize Your Dashboard

Create a dashboard tailored to your needs:

1. Navigate to Dashboards
2. Click "Create Dashboard"
3. Add widgets by clicking "Add Widget"
4. Choose from various widget types:
   • Line graphs
   • Gauges
   • Heatmaps
   • Tables
   • Status indicators

Example: Web Service Dashboard

Here's a sample dashboard configuration for monitoring web services:

• Request Rate Graph: Monitor nginx.requests.per_second over time
• Response Time Gauge: Track 95th percentile response times
• Service Health Grid: Show status of nginx, mysql, redis, and api services
• Custom Thresholds: Set warning at 500ms, critical at 1000ms

What's Next?

Now that you have basic monitoring set up, explore these advanced features:

Immediate Next Steps

• 📊 Create custom dashboards for different teams
• 🔔 Configure advanced alerts with multiple conditions
• 🔍 Enable service discovery for automatic monitoring

Advanced Features

• Integrations: Route alerts to your tools using custom webhooks
• API Access: Automate monitoring tasks with our REST API
• Custom Metrics: Send application-specific metrics
• Log Aggregation: Centralize and search logs

Best Practices

1. Start Small: Begin with basic CPU, memory, and disk alerts
2. Tune Gradually: Adjust thresholds based on your baseline
3. Document Everything: Label hosts and use descriptive alert names
4. Test Alerts: Verify notifications are working before you need them
5. Regular Reviews: Check dashboards weekly and adjust as needed

Getting Help

If you need assistance:

• 📚 Documentation: Full guides at netwarden.com/docs
• 📧 Support: Email [email protected]
• 🐛 Bug Reports: File issues on GitHub

Quick Command Reference

Here are the most common commands you'll use:

bashCopy
# Check agent status
sudo systemctl status netwarden

# Restart agent
sudo systemctl restart netwarden

# View logs
sudo journalctl -u netwarden -n 50

# View configuration
cat /etc/netwarden/netwarden.conf

Congratulations! You're now monitoring with Netwarden! 🎉