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Grafana OnCall open source guide

Grafana OnCall is a developer-friendly incident response tool that’s available to Grafana open source and Grafana Cloud users. The OSS version of Grafana OnCall provides the same reliable on-call management solution along with the flexibility of a self-managed environment.

This guide describes the necessary installation and configuration steps needed to configure OSS Grafana OnCall.

Install Grafana OnCall OSS

There are three Grafana OnCall OSS environments available:

Production Environment

We suggest using our official helm chart for the reliable production deployment of Grafana OnCall. It will deploy Grafana OnCall engine and celery workers, along with RabbitMQ cluster, Redis Cluster, and the database.

Note: The Grafana OnCall engine currently supports one instance of the Grafana OnCall plugin at a time.

Check the helm chart for more details.

We’ll always be happy to provide assistance with production deployment in our communities!

Update Grafana OnCall OSS

To update an OSS installation of Grafana OnCall, please see the update docs:

Slack Setup

The Slack integration for Grafana OnCall leverages Slack API features to provide a customizable and useful integration. Refer to the following steps to configure the Slack integration:

  1. Ensure your Grafana OnCall environment is up and running

  2. Set FEATURE_SLACK_INTEGRATION_ENABLED as True

  3. Grafana OnCall must be accessible through HTTPS. For development purposes, use localtunnel. For production purposes, consider establishing a proper web server with HTTPS termination. For localtunnel, refer to the following configuration:

bash 
# Choose the unique prefix instead of pretty-turkey-83
# Localtunnel will generate an url, e.g. https://pretty-turkey-83.loca.lt
# it is referred as <ONCALL_ENGINE_PUBLIC_URL> below
lt --port 8080 -s pretty-turkey-83 --print-requests

  1. If using localtunnel, open your external URL and click Continue to allow requests to bypass the warning page.

  2. Create a Slack Workspace for development, or use your company workspace.

  3. Go to https://api.slack.com/apps and click Create an App .

  4. Select From an app manifest option and select your workspace.

  5. Replace the text with the following YAML code block . Be sure to replace <YOUR_BOT_NAME> and <ONCALL_ENGINE_PUBLIC_URL> fields with the appropriate information.

yaml 
_metadata:
  major_version: 1
  minor_version: 1
display_information:
  name: <YOUR_BOT_NAME>
features:
  app_home:
    home_tab_enabled: false
    messages_tab_enabled: true
    messages_tab_read_only_enabled: false
  bot_user:
    display_name: <YOUR_BOT_NAME>
    always_online: true
  shortcuts:
    - name: Add to resolution note
      type: message
      callback_id: add_resolution_note
      description: Add this message to resolution note
  slash_commands:
    - command: /escalate
      url: <ONCALL_ENGINE_PUBLIC_URL>/slack/interactive_api_endpoint/
      description: Direct page a team or user(s)
      should_escape: false
oauth_config:
  redirect_urls:
    - <ONCALL_ENGINE_PUBLIC_URL>/api/internal/v1/complete/slack-install-free/
    - <ONCALL_ENGINE_PUBLIC_URL>/api/internal/v1/complete/slack-login/
  scopes:
    user:
      - channels:read
      - identify
      - users.profile:read
    bot:
      - app_mentions:read
      - channels:history
      - channels:read
      - chat:write
      - chat:write.customize
      - chat:write.public
      - commands
      - files:write
      - groups:history
      - groups:read
      - im:history
      - im:read
      - im:write
      - mpim:history
      - mpim:read
      - mpim:write
      - reactions:write
      - team:read
      - usergroups:read
      - usergroups:write
      - users.profile:read
      - users:read
      - users:read.email
      - users:write
settings:
  event_subscriptions:
    request_url: <ONCALL_ENGINE_PUBLIC_URL>/slack/event_api_endpoint/
    bot_events:
      - app_home_opened
      - app_mention
      - channel_archive
      - channel_created
      - channel_deleted
      - channel_rename
      - channel_unarchive
      - member_joined_channel
      - message.channels
      - message.im
      - subteam_created
      - subteam_members_changed
      - subteam_updated
      - user_profile_changed
  interactivity:
    is_enabled: true
    request_url: <ONCALL_ENGINE_PUBLIC_URL>/slack/interactive_api_endpoint/
  org_deploy_enabled: false
  socket_mode_enabled: false

  1. Set environment variables by navigating to your Grafana OnCall, then click Env Variables and set the following:

    text 
    SLACK_CLIENT_OAUTH_ID = Basic Information -> App Credentials -> Client ID
SLACK_CLIENT_OAUTH_SECRET = Basic Information -> App Credentials -> Client Secret
SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET = Basic Information -> App Credentials -> Signing Secret
SLACK_INSTALL_RETURN_REDIRECT_HOST = << OnCall external URL >>

  2. In OnCall, navigate to ChatOps, select Slack and click Install Slack integration.

  3. Configure additional Slack settings.

Telegram Setup

The Telegram integration for Grafana OnCall is designed for collaborative team work and improved incident response. It’s available in two options: using Webhooks or Long Polling. Refer to the following steps to configure the Telegram integration:

  1. Ensure your Grafana OnCall environment is up and running.
  2. Set FEATURE_TELEGRAM_INTEGRATION_ENABLED as “True”
  3. (Long Polling only) Set FEATURE_TELEGRAM_LONG_POLLING_ENABLED as “True”
  4. Create a Telegram bot using BotFather and save the token provided by BotFather. Please make sure to disable Group Privacy for the bot (Bot Settings -> Group Privacy -> Turn off).
  5. Paste the token provided by BotFather to the TELEGRAM_TOKEN variable on the Env Variables page of your Grafana OnCall instance.
  6. (Webhook only) Set the TELEGRAM_WEBHOOK_HOST variable to the external address of your Grafana OnCall instance. Please note that TELEGRAM_WEBHOOK_HOST must start with https:// and be publicly available (meaning that it can be reached by Telegram servers). If your host is private or local, consider using a reverse proxy (e.g. ngrok).
  7. Now you can connect Telegram accounts on the Users page and receive alert groups to Telegram direct messages. Alternatively, in case you want to connect Telegram channels to your Grafana OnCall environment, navigate to the ChatOps tab.

Grafana OSS-Cloud Setup

The benefits of connecting to Grafana Cloud OnCall include:

  • Grafana Cloud OnCall could monitor OSS OnCall uptime using heartbeat
  • SMS for user notifications
  • Phone calls for user notifications.

To connect to Grafana Cloud OnCall, refer to the Cloud page in your OSS Grafana OnCall instance.

Check the Settings page for the Grafana Cloud OnCall API URL. If it’s not https://oncall-prod-us-central-0.grafana.net/oncall, you will need to set the GRAFANA_CLOUD_ONCALL_API_URL variable in your self-hosted OnCall, so that it can connect properly.

Supported Phone Providers

Exotel

Grafana OnCall supports Exotel phone call notifications delivery. To configure phone call notifications using Exotel, complete the following steps:

  1. Set GRAFANA_CLOUD_NOTIFICATIONS_ENABLED as False to ensure the Grafana OSS <-> Cloud connector is disabled.
  2. Change PHONE_PROVIDER value to exotel.
  3. EXOTEL_ACCOUNT_SID can be found under DEVELOPER SETTINGS->API Settings
  4. EXOTEL_API_KEY and EXOTEL_API_TOKEN can also be found under DEVELOPER SETTINGS->API Settings
  5. EXOTEL_APP_ID is the identifier of the flow (or applet) which can be found under MANAGE->App Bazaar (Installed apps)
  6. EXOTEL_CALLER_ID is the Exophone / Exotel virtual number.
  7. EXOTEL_SMS_SENDER_ID is the SMS Sender ID to use for sending verification SMS, which can be found under SMS SETTINGS->Sender ID.
  8. EXOTEL_SMS_VERIFICATION_TEMPLATE is the SMS text template to be used for sending verification SMS, add $verification_code as a placeholder.
  9. EXOTEL_SMS_DLT_ENTITY_ID is the DLT Entity ID registered with TRAI.

Twilio

Grafana OnCall supports Twilio SMS and phone call notifications delivery. If you prefer to configure SMS and phone call notifications using Twilio, complete the following steps:

  1. Set GRAFANA_CLOUD_NOTIFICATIONS_ENABLED as False to ensure the Grafana OSS <-> Cloud connector is disabled.
  2. From your OnCall environment, select Env Variables and configure all variables starting with TWILIO_.

Zvonok.com

Grafana OnCall supports Zvonok.com phone call notifications delivery. To configure phone call notifications using Zvonok.com, complete the following steps:

  1. Set GRAFANA_CLOUD_NOTIFICATIONS_ENABLED as False to ensure the Grafana OSS <-> Cloud connector is disabled.
  2. Change PHONE_PROVIDER value to zvonok.
  3. Create a public API key on the Profile->Settings page, and assign its value to ZVONOK_API_KEY.
  4. Create campaign and assign its ID value to ZVONOK_CAMPAIGN_ID.
  5. If you are planning to use pre-recorded audio instead of a speech synthesizer, you can copy the ID of the audio clip to the variable ZVONOK_AUDIO_ID (optional step).
  6. To make a call with a specific voice, you can set the ZVONOK_SPEAKER_ID. By default, the ID used is Salli (optional step).
  7. Create phone number verification campaign with type tellcode and assign its ID value to ZVONOK_VERIFICATION_CAMPAIGN_ID.
  8. To process the call status, it is required to add a postback with the GET/POST method on the side of the zvonok.com service with the following format (optional step): ${ONCALL_BASE_URL}/zvonok/call_status_events?campaign_id={ct_campaign_id}&call_id={ct_call_id}&status={ct_status}&user_choice={ct_user_choice}

The names of the transmitted parameters can be redefined through environment variables:

  • ZVONOK_POSTBACK_CALL_ID - call id (ct_call_id) query parameter name
  • ZVONOK_POSTBACK_CAMPAIGN_ID - company id (ct_campaign_id) query parameter name
  • ZVONOK_POSTBACK_STATUS - status (ct_status) query parameter name
  • ZVONOK_POSTBACK_USER_CHOICE - user choice (ct_user_choice) query parameter name
  • ZVONOK_POSTBACK_USER_CHOICE_ACK - user choice (ct_user_choice) query parameter value for acknowledge alert group

Email Setup

Grafana OnCall is capable of sending emails using SMTP as a user notification step. To setup email notifications, populate the following env variables with your SMTP server credentials:

  • EMAIL_HOST - SMTP server host
  • EMAIL_HOST_USER - SMTP server user
  • EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD - SMTP server password
  • EMAIL_PORT (default is 587) - SMTP server port
  • EMAIL_USE_TLS (default is True) - To enable/disable TLS
  • EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS (optional) - Email address used to send emails. If not specified, EMAIL_HOST_USER will be used.

After enabling the email integration, it will be possible to use the Notify by email notification step in user settings.

Inbound Email Setup

Grafana OnCall is capable of creating alert groups from the Inbound email integration.

To configure Inbound Email integration for Grafana OnCall OSS populate env variables with your Email Service Provider data:

  • INBOUND_EMAIL_ESP - Inbound email ESP name. Available options: amazon_ses, mailgun, mailjet, mandrill, postal, postmark, sendgrid, sparkpost
  • INBOUND_EMAIL_DOMAIN - Inbound email domain
  • INBOUND_EMAIL_WEBHOOK_SECRET - Inbound email webhook secret

Required secret syntax: part1ofsecret:part2ofsecret (The colon : is a mandatory delimiter separating both parts of your secret.)

You will also need to configure your ESP to forward messages to the following URL: scheme://<INBOUND_EMAIL_WEBHOOK_SECRET>@<ONCALL_ENGINE_PUBLIC_URL>/integrations/v1/inbound_email_webhook.

Limits

By default, Grafana OnCall limits email and phone notifications (calls, SMS) to 200 per user per day. The limit can be changed using env variables:

  • PHONE_NOTIFICATIONS_LIMIT (default is 200) - phone notifications per user
  • EMAIL_NOTIFICATIONS_LIMIT (default is 200) - emails per user

Mobile application set up

Grafana OnCall OSS users can use the mobile app to receive push notifications from OnCall. Grafana OnCall OSS relies on Grafana Cloud as on relay for push notifications. You must first connect your Grafana OnCall OSS to Grafana Cloud for the mobile app to work.

Refer to Install Grafana OnCall OSS before continuing with the mobile app.

For Grafana OnCall OSS, the mobile app QR code includes an authentication token along with a backend URL. Your Grafana OnCall OSS instance should be reachable from the same network as your mobile device, preferably from the internet.

For more information, refer to Grafana OnCall mobile app.

Alert Group Escalation Auditor

Grafana OnCall has a periodic background task, which runs to check that all alert group escalations have finished properly. This feature, if configured, can also ping an OnCall Webhook Integration’s heartbeat URL, so that you can be alerted, in the event that something goes wrong.

Logs originating from the celery worker, for the apps.alerts.tasks.check_escalation_finished.check_escalation_finished_task task, that reference a AlertGroupEscalationPolicyExecutionAuditException exception indicate that the auditor periodic task is failing check(s) on one or more alert groups. Logs for this task which mention .. passed the audit checks indicate that there were no issues with with the escalation on the audited alert groups.

To configure this feature as such:

  1. Create a Webhook, or Formatted Webhook, Integration type.
  2. Under the “Heartbeat” tab in the Integration modal, copy the unique heartbeat URL that is shown.
  3. Set the heartbeat’s expected time interval to 15 minutes (see note below regarding ALERT_GROUP_ESCALATION_AUDITOR_CELERY_TASK_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL)
  4. Configure the integration’s escalation chain as necessary
  5. Populate the following env variables:
  • ALERT_GROUP_ESCALATION_AUDITOR_CELERY_TASK_HEARTBEAT_URL - integration’s unique heartbeat URL
  • ALERT_GROUP_ESCALATION_AUDITOR_CELERY_TASK_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL - how often the auditor task should run. By default the task runs every 13 minutes so we therefore recommend setting the heartbeat’s expected time interval to 15 minutes. If you would like to modify this, we recommend configuring this env variable to 1 or 2 minutes less than the value set for the integration’s heartbeat expected time interval.

Additionally, if you prefer to disable this feature, you can set the ESCALATION_AUDITOR_ENABLED environment variable to False.