Lab: Custom metrics with DogStatsD and a dashboard

What you will learn in this TP

• Send DogStatsD metrics
• Build a dashboard with variables
• Measure cardinality

Introduction #

What you will learn in this section

• Send DogStatsD metrics
• Build a dashboard with variables
• Measure cardinality

Context. The product team wants to track orders in real time alongside the technical metrics. You send business metrics while keeping the bill under control.

Prerequisites: Previous lab completed  ·  Estimated time: 40 min

Useful, well-controlled business metrics.

Hands-on #

Guided steps, with their solutions.

1. 1. Send counters

   Why? DogStatsD aggregates on the agent side: the application sends over UDP without waiting.

   For one minute, send orders with a payment method tag.

2. 2. Explore

   Why? The Metrics Explorer confirms reception and the tags.

   In Metrics > Explorer, graph sum:boutique.commandes{env:lab} by {moyen_paiement}.as_count().

3. 3. Dashboard with variables

   Why? An env variable makes the dashboard reusable across all environments.

   Create a “Boutique” dashboard with a $env variable, a Query Value widget (orders in the last hour) and a Timeseries of the p95 basket amount.

4. 4. Measure cardinality

   Why? To understand why a tag can be expensive.

   Send 500 points with a unique commande_id tag, then compare the metric's number of series in Metrics Summary.

Difficulty level : ●●●○○ (3/5)