MuniBilling, a prominent software company specializing in utility billing solutions, embarked on a significant migration journey from the Rackspace Cloud infrastructure to the more robust Google Cloud Platform (GCP). With this transition came the need to reconfigure their monitoring system, including custom metrics and monitors, within the Datadog environment. The company sought the expertise of Infinitive, a trusted technology consulting firm, to efficiently align their monitoring strategies and ensure a seamless transition.
Challenge
MuniBilling faced the challenge of optimizing their existing monitoring infrastructure, which included custom metrics designed for the Rackspace Cloud environment, to the new Google Cloud Platform. They needed the monitoring setup to provide comprehensive coverage of their applications while avoiding redundancies and leveraging the unique features of GCP. This required a deep understanding of both the legacy Rackspace setup and the capabilities of Datadog and GCP.
Challenge
MuniBilling faced the challenge of optimizing their existing monitoring infrastructure, which included custom metrics designed for the Rackspace Cloud environment, to the new Google Cloud Platform. They needed the monitoring setup to provide comprehensive coverage of their applications while avoiding redundancies and leveraging the unique features of GCP. This required a deep understanding of both the legacy Rackspace setup and the capabilities of Datadog and GCP.Solution
Infinitive approached the challenge through a multi-faceted solution that covered various aspects of the migration and customization of the monitoring ecosystem.
- Mapping and Analysis: Infinitive initiated the project by developing a comprehensive mapping spreadsheet that correlated the existing Rackspace metrics with their Datadog counterparts. This mapping process helped identify where certain monitors could be streamlined or eliminated due to redundancy or unnecessary overlap stemming from GCP features.
- Monitor Development: Infinitive’s team meticulously designed and constructed over 30 monitors tailored to MuniBilling’s application architecture. These monitors were meticulously designed to provide full coverage of the existing infrastructure while being scalable enough to accommodate future expansion. For metrics requiring additional customization, Infinitive provided clear guidance on the necessary steps to enable the collection of desired data.
- Knowledge Transfer: Recognizing the importance of fostering adoption and understanding, Infinitive conducted a knowledge transfer session. This session ensured that MuniBilling’s engineering team grasped the fundamentals and essential components of the Datadog tool, enabling them to independently manage and fine-tune the monitoring environment in the future.
- Documentation and Best Practices: To provide a comprehensive understanding of the newly configured Datadog environment, Infinitive compiled detailed documentation. This documentation encompassed both the current state of the monitoring system and the best practices for creating custom metrics. It also included an illustrative example of a custom metric using GCP logs, which could serve as a foundation for future similar metrics.
- Troubleshooting Assistance: Infinitive went the extra mile by assisting MuniBilling in troubleshooting any challenges that arose during the configuration. This included resolving issues related to custom SQL queries and Google Kubernetes Engine, ensuring a smooth monitoring experience
Solution
Infinitive approached the challenge through a multi-faceted solution that covered various aspects of the migration and customization of the monitoring ecosystem.
- Mapping and Analysis: Infinitive initiated the project by developing a comprehensive mapping spreadsheet that correlated the existing Rackspace metrics with their Datadog counterparts. This mapping process helped identify where certain monitors could be streamlined or eliminated due to redundancy or unnecessary overlap stemming from GCP features.
- Monitor Development: Infinitive’s team meticulously designed and constructed over 30 monitors tailored to MuniBilling’s application architecture. These monitors were meticulously designed to provide full coverage of the existing infrastructure while being scalable enough to accommodate future expansion. For metrics requiring additional customization, Infinitive provided clear guidance on the necessary steps to enable the collection of desired data.
- Knowledge Transfer: Recognizing the importance of fostering adoption and understanding, Infinitive conducted a knowledge transfer session. This session ensured that MuniBilling’s engineering team grasped the fundamentals and essential components of the Datadog tool, enabling them to independently manage and fine-tune the monitoring environment in the future.
- Documentation and Best Practices: To provide a comprehensive understanding of the newly configured Datadog environment, Infinitive compiled detailed documentation. This documentation encompassed both the current state of the monitoring system and the best practices for creating custom metrics. It also included an illustrative example of a custom metric using GCP logs, which could serve as a foundation for future similar metrics.
- Troubleshooting Assistance: Infinitive went the extra mile by assisting MuniBilling in troubleshooting any challenges that arose during the configuration. This included resolving issues related to custom SQL queries and Google Kubernetes Engine, ensuring a smooth monitoring experience
Outcome
The collaborative efforts of MuniBilling and Infinitive yielded significant results and benefits:
- Comprehensive Monitoring: Over 30 monitors were successfully built and deployed, ensuring extensive coverage of MuniBilling’s applications and infrastructure within the Datadog environment.
- Efficiency Gains: The project reduced the number of unique monitors by over 50% by merging monitors and eliminating redundancy, resulting in more efficient monitoring operations.
- Metric Mapping: Infinitive provided a mapping document detailing the alignment of each Rackspace monitor within Datadog, facilitating transparency and future management.
- Knowledge Transfer: MuniBilling’s engineering team received a thorough knowledge transfer session covering Datadog fundamentals, empowering them to manage their monitoring effectively.
- Documentation: Detailed documentation of the current-state Datadog environment and custom metric creation practices was provided, serving as a valuable reference.
- Custom Metric Foundation: Infinitive laid the foundation for future custom metrics by creating an example using GCP logs, enabling MuniBilling to extend their monitoring capabilities as needed.
- Troubleshooting Support: Infinitive assisted in troubleshooting Agent configuration issues, ensuring a smooth transition and ongoing operation.
In summary, the development and implementation of the appropriate monitors in Datadog not only met the immediate needs of the future migration but also positioned them for efficient, scalable, and effective monitoring in their new GCP environment.
Outcome
The collaborative efforts of MuniBilling and Infinitive yielded significant results and benefits:
- Comprehensive Monitoring: Over 30 monitors were successfully built and deployed, ensuring extensive coverage of MuniBilling’s applications and infrastructure within the Datadog environment.
- Efficiency Gains: The project reduced the number of unique monitors by over 50% by merging monitors and eliminating redundancy, resulting in more efficient monitoring operations.
- Metric Mapping: Infinitive provided a mapping document detailing the alignment of each Rackspace monitor within Datadog, facilitating transparency and future management.
- Knowledge Transfer: MuniBilling’s engineering team received a thorough knowledge transfer session covering Datadog fundamentals, empowering them to manage their monitoring effectively.
- Documentation: Detailed documentation of the current-state Datadog environment and custom metric creation practices was provided, serving as a valuable reference.
- Custom Metric Foundation: Infinitive laid the foundation for future custom metrics by creating an example using GCP logs, enabling MuniBilling to extend their monitoring capabilities as needed.
- Troubleshooting Support: Infinitive assisted in troubleshooting Agent configuration issues, ensuring a smooth transition and ongoing operation.
In summary, the development and implementation of the appropriate monitors in Datadog not only met the immediate needs of the future migration but also positioned them for efficient, scalable, and effective monitoring in their new GCP environment.
