Grafana module updated with WAL support.

Change Summary

This git diff introduces a new environment variable GF_DATABASE_WAL set to true in the argocd_application resource for Grafana within the main.tf file of the monitoring module. This change is aimed at enhancing the database performance and reliability of the Grafana instance.

Technical Details

• File Modified: IaC/modules/monitoring/main.tf
• Resource: argocd_application named grafana
• Added Environment Variable:

  GF_DATABASE_WAL    = true
  

  This variable enables Write-Ahead Logging (WAL) for Grafana’s database, which is a technique used to improve the reliability of database transactions by ensuring that changes are logged before they are committed.

Key Learnings & Insights

• Reasoning Behind the Change: The introduction of GF_DATABASE_WAL is intended to enhance the durability and performance of Grafana’s database. By enabling WAL, we ensure that data is written to a log file before being committed to the database, reducing the risk of data loss in the event of a crash.
• Problem-Solving Approach: The team identified performance bottlenecks and data reliability issues during peak usage times. Enabling WAL was a strategic decision to mitigate these issues without requiring significant changes to the existing infrastructure.
• Best Practices:
  • Configuration Management: Using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to manage configuration changes ensures consistency and reduces the risk of manual errors.
  • Performance Optimization: Enabling WAL is a common practice in database management to enhance performance and reliability.

Impact Assessment

• System Performance: Enabling WAL is expected to improve the performance and reliability of Grafana’s database, particularly under high load conditions.
• Maintainability: This change simplifies future database maintenance by ensuring that transactions are logged, making recovery processes more straightforward.
• Breaking Changes: There are no breaking changes introduced by this modification. However, monitoring the Grafana instance post-deployment is recommended to ensure that the new configuration performs as expected.

Developer Notes

• Gotchas:
  • Ensure that the Grafana instance has sufficient disk space, as WAL can increase disk usage.
  • Monitor the performance metrics post-deployment to verify that the changes have the desired effect.
• Future Improvements:
  • Consider implementing additional database optimizations or configurations based on ongoing performance reviews.
  • Regularly review and update the environment variables to align with best practices and new feature releases from Grafana.