--- title: "Monitor multiple databases | Database Observability documentation" description: "Configure Database Observability to monitor multiple database instances with deployment patterns and labeling strategies." --- > For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt). # Monitor multiple databases As your infrastructure grows beyond a single database, you need to monitor multiple database instances. This guide covers deployment patterns, configuration strategies, and labeling best practices for managing multiple databases with Database Observability. ## Before you begin Complete setup for at least one database: - [Set up MySQL](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/set-up/mysql/) - [Set up PostgreSQL](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/set-up/postgres/) You also need: - Grafana Alloy running and connected to Grafana Cloud - Grafana Cloud remote write credentials for Prometheus and Loki ## Choose a deployment pattern Choose a deployment pattern based on your infrastructure and scale requirements. ### Single Alloy instance One Alloy instance monitors all databases. **Advantages:** - Simple to deploy and manage - Single configuration file - Lower resource overhead **Disadvantages:** - Single point of failure - Network latency to remote databases - Scaling limits **Best for:** - Small to medium deployments (< 20 databases) - Databases in same network/region - Development and staging environments ### Distributed Alloy instances Deploy Alloy alongside each database or group of databases. **Advantages:** - High availability (one Alloy failure doesn’t affect others) - Low latency to local databases - Scales horizontally - Aligns with infrastructure boundaries **Disadvantages:** - More instances to manage - Distributed configuration - Higher total resource usage **Best for:** - Large deployments (20+ databases) - Multi-region infrastructure - Production environments requiring high availability ## Configure multiple databases ### Single Alloy with multiple databases Add a component block for each database: Alloy ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```alloy // ==================== // Database 1: MySQL orders // ==================== local.file "mysql_orders_secret" { filename = "/var/lib/alloy/mysql_orders_dsn" is_secret = true } prometheus.exporter.mysql "orders" { data_source_name = local.file.mysql_orders_secret.content enable_collectors = ["perf_schema.eventsstatements"] } database_observability.mysql "orders" { data_source_name = local.file.mysql_orders_secret.content forward_to = [loki.relabel.orders.receiver] targets = prometheus.exporter.mysql.orders.targets } loki.relabel "orders" { forward_to = [loki.write.default.receiver] rule { target_label = "instance" replacement = "orders.db.example.com:3306" } rule { target_label = "job" replacement = "integrations/db-o11y" } rule { target_label = "app" replacement = "order-service" } } discovery.relabel "orders" { targets = database_observability.mysql.orders.targets rule { target_label = "job" replacement = "integrations/db-o11y" } rule { target_label = "instance" replacement = "orders.db.example.com:3306" } rule { target_label = "app" replacement = "order-service" } } prometheus.scrape "orders" { targets = discovery.relabel.orders.output forward_to = [prometheus.remote_write.default.receiver] } // ==================== // Database 2: PostgreSQL users // ==================== local.file "pg_users_secret" { filename = "/var/lib/alloy/pg_users_dsn" is_secret = true } prometheus.exporter.postgres "users" { data_source_names = [local.file.pg_users_secret.content] enabled_collectors = ["stat_statements"] autodiscovery { enabled = true } } database_observability.postgres "users" { data_source_name = local.file.pg_users_secret.content forward_to = [loki.relabel.users.receiver] targets = prometheus.exporter.postgres.users.targets } loki.relabel "users" { forward_to = [loki.write.default.receiver] rule { target_label = "instance" replacement = "users.db.example.com:5432" } rule { target_label = "job" replacement = "integrations/db-o11y" } rule { target_label = "app" replacement = "user-service" } } discovery.relabel "users" { targets = database_observability.postgres.users.targets rule { target_label = "job" replacement = "integrations/db-o11y" } rule { target_label = "instance" replacement = "users.db.example.com:5432" } rule { target_label = "app" replacement = "user-service" } } prometheus.scrape "users" { targets = discovery.relabel.users.output forward_to = [prometheus.remote_write.default.receiver] } // ==================== // Shared outputs // ==================== prometheus.remote_write "default" { endpoint { url = "https://prometheus-prod-01-us-east-0.grafana.net/api/prom/push" basic_auth { username = sys.env("GRAFANA_CLOUD_PROMETHEUS_USERNAME") password = sys.env("GRAFANA_CLOUD_API_KEY") } } } loki.write "default" { endpoint { url = "https://logs-prod-us-east-0.grafana.net/loki/api/v1/push" basic_auth { username = sys.env("GRAFANA_CLOUD_LOKI_USERNAME") password = sys.env("GRAFANA_CLOUD_API_KEY") } } } ``` ### Mixed database types You can monitor both MySQL and PostgreSQL from the same Alloy instance: Alloy ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```alloy // MySQL databases database_observability.mysql "mysql_1" { /* ... */ } database_observability.mysql "mysql_2" { /* ... */ } // PostgreSQL databases database_observability.postgres "pg_1" { /* ... */ } database_observability.postgres "pg_2" { /* ... */ } ``` Each component is independent and can have different configurations. ## Choose a labeling strategy Consistent labels help you filter and organize databases in Database Observability dashboards. ### Required labels These labels must be set correctly for Database Observability to function: Expand table | Label | Requirement | Example | |------------|--------------------------------|------------------------------| | `instance` | Unique per database | `orders.db.example.com:3306` | | `job` | Must be `integrations/db-o11y` | `integrations/db-o11y` | ### Recommended labels Add these labels to organize and filter databases: Expand table | Label | Purpose | Example values | |---------------|-------------------|---------------------------------------| | `app` | Application name | `order-service`, `user-api` | | `team` | Owning team | `checkout`, `platform` | | `environment` | Deployment stage | `production`, `staging`, `dev` | | `region` | Geographic region | `us-east-1`, `eu-west-1` | | `cluster` | Database cluster | `orders-primary`, `orders-replica` | | `provider` | Cloud provider | `aws`, `gcp`, `azure`, `self-managed` | ### Label consistency Labels must match between `loki.relabel` and `discovery.relabel`: Alloy ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```alloy // Logs labels loki.relabel "mydb" { rule { target_label = "instance" replacement = "mydb.example.com:3306" } rule { target_label = "environment" replacement = "production" } } // Metrics labels - must match! discovery.relabel "mydb" { rule { target_label = "instance" replacement = "mydb.example.com:3306" // Same value } rule { target_label = "environment" replacement = "production" // Same value } } ``` For complete label guidance including best practices, environment variables, and troubleshooting, refer to the [Labels reference](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/reference/labels/). ## Add cloud provider integrations Connect database telemetry with infrastructure metrics from AWS CloudWatch, Azure Monitor, or Google Cloud Monitoring using [Cloud Provider Observability](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-infrastructure/monitor-cloud-provider/). Before you begin, configure Cloud Provider Observability to collect metrics for your database’s cloud resource. **If you edit your Alloy configuration directly:** 1. Add the appropriate `cloud_provider` block from the examples below inside your existing `database_observability.mysql` or `database_observability.postgres` component, or update it if already present. 2. Apply the updated configuration to your Alloy instance. You can also generate your configuration from the Database Observability **Configuration > Setup** page. For guided setup instructions, Helm values, or complete Alloy configuration examples, refer to your platform’s setup guide: - [AWS RDS MySQL](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/set-up/mysql/rds/#configure-grafana-alloy), [AWS Aurora MySQL](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/set-up/mysql/aurora/#configure-grafana-alloy), [AWS RDS PostgreSQL](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/set-up/postgres/rds/#configure-grafana-alloy), [AWS Aurora PostgreSQL](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/set-up/postgres/aurora/#configure-grafana-alloy) - [Azure Database for MySQL](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/set-up/mysql/azure/#configure-grafana-alloy), [Azure Database for PostgreSQL](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/set-up/postgres/azure/#configure-grafana-alloy) - [Google Cloud SQL MySQL](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/set-up/mysql/cloudsql/#configure-grafana-alloy), [Google Cloud SQL PostgreSQL](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/set-up/postgres/cloudsql/#configure-grafana-alloy) ### AWS RDS / Aurora > Note > > For an Aurora cluster, configure Grafana Alloy separately for each DB instance and connect to its **instance endpoint**. Do not use the cluster (writer), reader, or custom endpoint because these endpoints can route connections to different instances and break metric correlation. Alloy ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```alloy database_observability.mysql "mysql_" { data_source_name = local.file.mysql_secret_.content forward_to = [loki.relabel.database_observability_mysql_.receiver] targets = prometheus.exporter.mysql.mysql_.targets // Add this block inside your existing database_observability.mysql or database_observability.postgres component. cloud_provider { aws { arn = "" } } } ``` Replace the placeholders: - `AWS_RDS_INSTANCE_ARN`: AWS RDS instance ARN for cloud provider integration (for example, `arn:aws:rds:us-east-1:123456789012:db:mydb`). ### Azure Database Alloy ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```alloy database_observability.mysql "mysql_" { data_source_name = local.file.mysql_secret_.content forward_to = [loki.relabel.database_observability_mysql_.receiver] targets = prometheus.exporter.mysql.mysql_.targets // Add this block inside your existing database_observability.mysql or database_observability.postgres component. cloud_provider { azure { subscription_id = "" resource_group = "" server_name = "" } } } ``` Replace the placeholders: - `AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP`: Azure resource group containing your database server. - `AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID`: ID of the Azure subscription containing your database server. - `AZURE_SERVER_NAME`: Name of your Azure database server (optional). ### Google Cloud SQL Alloy ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```alloy database_observability.mysql "mysql_" { data_source_name = local.file.mysql_secret_.content forward_to = [loki.relabel.database_observability_mysql_.receiver] targets = prometheus.exporter.mysql.mysql_.targets // Add this block inside your existing database_observability.mysql or database_observability.postgres component. cloud_provider { gcp { connection_name = "" } } } ``` Replace the placeholders: - `CLOUDSQL_CONNECTION_NAME`: Cloud SQL instance connection name in `project:region:instance` format (for example, `my-project:us-central1:my-db`). You can find it on the instance details page in the Google Cloud console. For navigation between query performance and cloud infrastructure metrics, refer to **Access Database Observability** in the Cloud Provider Observability documentation for your platform: - [Preconfigured dashboards and alerts](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-infrastructure/monitor-cloud-provider/aws/cloudwatch-metrics/metric-dashboards/#access-database-observability) - [Preconfigured dashboards and alerts for Azure metrics](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-infrastructure/monitor-cloud-provider/azure/azure-alerts/#access-database-observability) - [Google Cloud Platform observability](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-infrastructure/monitor-cloud-provider/gcp/#access-database-observability) ## Troubleshoot multi-database setups When databases don’t appear or data doesn’t correlate correctly, start with these multi-database-specific checks: 1. Verify that every database has a unique `instance` label. 2. Confirm the `instance` value matches exactly between the `loki.relabel` and `discovery.relabel` blocks for the same database. 3. Check that `job` is exactly `integrations/db-o11y` on every component. For detailed troubleshooting steps, refer to the dedicated guides: - [Troubleshoot Alloy](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/troubleshoot/alloy/) - [Troubleshoot MySQL](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/troubleshoot/mysql/) - [Troubleshoot PostgreSQL](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/troubleshoot/postgres/) ## Related documentation - [Tune Alloy collection](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/configure/tune-alloy-collection/): Optimize per-database settings - [Labels reference](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/reference/labels/): Complete label documentation - [Verify telemetry status](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/configure/verify-telemetry-status/): Validate configuration health per database