Component C84, C88, C92 – InsightHub

By Raj Marni. March 26, 2025. Revised. Version: 0.0.01

1. Overview

InsightHub consolidates three core observability components—K8rix Dashboard (C84), K8Metrics (C88), and HelloScope (C92)—into a single meta-component, offering a complete view of cluster health, performance metrics, and historical trends. While C84 focuses on native Kubernetes cluster visibility and quick operational actions, C88 collects and stores time-series metrics, and C92 visualizes those metrics in customizable dashboards. This trio enables teams to diagnose issues, proactively monitor resources, and optimize application performance across dev, test, and production environments.

Orbit Component C84, C88, C92 Diagram

2. Internal Architecture

2.1 Core Modules

1. C84 – K8rix Dashboard

   • Function:

     • Exposes a web-based UI for real-time cluster states—pods, deployments, nodes, resource usage.

     • Enables basic operations such as viewing logs, scaling deployments, or restarting pods directly from the dashboard.

   • Key Processes:

     • Connects to the Kubernetes API server to retrieve updated state and resource usage.

     • Applies RBAC controls so that only authorized users can perform cluster-level actions.

2. C88 – K8Metrics

   • Function:

     • A metrics engine that scrapes time-series data from the cluster (nodes, pods), system services, and custom exporters.

     • Manages an Alertmanager module to trigger notifications when metrics exceed predefined thresholds.

   • Key Processes:

     • Scraping: Continuously collects metrics from endpoints (e.g., Node Exporter, cAdvisor).

     • Storage & Query: Stores metrics in a time-series database, allowing queries over historical data.

     • Alerts: Uses rule files to define alert thresholds and dispatches notifications (e.g., to Slack, email, PagerDuty).

3. C92 – HelloScope

   • Function:

     • Provides a dashboarding and visualization platform that retrieves metrics from K8Metrics (and other data sources).

     • Enables dynamic dashboards, charting, and alerts.

   • Key Processes:

     • Data Source Management: Connects to K8Metrics as a primary data source.

     • Query & Visualization: Users create or import dashboards to track CPU, memory, network usage, or application-specific metrics.

     • User Access Control: Integrates with RBAC or external auth (e.g., OAuth) for securing dashboards.

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3. Data Flows & Communication Patterns

1. Metrics Collection (K8Metrics)

   • K8Metrics scrapes metrics endpoints on a set schedule (e.g., every 15 seconds).

   • Node-level data (via Node Exporter) and container-level data (via cAdvisor) feed system resource metrics.

   • Additional exporters (MySQL, Redis, custom) can provide application-specific metrics.

2. Dashboard Interactions (K8s Dashboard, HelloScope)

   • K8rix Dashboard (C84) communicates with the Kubernetes API to display real-time cluster state.

   • HelloScope (C92) queries K8Metrics for historical or real-time data, rendering it in interactive dashboards (e.g., CPU usage over time, pod restarts).

3. Alerts & Notifications

   • K8Metrics’ Alertmanager (part of C88) receives rules that define when alerts should fire (e.g., CPU usage > 80% for 5 minutes).

   • When conditions meet, alerts are sent to designated channels (email, Slack, etc.).

   • Operators investigate alerts using either the K8s Dashboard or HelloScope dashboards for deeper insights.

4. User Access & RBAC

   • Both the K8s Dashboard and HelloScope typically require secure authentication.

   • RBAC roles within Kubernetes can limit user actions in the Dashboard, while HelloScope can use its own roles or external identity providers.

   • This ensures only authorized personnel can view or modify cluster resources and sensitive metrics.

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4. Technology & Protocols

• Kubernetes API:

  • K8s Dashboard (C84) interacts with the API for cluster data and operational commands.

• K8Metrics HTTP:

  • K8Metrics (C88) scrapes metrics endpoints via HTTP/HTTPS.

  • HelloScope queries K8Metrics over a REST/HTTP endpoint for data visualization.

• Time-Series Storage:

  • K8Metrics uses a custom time-series database for short to medium-term retention; for long-term, external solutions (Thanos, remote storage) can be configured.

• Security & RBAC:

  • Access to C84, C88, C92 is governed by a combination of Kubernetes RBAC, token-based auth, or external identity systems (OAuth, LDAP).

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5. Key Benefits & Impact

1. Centralized Observability

   • Consolidates cluster metrics, real-time resource usage, and historical data in one place, simplifying troubleshooting and capacity planning.

2. Immediate Alerts

   • K8Metrics’ alerting capabilities reduce response times by notifying teams as soon as performance thresholds are breached.

3. Actionable Dashboards

   • HelloScope’s interactive visuals let operators drill down from broad system overviews to fine-grained metrics in seconds.

4. Native Cluster Management

   • The K8s Dashboard provides a first-class interface for cluster resource management tasks, further simplifying day-to-day operations.

5. Scalability & Extensibility

   • Additional K8Metrics exporters or custom metrics can be added without disruption, supporting advanced application monitoring and infinite scaling of metrics collection.