Architecure Evolution & DevOpts

Grafana and Prometheus are a powerful duo for monitoring and visualizing real-time data. Prometheus collects critical metrics , while Grafana turns them into dynamic, interactive dashboards. This guide covers everything from setting up Grafana panels with PromQL to customizing visualizations and configuring alerts, providing a complete roadmap for effective monitoring with these tools. Table of contents Grafana and PromQL Set Up Alerts Visualize the Data in Grafana Using Thresholds in Grafana Graph Styles and Standard Options Grafana and PromQL This article requires Prometheus and Grafana to be installed, as described in the previous article . Grafana’s integration with Prometheus enables real-time data visualization and monitoring through PromQL queries. PromQL (Prometheus Query Language) is the powerful query language Prometheus uses to retrieve metrics from time-series data. Grafana serves as the visual interface, allowing you to transform those queries into interactive dashboards.T...

Secrets management is crucial for safeguarding sensitive data, including passwords, API keys, and certificates, across your infrastructure. With increasing cloud adoption and complex microservices architectures, managing secrets securely has become a cornerstone of IT security. Mismanaged secrets pose significant risks, as unauthorized access can lead to data breaches and system compromises. Table of Contents Security Considerations for Secrets Management Recommended Vault Policies and Authentication Methods Managing Rotations and Lease Renewals Best Practices for Secure Secrets Management Best Practices for Production Environments Strategies to Mitigate Token Exploitation Risks Vault Logging and Auditing Conclusion References Security Considerations for Secrets Management To protect systems like HashiCorp Vault, ensure multiple layers of defense. Start by securing the Vault server on a private, protected network and use SSL/TLS encryption for all communications. Implement access contr...

​ In modern applications, managing sensitive data securely is crucial.  HashiCorp Vault  offers a robust solution for handling secrets, ensuring that sensitive data like API keys, database credentials, and tokens are stored and accessed securely. This article explores how to integrate Vault with a  Spring Boot  application in production using a  SQL database backend . We'll cover both theory and practice, with examples of  Java  code and Vault configurations.  Table of Contents What is HashiCorp Vault? Vault's Role in Production with Spring Boot System Architecture Overview Authentication and Security Risks Vault Agent and Secure Integration Vault Configuration for Storing Secrets and HTTPS Setup Vault Configuration for the Transit Engine (Encryption and Decryption) Handling the Vault Token in Spring Boot Conclusion What is HashiCorp Vault? HashiCorp Vault is an open-source tool designed to manage secrets and protect sensitive data. I...