Metrics details
BigAnimal collects a wide set of metrics about Postgres instances and makes them available in your cloud provider. Most of these metrics are acquired directly from Postgres system tables, views, and functions. The Postgres documentation is the main reference for these metrics.
Some data from Postgres monitoring system views, tables, and functions is
transformed to be easier to consume in Prometheus metrics format. For example,
timestamp fields are generally converted to Unix epoch time and can be accompanied
by a relative time-interval metric. Other metrics are aggregated into
categories by label dimensions to limit the number of very specific and
narrowly scoped individual metrics emitted. It isn't useful to
report the inactivity period of every single backend, for example, so backend
statistics are aggregated by database, user, application_name, and backend
state.
The number of tables in your database will impact the number of metrics in your cloud logging platform thus impacting your cloud provider costs for storing these metrics. To ensure stability of the metrics pipeline, metrics may be dropped when the number of tables in your database exceeds 2500.
Prometheus labels
are included in the $.Message.labels JSON object.
Dimensions vary depending on the individual metric and are documented
separately for each group of related metrics.
The available set of metrics is subject to change. Metrics might be added, removed or renamed. Where possible, we change the metric name when changing the meaning or type of existing metrics.
cnp_backends
Backend counts from pg_stat_activity aggregated by the listed label
dimensions. Useful for identifying busy applications, excessive idle
backends, and so on.
Derived from the pg_stat_activity view.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_backends_total | GAUGE | Number of backends in this group |
cnp_backends_max_tx_duration_seconds | GAUGE | Maximum duration of a transaction in seconds in this group |
cnp_backends_max_backend_xmin_age | GAUGE | Maximum duration of a transaction in seconds in this group |
The metrics in this group can have these labels:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
datname | Name of the database for this group of backends |
usename | Name of the user in this group of backends |
application_name | Name of the application for this group of backends |
state | State of the group of backends (pg_stat_activity.state) |
cnp_backends_waiting
Postgres instance-level aggregate information on backends that are blocked waiting for locks. Doesn't count I/O waits or other reasons backends might wait or be blocked.
Derived from the pg_locks view.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_backends_waiting_total | GAUGE | Total number of backends that are currently waiting on other queries |
cnp_pg_database
Per-database metrics for each database in the Postgres instance. Includes per-database vacuum progress information.
Derived from the pg_database catalog.
See also cnp_pg_stat_database.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_pg_database_size_bytes | GAUGE | Disk space used by the database |
cnp_pg_database_xid_age | GAUGE | Number of transactions from the frozen XID to the current one |
cnp_pg_database_mxid_age | GAUGE | Number of multiple transactions (Multixact) from the frozen XID to the current one |
The metrics in this group can have these labels:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
datname | Name of the database |
cnp_pg_postmaster
Data on the Postgres instance's managing "postmaster" process.
Derived from the pg_postmaster_start_time() function.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_pg_postmaster_start_time | GAUGE | Time at which postgres started (based on epoch) |
cnp_pg_replication
Physical replication details for a standby replica postgres instance as captured from the standby replica.
Derived from the pg_last_xact_replay_timestamp() function.
Relevant only on standby replicas.
See also cnp_pg_stat_replication, cnp_pg_replication_slots.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_pg_replication_lag | GAUGE | Replication lag behind primary in seconds |
cnp_pg_replication_in_recovery | GAUGE | Whether the instance is in recovery |
cnp_pg_replication_slots
Details about replication slots on a Postgres instance. In most configurations, only the primary server has active replication clients, but other nodes can still have replication slots.
Logical replication slots are specific to a database, whereas physical replication slots have an empty "database" label as they apply to the Postgres instance as a whole.
Derived from the pg_replication_slots view.
See also cnp_pg_stat_replication, cnp_pg_replication.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_pg_replication_slots_active | GAUGE | Flag indicating if the slot is active |
cnp_pg_replication_slots_pg_wal_lsn_diff | GAUGE | Replication lag in bytes |
The metrics in this group can have these labels:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
slot_name | Name of the replication slot |
database | Name of the database |
cnp_pg_stat_archiver
Progress information about WAL archiving. Only the currently active primary server generally performs WAL archiving.
WAL archiving is important for backup and restore. If WAL archiving is delayed or failing for too long, the point-in-time recovery backups for a Postgres cluster won't be up to date. This condition has disaster recovery implications and can potentially also affect failover.
Occasional WAL archiving failures are normal, but pay attention to a growing delay in the time since the last successful WAL archiving operation.
The following metrics are reset when a Postgres stats reset is issued on the db server.
Derived from the pg_stat_archiver view.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_pg_stat_archiver_archived_count | COUNTER | Number of WAL files that have been successfully archived |
cnp_pg_stat_archiver_failed_count | COUNTER | Number of failed attempts for archiving WAL files |
cnp_pg_stat_archiver_seconds_since_last_archival | GAUGE | Seconds since the last successful archival operation |
cnp_pg_stat_archiver_seconds_since_last_failure | GAUGE | Seconds since the last failed archival operation |
cnp_pg_stat_archiver_last_archived_time | GAUGE | Epoch of the last time WAL archiving succeeded |
cnp_pg_stat_archiver_last_failed_time | GAUGE | Epoch of the last time WAL archiving failed |
cnp_pg_stat_archiver_last_archived_wal_start_lsn | GAUGE | Archived WAL start LSN |
cnp_pg_stat_archiver_last_failed_wal_start_lsn | GAUGE | Last failed WAL LSN |
cnp_pg_stat_archiver_stats_reset_time | GAUGE | Time at which these statistics were last reset |
cnp_pg_stat_bgwriter
Stats for the Postgres background writer and checkpointer processes, which are instance-wide and shared across all databases in a Postgres instance.
Very long delays between checkpoints on a busy system increase the time taken for it to return to read/write availability if crash recovery is required. Excessively frequent checkpoints can increase I/O load and the size of the WAL stream for backup and replication.
The Postgres documentation discusses checkpoints, dirty writeback, and checkpoint tuning in detail.
These metrics are reset when a Postgres stats reset is issued on the db server.
Derived from the pg_stat_bgwriter catalog.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_pg_stat_bgwriter_checkpoints_timed | COUNTER | Number of scheduled checkpoints that have been performed |
cnp_pg_stat_bgwriter_checkpoints_req | COUNTER | Number of requested checkpoints that have been performed |
cnp_pg_stat_bgwriter_checkpoint_write_time | COUNTER | Total amount of time that has been spent in the portion of checkpoint processing where files are written to disk, in milliseconds |
cnp_pg_stat_bgwriter_checkpoint_sync_time | COUNTER | Total amount of time that has been spent in the portion of checkpoint processing where files are synchronized to disk, in milliseconds |
cnp_pg_stat_bgwriter_buffers_checkpoint | COUNTER | Number of buffers written during checkpoints |
cnp_pg_stat_bgwriter_buffers_clean | COUNTER | Number of buffers written by the background writer |
cnp_pg_stat_bgwriter_maxwritten_clean | COUNTER | Number of times the background writer stopped a cleaning scan because it had written too many buffers |
cnp_pg_stat_bgwriter_buffers_backend | COUNTER | Number of buffers written directly by a backend |
cnp_pg_stat_bgwriter_buffers_backend_fsync | COUNTER | Number of times a backend had to execute its own fsync call (normally the background writer handles those even when the backend does its own write) |
cnp_pg_stat_bgwriter_buffers_alloc | COUNTER | Number of buffers allocated |
cnp_pg_stat_database
This metrics group directly exposes the summary data Postgres collects in its
own pg_stat_database view. It contains statistical counters maintained by
Postgres for database activity.
These metrics are reset when a Postgres stats reset is issued on the db server.
Derived from the pg_stat_database catalog.
See also cnp_pg_database.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_pg_stat_database_xact_commit | COUNTER | Number of transactions in this database that have been committed |
cnp_pg_stat_database_xact_rollback | COUNTER | Number of transactions in this database that have been rolled back |
cnp_pg_stat_database_blks_read | COUNTER | Number of disk blocks read in this database |
cnp_pg_stat_database_blks_hit | COUNTER | Number of times disk blocks were found already in the buffer cache, so that a read was not necessary (this only includes hits in the PostgreSQL buffer cache, not the operating system's file system cache) |
cnp_pg_stat_database_tup_returned | COUNTER | Number of rows returned by queries in this database |
cnp_pg_stat_database_tup_fetched | COUNTER | Number of rows fetched by queries in this database |
cnp_pg_stat_database_tup_inserted | COUNTER | Number of rows inserted by queries in this database |
cnp_pg_stat_database_tup_updated | COUNTER | Number of rows updated by queries in this database |
cnp_pg_stat_database_tup_deleted | COUNTER | Number of rows deleted by queries in this database |
cnp_pg_stat_database_conflicts | COUNTER | Number of queries canceled due to conflicts with recovery in this database |
cnp_pg_stat_database_temp_files | COUNTER | Number of temporary files created by queries in this database |
cnp_pg_stat_database_temp_bytes | COUNTER | Total amount of data written to temporary files by queries in this database |
cnp_pg_stat_database_deadlocks | COUNTER | Number of deadlocks detected in this database |
cnp_pg_stat_database_blk_read_time | COUNTER | Time spent reading data file blocks by backends in this database, in milliseconds |
cnp_pg_stat_database_blk_write_time | COUNTER | Time spent writing data file blocks by backends in this database, in milliseconds |
The metrics in this group can have these labels:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
datname | Name of this database |
cnp_pg_stat_database_conflicts
These metrics provide information on conflicts between queries on a standby replica and the standby replica's replay of the change-stream from the primary. These are called recovery conflicts.
These metrics are unrelated to "INSERT ... ON CONFLICT" conflicts or multi-master replication row conflicts. They are relevant only on standby replicas.
These metrics are reset when a Postgres stats reset is issued on the db server.
Defined only on standby replicas.
Derived from the pg_stat_database_conflicts view.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_pg_stat_database_conflicts_confl_tablespace | COUNTER | Number of queries in this database that have been canceled due to dropped tablespaces |
cnp_pg_stat_database_conflicts_confl_lock | COUNTER | Number of queries in this database that have been canceled due to lock timeouts |
cnp_pg_stat_database_conflicts_confl_snapshot | COUNTER | Number of queries in this database that have been canceled due to old snapshots |
cnp_pg_stat_database_conflicts_confl_bufferpin | COUNTER | Number of queries in this database that have been canceled due to pinned buffers |
cnp_pg_stat_database_conflicts_confl_deadlock | COUNTER | Number of queries in this database that have been canceled due to deadlocks |
The metrics in this group can have these labels:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
datname | Name of the database |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables
Access and usage statistics maintained by Postgres on nonsystem tables.
These metrics are reset when a Postgres stats reset is issued on the db server.
Derived from the pg_stat_user_tables view.
See also cnp_pg_statio_user_tables.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_seq_scan | COUNTER | Number of sequential scans initiated on this table |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_seq_tup_read | COUNTER | Number of live rows fetched by sequential scans |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_idx_scan | COUNTER | Number of index scans initiated on this table |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_idx_tup_fetch | COUNTER | Number of live rows fetched by index scans |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_n_tup_ins | COUNTER | Number of rows inserted |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_n_tup_upd | COUNTER | Number of rows updated |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_n_tup_del | COUNTER | Number of rows deleted |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_n_tup_hot_upd | COUNTER | Number of rows HOT updated (i.e., with no separate index update required) |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_n_live_tup | GAUGE | Estimated number of live rows |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_n_dead_tup | GAUGE | Estimated number of dead rows |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_n_mod_since_analyze | GAUGE | Estimated number of rows changed since last analyze |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_last_vacuum | GAUGE | Last time at which this table was manually vacuumed (not counting VACUUM FULL) |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_last_autovacuum | GAUGE | Last time at which this table was vacuumed by the autovacuum daemon |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_last_analyze | GAUGE | Last time at which this table was manually analyzed |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_last_autoanalyze | GAUGE | Last time at which this table was analyzed by the autovacuum daemon |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_vacuum_count | COUNTER | Number of times this table has been manually vacuumed (not counting VACUUM FULL) |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_autovacuum_count | COUNTER | Number of times this table has been vacuumed by the autovacuum daemon |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_analyze_count | COUNTER | Number of times this table has been manually analyzed |
cnp_pg_stat_user_tables_autoanalyze_count | COUNTER | Number of times this table has been analyzed by the autovacuum daemon |
The metrics in this group can have these labels:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
datname | Name of current database |
schemaname | Name of the schema that this table is in |
relname | Name of this table |
cnp_pg_stat_replication
Realtime information about replication connections to this Postgres instance, their progress, and their activity.
These metrics aren't reset when a Postgres stats reset is issued on the db server. The "stat" in the name is a historic artifact from Postgres development.
Derived from the pg_stat_replication view.
See also cnp_pg_replication_slots, cnp_pg_replication.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_pg_stat_replication_backend_start_age | GAUGE | How long ago in seconds this process was started |
cnp_pg_stat_replication_backend_xmin_age | COUNTER | The age of this standby's xmin horizon |
cnp_pg_stat_replication_sent_diff_bytes | GAUGE | Difference in bytes from the last write-ahead log location sent on this connection |
cnp_pg_stat_replication_write_diff_bytes | GAUGE | Difference in bytes from the last write-ahead log location written to disk by this standby server |
cnp_pg_stat_replication_flush_diff_bytes | GAUGE | Difference in bytes from the last write-ahead log location flushed to disk by this standby server |
cnp_pg_stat_replication_replay_diff_bytes | GAUGE | Difference in bytes from the last write-ahead log location replayed into the database on this standby server |
cnp_pg_stat_replication_write_lag_seconds | GAUGE | Time elapsed between flushing recent WAL locally and receiving notification that this standby server has written it |
cnp_pg_stat_replication_flush_lag_seconds | GAUGE | Time elapsed between flushing recent WAL locally and receiving notification that this standby server has written and flushed it |
cnp_pg_stat_replication_replay_lag_seconds | GAUGE | Time elapsed between flushing recent WAL locally and receiving notification that this standby server has written, flushed and applied it |
The metrics in this group can have these labels:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
usename | Name of the replication user |
application_name | Name of the application |
cnp_pg_statio_user_tables
I/O activity statistics maintained by Postgres on nonsystem tables.
These metrics are reset when a Postgres stats reset is issued on the db server.
Derived from the pg_statio_user_tables view.
See also cnp_pg_stat_user_tables.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_pg_statio_user_tables_heap_blks_read | COUNTER | Number of disk blocks read from this table |
cnp_pg_statio_user_tables_heap_blks_hit | COUNTER | Number of buffer hits in this table |
cnp_pg_statio_user_tables_idx_blks_read | COUNTER | Number of disk blocks read from all indexes on this table |
cnp_pg_statio_user_tables_idx_blks_hit | COUNTER | Number of buffer hits in all indexes on this table |
cnp_pg_statio_user_tables_toast_blks_read | COUNTER | Number of disk blocks read from this table's TOAST table (if any) |
cnp_pg_statio_user_tables_toast_blks_hit | COUNTER | Number of buffer hits in this table's TOAST table (if any) |
cnp_pg_statio_user_tables_tidx_blks_read | COUNTER | Number of disk blocks read from this table's TOAST table indexes (if any) |
cnp_pg_statio_user_tables_tidx_blks_hit | COUNTER | Number of buffer hits in this table's TOAST table indexes (if any) |
The metrics in this group can have these labels:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
datname | Name of current database |
schemaname | Name of the schema that this table is in |
relname | Name of this table |
cnp_pg_settings
Expose the subset of Postgres server settings that can be represented as Prometheus compatible metrics—any integer, Boolean, or real number. Text-format settings, list-valued settings, and enumeration-typed settings aren't captured or reported.
This set of metrics doesn't expose per-database settings assigned with
ALTER DATABASE ... SET ..., per-user settings assigned with ALTER USER ...
SET ..., or per-session values. It shows only the database systemwide
global values. You can explore other settings interactively using Postgres
system views.
Derived from the pg_settings view.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_pg_settings_setting | GAUGE | Setting value. Note that settings are only reported when they were changed via Cloud Native PostgreSQL. |
The metrics in this group can have these labels:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
name | Name of the setting |
cnp_xlog_insert
Reports the postgres instance's transaction log insert position in bytes. Useful to compare one postgres instance's WAL insert position with other instances' replication replay positions in monitoring.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_xlog_insert_lsn | GAUGE | Node xlog insert position (lsn) |
cnp_bdr_raft_mon
Expose the raft status per CNP node of a BDR cluster
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_bdr_raft_mon_raftstatus | GAUGE | Raft health status; 0 for unhealthy, 1 for healthy |
cnp_bdr_rep_slot_stats
Metrics from pg_catalog.pg_stat_replication_slots for each BDR replication slot.
These metrics can be used to monitor logical decoding activity and performance the
sending (upstream) side of a logical replication connection.
See pg_stat_replication_slots
for details.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_bdr_rep_slot_stats_spill_txns | COUNTER | spill_txns |
cnp_bdr_rep_slot_stats_spill_count | COUNTER | spill_count |
cnp_bdr_rep_slot_stats_spill_bytes | COUNTER | spill_bytes |
cnp_bdr_rep_slot_stats_stream_txns | COUNTER | stream_txns |
cnp_bdr_rep_slot_stats_stream_count | COUNTER | stream_count |
cnp_bdr_rep_slot_stats_stream_bytes | COUNTER | stream_bytes |
cnp_bdr_rep_slot_stats_total_txns | COUNTER | total_txns |
cnp_bdr_rep_slot_stats_total_bytes | COUNTER | total_bytes |
The metrics in this group can have these labels:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
peer_name | peer_name |
slot_name | slot_name |
cnp_bdr_rep_lag
Metrics based on the bdr.node_replication_rates monitoring catalog for monitoring
BDR replication performance and replication lag. See
Monitoring Outgoing Replication
and bdr.node_replication_rates
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_bdr_rep_lag_replay_lag_s | GAUGE | replay_lag_s |
cnp_bdr_rep_lag_replay_lag_bytes | GAUGE | replay_lag_bytes |
cnp_bdr_rep_lag_apply_rate | GAUGE | apply_rate |
cnp_bdr_rep_lag_catchup_interval_s | GAUGE | catchup_interval_s |
The metrics in this group can have these labels:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
peer_name | peer_name |
cnp_bdr_node_slots
Metrics derived from the bdr.node_slots view. These metrics provide lower level insight into the progress of outbound BDR replication, including transaction ID limits and WAL retention and the connection status of replication sessions.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_bdr_node_slots_active_pid | GAUGE | active_pid |
cnp_bdr_node_slots_xmin_age | GAUGE | xmin age |
cnp_bdr_node_slots_catalog_xmin_age | GAUGE | catalog_xmin age |
cnp_bdr_node_slots_restart_lsn_age | GAUGE | restart_lsn age |
cnp_bdr_node_slots_confirmed_flush_lsn_age | GAUGE | confirmed_flush_lsn age |
cnp_bdr_node_slots_flush_lag_bytes | GAUGE | flush_lag in bytes |
cnp_bdr_node_slots_replay_lag_bytes | GAUGE | replay_lag in bytes |
cnp_bdr_node_slots_slot_state | GAUGE | slot_state enumeration. disconnected = 0, streaming = 1, catchup = 2, unknown/unrecognised -1 |
The metrics in this group can have these labels:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
peer_name | peer_name |
slot_name | slot_name |
cnp_bdr_global_locking
metrics for bdr global lock acquire and hold durations for both DDL and DML lock types. Useful for detection of long global lock waits or frequent global locks that may impact performance. These metrics are not fine grained and do not expose information about individual tables, etc. Details are available in the bdr.global_locks view.
| Metric | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cnp_bdr_global_locking_since_locally_requested_s | GAUGE | since_locally_requested_s |
cnp_bdr_global_locking_since_local_granted_s | GAUGE | since_local_granted_s |
The metrics in this group can have these labels:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
lock_type | lock_type |
Other metrics streams
In addition to Postgres metrics from the Cloud Native PostgreSQL operator that manages databases in BigAnimal, you can stream metrics about Kubernetes cluster state and other details to your cloud platform. Any such metrics are generally well-known metrics from widely used tools, documented by the upstream vendor of the component.
Refer to the documentation of the tool or project that defines the metrics for details on individual metrics.
See also Kubernetes cluster metrics.
The cloud platform can supply additional streams of metrics directly to your metrics, analytics, and dashboarding endpoint.
- On this page
- cnp_backends
- cnp_backends_waiting
- cnp_pg_database
- cnp_pg_postmaster
- cnp_pg_replication
- cnp_pg_replication_slots
- cnp_pg_stat_archiver
- cnp_pg_stat_bgwriter
- cnp_pg_stat_database
- cnp_pg_stat_database_conflicts
- cnp_pg_stat_user_tables
- cnp_pg_stat_replication
- cnp_pg_statio_user_tables
- cnp_pg_settings
- cnp_xlog_insert
- cnp_bdr_raft_mon
- cnp_bdr_rep_slot_stats
- cnp_bdr_rep_lag
- cnp_bdr_node_slots
- cnp_bdr_global_locking
- Other metrics streams