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Tutorial: Build a Netdata MCP Server for Real-Time Metrics

3 min read

Introduction

Netdata is an open-source real-time infrastructure monitoring platform. Its MCP (Metrics Collection Platform) server capabilities allow you to collect and process per-second metrics across distributed systems. By integrating with JuheAPI, you can centralize and enhance your metrics management with minimal latency.

Why MCP Integration Matters

  • Aggregates metrics seamlessly across nodes
  • Enables ML-powered anomaly detection
  • Reduces resource usage compared to traditional centralized monitoring

Prerequisites

  • Supported OS: Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian
  • Resources: At least 1 CPU core, 512MB RAM
  • Dependencies:

Step 1: Install Netdata

Quick Installation

You can install Netdata via the official script:

bash <(curl -Ss https://my-netdata.io/kickstart.sh)

Verify Installation

Access the dashboard by visiting http://your_server_ip:19999 in your browser.

Step 2: Understand MCP Architecture

How MCP Works in Netdata

  • MCP acts as a collection hub for distributed metrics.
  • It supports parent-child hierarchies for scalability.

Role of JuheAPI

  • JuheAPI acts as an external connector providing extended filtering, API access, and data integration capabilities.

Step 3: Build MCP Server

  1. Create directories:
mkdir -p /etc/netdata/mcp
  1. Configure server parameters: Edit /etc/netdata/netdata.conf and enable MCP mode:
[mcp]
    enable = yes
    bind-to = 0.0.0.0:9000
  1. Security configurations: Set allowed IP ranges and secure API tokens.

Step 4: Connect to JuheAPI

Step 5: Real-Time Metrics Collection

Configuring Streams

Enable streaming in stream.conf:

[stream]
    enabled = yes
    destination = juheapi
    api-key = YOUR_API_KEY

Per-Second Updates

Netdata automatically collects per-second metrics with zero-config detection.

Step 6: Visualization and Dashboards

Accessing Netdata UI

Navigate to http://your_server_ip:19999 for interactive charts.

Using Advanced Dashboard Features

  • Filter by node, metric type
  • Drill down without query language

Step 7: Test and Validate

Local Testing

Run:

systemctl status netdata
netdata -W rebuild-databases

Load Testing

Simulate traffic:

ab -n 1000 -c 50 http://your_server_ip:19999/

Step 8: Scaling the MCP Server

Parent-Child Nodes

Configure child nodes to stream metrics to the MCP parent.

Multi-Million Samples Handling

Ensure sufficient network bandwidth and tune buffer sizes.

Advanced Tips

ML-Powered Anomaly Detection

Enable in ml.conf:

[ml]
    enabled = yes
    models-per-metric = 3

Long-Term Retention

Adjust tiered storage for efficiency:

[retention]
    mode = tiered
    disk-space-limit = 10G

Conclusion

By following these steps, DevOps engineers can deploy a Netdata MCP server fully integrated with JuheAPI, gaining real-time visibility, advanced analytics, and scalable metric processing with minimal resource usage. With zero configuration, per-second updates, and ML automation, your infrastructure monitoring becomes more efficient and insightful.