Grafana on EKS – Install and Test

Grafana on EKS – Install and Test

Deploy Grafana via Argo CD on EKS and access it locally with port-forward. The Application manifest includes persistence, Prometheus datasource, and health probes.

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1. Overview

What this guide does:

• Deploys Grafana using the official Helm chart via an Argo CD Application
• Creates an AppProject and Application for the grafana namespace
• Configures Prometheus as the default datasource (pre-configured for dashboards)
• Persists data with EBS-backed PVC
• Uses port-forward for local access (no ingress required)

Prerequisites:

• EKS cluster running with kubectl context set
• Argo CD installed
• Prometheus installed

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2. Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

• kubectl configured with context set to your EKS cluster
• Argo CD installed and syncing Applications
• Prometheus running (e.g. kube-prometheus-stack-prometheus.kube-prometheus-stack.svc.cluster.local:9090—adjust the datasource URL if yours differs)

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3. Install Grafana

Save the manifest below as grafana-application.yaml and apply:

kubectl apply -f grafana-application.yaml

Argo CD will create the Application and sync Grafana (Helm chart). Wait until the Application shows Synced in the Argo CD UI or CLI.

Manifest:

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: AppProject
metadata:
  name: platform
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  clusterResourceWhitelist:
    - group: "*"
      kind: "*"
  destinations:
    - namespace: "*"
      server: "*"
  namespaceResourceWhitelist:
    - group: "*"
      kind: "*"
  sourceRepos:
    - "*"
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: grafana
  labels:
    name: grafana
---
apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: grafana
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  project: platform
  source:
    repoURL: https://grafana.github.io/helm-charts
    chart: grafana
    targetRevision: 7.0.0
    helm:
      values: |
        deploymentStrategy:
          type: Recreate
        persistence:
          enabled: true
          type: pvc
          storageClassName: ebs-sc
          size: 10Gi
        service:
          type: ClusterIP
        adminUser: admin
        datasources:
          datasources.yaml:
            apiVersion: 1
            datasources:
              - name: Prometheus
                type: prometheus
                access: proxy
                url: http://kube-prometheus-stack-prometheus.kube-prometheus-stack.svc.cluster.local:9090
                isDefault: true
                editable: true
        resources:
          limits:
            cpu: 500m
            memory: 512Mi
          requests:
            cpu: 250m
            memory: 256Mi
        startupProbe:
          httpGet:
            path: /api/health
            port: 3000
          periodSeconds: 5
          failureThreshold: 18
        readinessProbe:
          httpGet:
            path: /api/health
            port: 3000
          periodSeconds: 10
          failureThreshold: 3
        livenessProbe:
          httpGet:
            path: /api/health
            port: 3000
          initialDelaySeconds: 30
          periodSeconds: 10
          failureThreshold: 10
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
    namespace: grafana
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: true
      selfHeal: true
    syncOptions:
      - CreateNamespace=true

Note: Adjust storageClassName if your EKS cluster uses a different EBS storage class. Ensure Prometheus URL matches your install (e.g. kube-prometheus-stack-prometheus.kube-prometheus-stack.svc.cluster.local:9090).

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4. Test Access

Port-forward

kubectl port-forward svc/grafana -n grafana 3000:80

Get admin password

kubectl get secret grafana -n grafana -o jsonpath="{.data.admin-password}" | base64 -d
echo

Login

Open http://localhost:3000 and sign in with admin and the password from above.

Verify datasource

Go to Connections → Data sources. Prometheus should be configured and ready. Create a dashboard and run a query to confirm.

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5. Summary: Copy-Paste

# 1. Apply manifest
kubectl apply -f grafana-application.yaml

# 2. Wait for sync (check Argo CD UI or: argocd app get grafana)

# 3. Port-forward and get password
kubectl port-forward svc/grafana -n grafana 3000:80 &
kubectl get secret grafana -n grafana -o jsonpath="{.data.admin-password}" | base64 -d && echo

Then open http://localhost:3000 and log in with admin / the password.

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6. Troubleshooting

Issue: Application stuck in Syncing or OutOfSync

Solution: Check Argo CD logs and the Application status. Ensure the Grafana Helm repo is reachable and storageClassName: ebs-sc exists in your cluster. If using a different storage class, update the manifest.

Issue: Prometheus datasource connection failed

Solution: Verify Prometheus is running: kubectl get svc -n kube-prometheus-stack (or your Prometheus namespace). Update the url in the manifest to match your Prometheus service.

Issue: Argo CD ingress stuck or inaccessible

Solution: See Argo CD Ingress Stuck – Find & Fix for troubleshooting steps.

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7. References

• Grafana Helm Chart: https://github.com/grafana/helm-charts
• Grafana Documentation: https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/
• Argo CD: https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/