Monitoring Argo CD

Edit online

With the Instana Argo CD sensor, you can gain visibility into Argo CD-managed deployments and correlate code changes with runtime metrics to quickly detect and resolve application performance issues. After you install the Instana agent, the sensor is automatically installed. You can view synchronization details for applications that are deployed in Argo CD-managed clusters in the Instana UI after you enable and configure the sensor as outlined in the following sections.

Note: Currently, Instana supports Argo CD installations within a single cluster that might be managing one or more Kubernetes clusters. You can monitor multiple clusters through configurable access credentials and a defined list of target clusters.

Support information

Edit online

To make sure that the Argo CD sensor is compatible with your current setup, check the following support information sections:

Supported Argo CD versions

Edit online

The Argo CD sensor supports Argo CD 2.x and 3.x releases.

Prerequisites

Edit online

Before you enable the Argo CD sensor, complete the following steps:

  1. Deploy the Instana agent in one or more Kubernetes clusters. For more information, see Installing the Instana agent on Kubernetes.
  2. Configure Argo CD to manage the same Kubernetes clusters in which the Instana agent is set up to monitor. For more information, see Installation
    Figure 1. Opens in a new tab or window
    External link icon
    .
  3. Make sure that the actual name of the Argo CD-managed cluster is used when you add the cluster to Instana. By default, Argo CD identifies the cluster as in-kubernetes. Update this name to match the real cluster name to help ensure proper data correlation and visibility in Instana.

Access requirements

Edit online

The Argo CD sensor requires credentials that allow read access to the Argo CD API.

To follow the principle of least privilege, complete the following access configuration steps:

  1. Create a dedicated Argo CD user with read-only access.
  2. Restrict the user access to only the applications and clusters that you intend to monitor.

For instructions on creating such a user and configuring access control, refer to the following official Argo CD documentation:

Configuring the Argo CD sensor

Edit online

To enable and configure the sensor, update the agent configuration file as shown in the following example:

# Argo CD Sensor
com.instana.plugin.argocd:
  enabled: true
  poll_rate: 5 # Integer value in seconds. Default value is 5 seconds.
  url: 'https://argocd-server.argocd'
  username: 'admin'
  password: 'your-password'
  clusters: # List of one or more k8s cluster names.
    - 'demo-cluster1'

The sensor retrieves application sync data through the Argo CD REST APIs.

Configuration parameters

Edit online

The following table lists the configuration parameters and their description:

Parameter Description
enabled Boolean to enable or disable the Argo CD sensor.
poll_rate Integer value that represents the rate (in seconds) at which the sensor polls the Argo CD API. The default value is 5.
Important: Specify this value without quotation marks.
url Argo CD server URL, for example, http://argocd.demo.xyz.
username Username that is used to authenticate with the Argo CD API.
password Password that is associated with the provided username.
clusters List of clusters that are monitored by Argo CD. These clusters must be monitored by both the Instana agent and Argo CD.

Viewing data

Edit online

After the Argo CD sensor is enabled, you can view synchronization details for applications that are deployed in clusters that are managed by Argo CD directly within the Instana UI. The sensor collects and displays key information, such as application lists, sync status, and Git repository details.

To access this information, complete the following steps in the Instana UI:

  1. From the navigation menu, select Platforms > Kubernetes.

  2. In the Clusters tab, search the Argo CD-managed cluster. If the cluster is configured for monitoring, a sync status button appears next to the Argo CD-managed cluster, indicating the number of applications that are currently out of sync. The cluster dashboard provides the same functionality and includes a timeline of Argo CD sync events with related performance metrics.

    Figure 2. Kubernetes dashboard - Total number of out-of-sync Argo CD-deployed applications
    Kubernetes dashboard
    Figure 3. Kubernetes cluster dashboard
    Kubernetes cluster dashboard

  3. Click the Argo CD sync status button next to a monitored cluster. An Argo CD window is displayed with a list of Argo CD-managed applications for that cluster.

    Figure 4. Kubernetes cluster - Modal displaying the list of Argo CD-deployed applications
    Kubernetes cluster - List of applications

    This view provides a quick summary of each application's deployment status. The following table lists the key details that are related to an application managed by Argo CD:

    Field Description
    Argo CD application name The name of the application as defined in Argo CD.
    Sync status The status indicates whether the application is currently synced with its Git repository (For example, Synced, Out of Sync).
    Namespace The Kubernetes namespace where the application is deployed.
    Git repository and branch The source Git repository and the branch that is associated with the application.
    Last sync The time since the application's last successful sync operation with Argo CD.

  4. To troubleshoot and explore deployment details, use the following options in the Argo CD window:

    • To explore your Argo CD setup in more detail, click Launch Argo CD Interface. It opens the Argo CD web UI home page in a new browser tab.
    • To view the Git repository of Argo CD applications, click the branch name in the Repository and Branch column in the Argo CD applications table. You can quickly review the source configuration and recent changes that are related to each application.

    These options simplify the workflow by giving you quick access to both the deployment tool and the source configuration for your applications.