Kube State Metrics

This document describes how to configure your Google Kubernetes Engine deployment so that you can use Google Cloud Managed Service for Prometheus to collect metrics from Kube State Metrics. This document shows you how to do the following:

  • Set up Kube State Metrics to report metrics.
  • Access a predefined dashboard in Cloud Monitoring to view the metrics.
  • Configure alerting rules to monitor the metrics.

These instructions apply only if you are using managed collection with Managed Service for Prometheus. If you are using self-deployed collection, then see the source repository for Kube State Metrics for installation information.

These instructions are provided as an example and are expected to work in most Kubernetes environments. If you are having trouble installing an application or exporter due to restrictive security or organizational policies, then we recommend you consult open-source documentation for support.

Prerequisites

To collect metrics from Kube State Metrics by using Managed Service for Prometheus and managed collection, your deployment must meet the following requirements:

  • Your cluster must be running Google Kubernetes Engine version 1.28.15-gke.2475000 or later.
  • You must be running Managed Service for Prometheus with managed collection enabled. For more information, see Get started with managed collection.

  • To use dashboards available in Cloud Monitoring for the integration, you must use kube-state-metrics version 2.4.2 or later.

    For more information about available dashboards, see Install dashboards.

    • Managed Kube State Metrics

    GKE offers a fully managed deployment of kube state metrics as an alternative to configuring this integration. The installable package provides an opinionated, curated set of kube state metrics that requires less effort to set up. This integration provides additional metrics but also requires more effort to set up. To review the curated package before deciding which to use, see Package: Kube state metrics.

    Install Kube State Metrics

    You can use the following configuration to install Kube State Metrics:

    # Copyright 2023 Google LLC
#
# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
# You may obtain a copy of the License at
#
#     https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
#
# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
# limitations under the License.

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: StatefulSet
metadata:
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: kube-state-metrics
    app.kubernetes.io/version: 2.12.0
  namespace: gmp-public
  name: kube-state-metrics
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app.kubernetes.io/name: kube-state-metrics
  serviceName: kube-state-metrics
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app.kubernetes.io/name: kube-state-metrics
        app.kubernetes.io/version: 2.12.0
    spec:
      affinity:
        nodeAffinity:
          requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution:
            nodeSelectorTerms:
            - matchExpressions:
              - key: kubernetes.io/arch
                operator: In
                values:
                - arm64
                - amd64
              - key: kubernetes.io/os
                operator: In
                values:
                - linux
      containers:
      - name: kube-state-metric
        image: registry.k8s.io/kube-state-metrics/kube-state-metrics:v2.12.0
        env:
        - name: POD_NAME
          valueFrom:
            fieldRef:
              fieldPath: metadata.name
        - name: POD_NAMESPACE
          valueFrom:
            fieldRef:
              fieldPath: metadata.namespace
        args:
        - --pod=$(POD_NAME)
        - --pod-namespace=$(POD_NAMESPACE)
        - --port=8080
        - --telemetry-port=8081
        ports:
        - name: metrics
          containerPort: 8080
        - name: metrics-self
          containerPort: 8081
        resources:
          requests:
            cpu: 100m
            memory: 190Mi
          limits:
            memory: 250Mi
        securityContext:
          allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
          privileged: false
          capabilities:
            drop:
            - ALL
          runAsUser: 1000
          runAsGroup: 1000
        livenessProbe:
          httpGet:
            path: /healthz
            port: 8080
          initialDelaySeconds: 5
          timeoutSeconds: 5
        readinessProbe:
          httpGet:
            path: /
            port: 8081
          initialDelaySeconds: 5
          timeoutSeconds: 5
      serviceAccountName: kube-state-metrics
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: kube-state-metrics
    app.kubernetes.io/version: 2.12.0
  namespace: gmp-public
  name: kube-state-metrics
spec:
  clusterIP: None
  ports:
  - name: metrics
    port: 8080
    targetPort: metrics
  - name: metrics-self
    port: 8081
    targetPort: metrics-self
  selector:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: kube-state-metrics
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: ServiceAccount
metadata:
  namespace: gmp-public
  name: kube-state-metrics
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: kube-state-metrics
    app.kubernetes.io/version: 2.12.0
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: ClusterRoleBinding
metadata:
  name: gmp-public:kube-state-metrics
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: kube-state-metrics
    app.kubernetes.io/version: 2.12.0
roleRef:
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
  kind: ClusterRole
  name: gmp-public:kube-state-metrics
subjects:
- kind: ServiceAccount
  namespace: gmp-public
  name: kube-state-metrics
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: ClusterRole
metadata:
  name: gmp-public:kube-state-metrics
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: kube-state-metrics
    app.kubernetes.io/version: 2.12.0
rules:
- apiGroups:
  - ""
  resources:
  - configmaps
  - secrets
  - nodes
  - pods
  - services
  - resourcequotas
  - replicationcontrollers
  - limitranges
  - persistentvolumeclaims
  - persistentvolumes
  - namespaces
  - endpoints
  verbs:
  - list
  - watch
- apiGroups:
  - ""
  resources:
  - pods
  verbs:
  - get
- apiGroups:
  - extensions
  resources:
  - daemonsets
  - deployments
  - replicasets
  - ingresses
  verbs:
  - list
  - watch
- apiGroups:
  - apps
  resources:
  - statefulsets
  - daemonsets
  - deployments
  - replicasets
  verbs:
  - list
  - watch
- apiGroups:
  - apps
  resources:
  - statefulsets
  verbs:
  - get 
- apiGroups:
  - batch
  resources:
  - cronjobs
  - jobs
  verbs:
  - list
  - watch
- apiGroups:
  - autoscaling
  resources:
  - horizontalpodautoscalers
  verbs:
  - list
  - watch
- apiGroups:
  - authentication.k8s.io
  resources:
  - tokenreviews
  verbs:
  - create
- apiGroups:
  - authorization.k8s.io
  resources:
  - subjectaccessreviews
  verbs:
  - create
- apiGroups:
  - policy
  resources:
  - poddisruptionbudgets
  verbs:
  - list
  - watch
- apiGroups:
  - certificates.k8s.io
  resources:
  - certificatesigningrequests
  verbs:
  - list
  - watch
- apiGroups:
  - storage.k8s.io
  resources:
  - storageclasses
  - volumeattachments
  verbs:
  - list
  - watch
- apiGroups:
  - admissionregistration.k8s.io
  resources:
  - mutatingwebhookconfigurations
  - validatingwebhookconfigurations
  verbs:
  - list
  - watch
- apiGroups:
  - networking.k8s.io
  resources:
  - networkpolicies
  - ingresses
  verbs:
  - list
  - watch
- apiGroups:
  - coordination.k8s.io
  resources:
  - leases
  verbs:
  - list
  - watch
---
apiVersion: autoscaling/v2
kind: HorizontalPodAutoscaler
metadata:
  name: kube-state-metrics
  namespace: gmp-public
spec:
  maxReplicas: 10
  minReplicas: 1
  scaleTargetRef:
    apiVersion: apps/v1
    kind: StatefulSet
    name: kube-state-metrics
  metrics:
  - type: Resource
    resource:
      name: memory
      target:
        type: Utilization
        averageUtilization: 60
  behavior:
    scaleDown:
      policies:
      - type: Pods
        value: 1
        # Under-utilization needs to persist for `periodSeconds` before any action can be taken.
        # Current supported max from https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubernetes-api/workload-resources/horizontal-pod-autoscaler-v2beta2/.
        periodSeconds: 1800
      # Current supported max from https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubernetes-api/workload-resources/horizontal-pod-autoscaler-v2beta2/.
      stabilizationWindowSeconds: 3600
---
apiVersion: monitoring.googleapis.com/v1
kind: ClusterPodMonitoring
metadata:
  name: kube-state-metrics
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: kube-state-metrics
    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: google-cloud-managed-prometheus
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app.kubernetes.io/name: kube-state-metrics
  endpoints:
  - port: metrics
    interval: 30s
    metricRelabeling:
    - action: keep
      # Curated subset of metrics to reduce costs while populating default set of sample dashboards at
      # https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/monitoring-dashboard-samples/tree/master/dashboards/kubernetes
      # Change this regex to fit your needs for which objects you want to monitor    
      regex: kube_(daemonset|deployment|replicaset|pod|namespace|node|statefulset|persistentvolume|horizontalpodautoscaler|job_created)(_.+)?
      sourceLabels: [__name__]
  targetLabels:
    metadata: [] # explicitly empty so the metric labels are respected
---
apiVersion: monitoring.googleapis.com/v1
kind: PodMonitoring
metadata:
  namespace: gmp-public
  name: kube-state-metrics
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: kube-state-metrics
    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: google-cloud-managed-prometheus
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app.kubernetes.io/name: kube-state-metrics
  endpoints:
  - port: metrics-self
    interval: 30s

    To apply configuration changes from a local file, run the following command: 

    kubectl apply -f FILE_NAME

    You can also use Terraform to manage your configurations.

    Define rules and alerts

    You can use the following Rules configuration to define alerts on your metrics:

    # Copyright 2022 Google LLC
#
# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
# You may obtain a copy of the License at
#
#     https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
#
# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
# limitations under the License.

apiVersion: monitoring.googleapis.com/v1
kind: Rules
metadata:
  namespace: gmp-public
  name: kube-state-metrics-rules
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/component: rules
    app.kubernetes.io/name: kube-state-metrics
    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: google-cloud-managed-prometheus
spec:
  groups:
    - name: kube-state-metrics
      interval: 30s
      rules:
      - alert: KubeStateMetricsListErrors
        annotations:
          description: kube-state-metrics is experiencing errors at an elevated rate in list operations. This is likely causing it to not be able to expose metrics about Kubernetes objects correctly or at all.
          summary: kube-state-metrics is experiencing errors in list operations.
        expr: |
          (sum(rate(kube_state_metrics_list_total{job="kube-state-metrics",result="error"}[5m]))
            /
          sum(rate(kube_state_metrics_list_total{job="kube-state-metrics"}[5m])))
          > 0.01
        for: 15m
        labels:
          severity: critical
      - alert: KubeStateMetricsWatchErrors
        annotations:
          description: kube-state-metrics is experiencing errors at an elevated rate in watch operations. This is likely causing it to not be able to expose metrics about Kubernetes objects correctly or at all.
          summary: kube-state-metrics is experiencing errors in watch operations.
        expr: |
          (sum(rate(kube_state_metrics_watch_total{job="kube-state-metrics",result="error"}[5m]))
            /
          sum(rate(kube_state_metrics_watch_total{job="kube-state-metrics"}[5m])))
          > 0.01
        for: 15m
        labels:
          severity: critical
      - alert: KubeStateMetricsShardingMismatch
        annotations:
          description: kube-state-metrics pods are running with different --total-shards configuration, some Kubernetes objects may be exposed multiple times or not exposed at all.
          summary: kube-state-metrics sharding is misconfigured.
        expr: |
          stdvar (kube_state_metrics_total_shards{job="kube-state-metrics"}) != 0
        for: 15m
        labels:
          severity: critical
      - alert: KubeStateMetricsShardsMissing
        annotations:
          description: kube-state-metrics shards are missing, some Kubernetes objects are not being exposed.
          summary: kube-state-metrics shards are missing.
        expr: |
          2^max(kube_state_metrics_total_shards{job="kube-state-metrics"}) - 1
            -
          sum( 2 ^ max by (shard_ordinal) (kube_state_metrics_shard_ordinal{job="kube-state-metrics"}) )
          != 0
        for: 15m
        labels:
          severity: critical

    To apply configuration changes from a local file, run the following command: 

    kubectl apply -f FILE_NAME

    You can also use Terraform to manage your configurations.

    For more information about applying rules to your cluster, see Managed rule evaluation and alerting.

    This Rules configuration was adapted from the rules and alerts contributed to the kube-state-metrics repository.

    Verify the configuration

    You can use Metrics Explorer to verify that you correctly configured Kube State Metrics. It might take one or two minutes for Cloud Monitoring to ingest your metrics.

    To verify the metrics are ingested, do the following:

    1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the  Metrics explorer page:

      Go to Metrics explorer

      If you use the search bar to find this page, then select the result whose subheading is Monitoring.

    2. In the toolbar of the query-builder pane, select the button whose name is  PromQL.
    3. Enter and run the following query:
      up{job="kube-state-metrics", cluster="CLUSTER_NAME", namespace="gmp-public"}

    Install dashboards

    Cloud Monitoring provides a library of sample dashboards for integrations. The sample library includes "Prometheus" dashboards, which you can install to view your data in the Google Cloud console.

    Note that the Kubernetes Cluster Prometheus Overview dashboard requires Node Exporter to be installed. The Kubernetes Pod Prometheus Overview dashboard requires Node Exporter and cAdvisor/Kubelet to be installed.

    To install a dashboard from the sample library, do the following:

    1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the  Dashboards page:

      Go to Dashboards

      If you use the search bar to find this page, then select the result whose subheading is Monitoring.

    2. Select the Sample Library tab.
    3. Choose the Other category.
    4. (Optional) To view a static preview of a dashboard without installing it, click Preview.
    5. Select the dashboards you want to install, then click download Import.

    For more information about installing dashboards, see Installing sample dashboards.

    Troubleshooting

    For information about troubleshooting metric ingestion problems, see Problems with collection from exporters in Troubleshooting ingestion-side problems.