Grafana is multi-platform open-source analytics and interactive visualization web application that integrates with complex data from sources like Prometheus, InfluxDB, Graphite, and ElasticSearch. It provides charts, graphs, and alerts for the web when connected to supported data sources. It is expandable through a plug-in system. Please see how To Configure VM Update Management on Azure Stack Hub, and How to increase the Windows PIN complexity to accommodate more digits.

See this guide on how to install Grafana on Ubuntu Linux. Grafana Enterprise includes access to enterprise plugins that take your existing data sources and allow you to drop them right into Grafana.

This means you can get the best out of your complex, expensive monitoring solutions, and databases by visualizing all the data in an easier and more effective way. In this guide, you will learn how to install Grafana on Windows and Windows Server.

Grafana enables users to create complex monitoring dashboards using interactive query builders. This lets you create alerts, notifications, and ad-hoc filters for your data. This also makes collaboration with your teammates easier through built-in sharing features. Grafana supports querying Prometheus and the data source for Prometheus has been included since Grafana 2.5.0.

Part 1: Download and Install Grafana

Below are the steps to install Grafana on Windows 10 or Windows Server. Download Grafana from the official website as shown below. Click on Download the installer

Screenshot of the Grafana download page highlighting the Windows installer option along with download links for Windows and other platforms.

– Open the Downloaded file (MSI) as shown below and click on run as shown below.

A screenshot of a Windows Downloads folder showing files, including a highlighted Windows installer for Grafana version 7.0.5 and other file types.

Execute the installer and continue with the installation process.

Note: If your Microsoft defender is active as in the example below. You may be prompted with the Window below that the app cannot run. In this case,

Click on the More info button and
Select Run anyway.

A Windows security alert message indicating that Microsoft Defender SmartScreen has blocked an unrecognized app from starting, with options for more information and a button to cancel the action.

Windows security alert indicating that Microsoft Defender SmartScreen has blocked an unrecognized app from running. The message displays the app name 'grafana-7.0.5.windows-amd64.msi', notes an unknown publisher, and provides options to 'Run anyway' or 'Don't run'.

Click on Next as shown on the Welcome to Grafana OSS Setup Wizard

Screenshot of the GrafanaOSS Setup Wizard welcome page, featuring an introduction to the installation process and a highlighted 'Next' button for proceeding.

Accept the terms of the license agreement and click on “Next” as shown below

Screenshot of the Grafana OSS setup showing the End-User License Agreement, with the option to accept the terms highlighted and an arrow pointing to the 'Next' button.

On the custom setup page, click on “Next” as shown below

Grafana OSS Setup window showing custom installation options with checkboxes for Grafana features, including 'Run Grafana as a Service'. An arrow points to the 'Next' button.

Please see Using Prometheus for Monitoring, How to Configure Azure Monitor for VMs on Azure Stack Hub, how to Install, configure Prometheus for Monitoring on a Linux Server, How To Configure VM Update Management on Azure Stack Hub, and How to increase the Windows PIN complexity to accommodate more digits.

Install GrafanaOSS

On the “ready to Install GrafanaOSS” wizard, click n Install as shown below.

GraficanaOSS installation setup window with 'Ready to install' message and highlighted 'Install' button.

From here, the installation should start and when the installation is complete, you will be asked to click on “Finish” to complete the installation.

GrafanaOSS Setup Wizard completion window, featuring a 'Finish' button highlighted to exit the setup.

Now the installation of Grafana is complete and if the service is running correctly, you should be able to fire-up Grafana on the server any of the following below.

			
- localhost:3000
- IPaddress:3000

The default port is 3000. In a production environment, you may need to open port 3000 on your network (router) and on the server itself (Grafana Server).

Enter the default username and password. Below are the default credentials for Grafana.

			
Username: admin
Password: admin

Grafana login screen with fields for email or username and password, featuring a 'Log in' button and a hint for password recovery.

Note: Every Grafana installation uses the same administrative credentials by default, therefore it is best practice to change your login information as soon as possible. upon entering the default password, you will be prompted to change your password. Simply enter your new password as shown below and click on submit.

Note:This step can be skipped as shown in the image below. It is recommended to have it changed, so why do you want to skip it?

Login screen for Grafana with fields for new password and confirmation, buttons for submitting or skipping the setup.

Now we are presented with the default Grafana Home screen as shown below.

Grafana dashboard interface displaying a welcome message, basic setup instructions, and links to tutorials, documentation, and community resources.

Part 2 – Define the configuration file

By default, Grafana relies on configuration files located in the conf folder of your installation directory. For this installation, its conf folder is located at C:\Program Files\GrafanaLabs\grafana as an example

Note: The NSSM is responsible for launching the Grafana service and it is a service manager for Windows.

Screenshot of a Windows File Explorer window showing the contents of the 'GrafanaLabs' folder, which includes a subfolder named 'grafana' and an application file 'nssm'.

A Windows File Explorer window showing the directory structure of the 'grafana' folder, highlighting the 'conf' folder in red, along with other folders like 'bin', 'data', and 'plugins-bundled'.

By default, Grafana is going to use the content of the defaults.ini file, but we are going to overwrite that to have our own custom configuration file.

Screenshot of the Grafana configuration directory in Windows, showing folders and TOML files, with the 'defaults' file highlighted and opened in Notepad, displaying configuration settings.

Note: You can replace the default configuration file with a new file and before doing this, ensure you make a backup of this file, so when you run into configuration issues, etc in the new file, then you can revert to it. Refer to the Configuration page for details on options for customizing your environment, logging, database, etc.

Refer to the Configuration page for details on options for customizing your environment, logging, database, etc.

I hope you found this blog post helpful. Now, you have learned how to install Grafana on Windows and Windows Server. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session