14.6.2. Configuring a virtual machine with the node exporter service

Procedure

1. Log on to the virtual machine.

2. Download the node-exporter file on to the virtual machine by using the directory path that applies to the version of node-exporter file.

   $ wget https://github.com/prometheus/node_exporter/releases/download/<version>/node_exporter-<version>.linux-<architecture>.tar.gz

3. Extract the executable and place it in the /usr/bin directory.

   $ sudo tar xvf node_exporter-<version>.linux-<architecture>.tar.gz \
       --directory /usr/bin --strip 1 "*/node_exporter"

4. Create a node_exporter.service file in this directory path: /etc/systemd/system. This systemd service file runs the node-exporter service when the virtual machine reboots.

   [Unit]
   Description=Prometheus Metrics Exporter
   After=network.target
   StartLimitIntervalSec=0
   
   [Service]
   Type=simple
   Restart=always
   RestartSec=1
   User=root
   ExecStart=/usr/bin/node_exporter
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target

5. Enable and start the systemd service.

   $ sudo systemctl enable node_exporter.service

   $ sudo systemctl start node_exporter.service