How to implement Prometheus high availability and federation architecture?

Prometheus high availability and federation architecture solutions:

High Availability Solutions:

1. Multi-Replica Deployment:

   • Deploy multiple Prometheus instances
   • Each instance scrapes the same targets
   • Distribute query requests via load balancing

2. Thanos Solution (Recommended):

   • Thanos Sidecar: Attached to Prometheus instances
   • Thanos Store: Long-term storage
   • Thanos Query: Unified query entry point
   • Thanos Compact: Data compression

Thanos Architecture Advantages:

• Unlimited data retention
• Cross-cluster querying
• Global view
• Object storage integration

Federation Architecture:

yaml
scrape_configs:
  - job_name: 'federate'
    scrape_interval: 15s
    honor_labels: true
    metrics_path: '/federate'
    params:
      'match[]':
        - '{job="prometheus"}'
        - '{__name__=~"job:.*"}'
    static_configs:
      - targets:
        - 'source-prometheus:9090'

Federation Use Cases:

• Hierarchical monitoring (central + edge)
• Cross-data center aggregation
• Tiered alert processing

Cortex Solution:

• Fully distributed architecture
• Multi-tenant support
• Horizontal scaling
• Long-term storage

VictoriaMetrics Solution:

• Single binary deployment
• High performance
• Prometheus compatible
• Low resource usage

Selection Guidelines:

• Small scale: Multi-replica + load balancing
• Medium to large scale: Thanos
• Multi-tenant requirements: Cortex
• Performance priority: VictoriaMetrics

Best Practices:

• Use external storage to avoid data loss
• Regularly backup configuration
• Monitor Prometheus health
• Configure alerts for anomalies