> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.pinglabz.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Grafana for Network Monitoring: The Complete Series - URL: https://www.pinglabz.com/grafana-network-monitoring-series/ - Published: 2026-11-03T20:11:33.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T20:23:11.000Z - Description: The hub for the PingLabz Grafana series: ten hands-on posts that take Cisco IOS XE routers and Linux hosts from SNMP metrics to logs, flows, alerts and a NOC wall screen in Grafana 13. - Author: Jaime - Tags: Grafana, Monitoring This is the hub for the PingLabz Grafana series. It's ten posts, all built in my home lab on the same Cisco IOS XE 17.18.2 routers and switches, with Grafana 13.0.2 on top. Each one starts from a real problem and shows the config, the queries and the output I actually got. The series builds in layers. First come metrics: Prometheus and snmp\_exporter polling IOS XE over SNMPv3\. Then logs, with syslog going into Loki 3.7.9 through Grafana Alloy, and LogQL that finds link flaps, config changes and routing events. After that I tried gNMI streaming with Telegraf. The router image didn't support it, and that post covers how to check for support before you spend an afternoon on it, plus what 10-second SNMP polling shows that 60-second polling hides. The middle of the series is about acting on the data. Alerting covers contact points, a notification policy tree, a mute timing, a silence and a custom email template, with the real fired and resolved emails. NetFlow and IPFIX add who is talking to whom. node\_exporter brings in the Linux servers the network depends on, and the blackbox exporter checks whether users can reach anything at all, which SNMP can't tell you. The last three posts are about running it day to day. Dashboards as code keeps boards in Git and generates one per device from the Ansible inventory. The NOC dashboard puts Zabbix, Prometheus and Loki on one screen. The final post redesigns that board so you can read it from across the room. Every post stands on its own. Read in order, they share one set of devices, one Prometheus and one Loki, so later posts can skip setup that earlier ones already did. ![Diagram: Grafana network monitoring series. A sources box (SNMP exporter, syslog via Alloy, gNMI, NetFlow/IPFIX, node_exporter, blackbox probes) feeds Prometheus for metrics and Loki for logs; both feed Grafana, highlighted, for dashboards and a NOC wall screen. Grafana sends email alerts, and dashboards are managed as code from Git and an Ansible inventory.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ff/28/ff28db4a-11e1-4835-b928-158974cf96c1/content/images/2026/11/hub-grafana-network-monitoring-series.png) ## The series in reading order 1. [Prometheus and snmp\_exporter for Cisco IOS XE: SNMPv3, Generator and a Grafana Board](https://www.pinglabz.com/grafana-prometheus-snmp-exporter-ios-xe/). SNMPv3 polling with the snmp\_exporter generator, secrets kept in auth.yml, and a first Grafana board. 2. [Cisco IOS XE Syslog into Loki with Grafana Alloy: LogQL for Flaps, Changes and Routing Events](https://www.pinglabz.com/grafana-loki-syslog-ios-xe/). Syslog into Loki through Alloy, the RFC 3164 parsing gotcha, and LogQL for flaps, config changes and routing events. 3. [Telegraf, gNMI and Cisco IOS XE: Check Support First, Then Poll Faster](https://www.pinglabz.com/grafana-telegraf-gnmi-ios-xe/). How to check gNMI support before you start, what the errors mean, and what 10-second polling shows. 4. [Grafana Alerting for Cisco IOS XE: Contact Points, Policies, Silences and Email Templates](https://www.pinglabz.com/grafana-alerting-email-ios-xe/). Alert rules, a per-router policy tree, mute timings, silences and a custom email template, with real emails. 5. [NetFlow and IPFIX in Grafana: Flexible NetFlow on Cisco IOS XE with GoFlow2 and Loki](https://www.pinglabz.com/grafana-netflow-ipfix-ios-xe/). Flexible NetFlow exporting IPFIX to GoFlow2 and Loki, with top talkers and a live flow list. 6. [Linux Hosts in Grafana with Prometheus node\_exporter, Next to Your Routers](https://www.pinglabz.com/grafana-node-exporter-linux/). The Linux servers the network depends on, next to the routers, plus a backup age alert. 7. [Grafana Dashboards as Code: Provisioning, Git and Ansible for Network Devices](https://www.pinglabz.com/grafana-dashboards-as-code-ansible/). Dashboards from Git with file provisioning, one per device generated from the Ansible inventory. 8. [Probing the WAN with the Prometheus Blackbox Exporter and Grafana](https://www.pinglabz.com/grafana-blackbox-exporter-wan-probes/). ICMP, SSH and HTTP probes that catch an outage SNMP says isn't happening. 9. [Grafana NOC Dashboard: Zabbix, Prometheus and Loki on One Screen](https://www.pinglabz.com/grafana-noc-zabbix-prometheus-loki/). Zabbix problems, Prometheus metrics and Loki syslog on one NOC dashboard. 10. [Grafana NOC Wall Screen Design: Dashboards People Can Read from Across the Room](https://www.pinglabz.com/grafana-noc-dashboard-design-screens/). Redesigning the NOC board so it can be read on a wall screen from across the room. ## Where to start Who this is for: network engineers who know the IOS XE CLI and want monitoring they can trust. New to Grafana? Start with part 1\. Already have metrics? Jump to alerting (part 4) or the NOC board (part 9).