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Dashboards & Querying

  • Published on Jun 9, 2026
  • 2 minute(s) read
  • Ben F
  • AC
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Once you have configured the Kentik Connect Datasource for Grafana, you can move beyond the bundled dashboards to build custom panels that fit your specific observability needs.

Building Custom Panels

When creating a new panel, select Kentik from the data source dropdown. The v2 data source includes a rich query editor that allows you to slice and group your network telemetry. Key features of the editor include:

  • Data Mode Toggle: Switch between time-series (Graph) and summary (Table) output per panel.

  • Top-N Control: Set the maximum number of results returned per query.

  • Filter Builder UI: Add robust WHERE-clause style filters using dimension, operator, and value pickers with AND/OR conjunctions.

  • Multi-Dimension Support: Select up to 8 dimensions per query to group traffic as a combination (similar to an SQL GROUP BY).

  • Metrics: You can only select one metric per query (e.g., you cannot query Bits/s and Packets/s in the exact same query block).

  • Filter Conjunctions: The AND/OR conjuction operator applies globally to all filters in that query. You cannot mix AND/OR statements within a single filter block.

Using the "Alias By" Feature

The query editor includes an Alias By field to smartly label your time-series data. Simply type $ or {{ in the field to trigger an autocomplete dropdown of available tokens.

There are three main types of tokens you can use:

  • {{field}} (Dimension Token): Pulls the dimension value directly from the series. (e.g., {{Source Port}} resolves to 443).

  • $col / $metric_group (Built-in Tokens): Pulls the aggregate column label (e.g., $col resolves to Max bits/s) or the metric group name (e.g., SNMP Device CPU (%)).

  • $var (Grafana Variables): Injects standard Grafana dashboard variables into your series names.

Kentik settings in Grafana for customizing dashboards (e.g. dropdowns for Data Mode, Sites, Devices)

Practical “Alias By” Examples

  • Device and Interface:

    • Syntax: {{device}} / {{interface}}

    • Output: core-router-01 / xe-0/0/1

  • Network traffic by AS with the aggregate label:

    • Syntax: {{SrcAS}} ($col)

    • Output: 15169 (Max bits/s)

  • Geographic context with a static prefix:

    • Syntax: Inbound {{SrcGeoCountry}} ($col)

    • Output: Inbound United States (Max bits/s)

Note: The alias engine features intelligent fallback resolution. It does not require exact field name matches, and if a token cannot be resolved, it will remain visibly unresolved in your legend so you can easily spot errors.

Portal Drilldown

Panels powered by the v2 Kentik Connect Data Source support automatic portal drilldowns. When you interact with a data point on your Grafana panel, the plugin will automatically generate a link that routes you to the correct regional Kentik portal (US, EU, or Custom) with the exact time range and filters applied, allowing for seamless deep-dive troubleshooting.

Next, review Troubleshooting information for the Kentik Connect Datasource for Grafana.

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