Mimir is an open-source project developed by Grafana Labs that provides a scalable and highly available long-term storage solution for Prometheus metrics. Running Mimir locally can be an excellent way to test its capabilities, experiment with configurations, and understand its integration with Prometheus and Grafana. This article will guide you through the process of setting up Mimir on your local machine for testing purposes.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure that you have the following installed on your machine:

1. Docker: Mimir can be easily run using Docker, which simplifies the setup process.
2. Docker Compose: This will help you manage multi-container Docker applications.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Clone the Mimir Repository

Start by cloning the Mimir repository from GitHub. This repository contains Docker Compose files and other resources needed to run Mimir locally.

git clone https://github.com/grafana/mimir.git
cd mimir

Step 2: Configure Docker Compose

Within the cloned repository, you will find a docker-compose.yml file. This file defines the services required to run Mimir, including the Mimir service itself, a Prometheus instance, and a Grafana instance for visualization.

You may want to customize the docker-compose.yml file to suit your testing needs. For example, you can adjust resource limits or change the exposed ports.

Step 3: Start the Services

With Docker and Docker Compose installed, you can start the services by running:

docker-compose up -d

This command will start the Mimir, Prometheus, and Grafana services in detached mode. You can check the status of the services using:

docker-compose ps

Step 4: Access the Services

Once the services are running, you can access them via your web browser:

• Grafana: Navigate to http://localhost:3000. The default login credentials are admin for both the username and password. You will be prompted to change the password upon first login.
• Prometheus: Navigate to http://localhost:9090 to access the Prometheus web interface.

Step 5: Configure Grafana

In Grafana, you need to add Prometheus as a data source:

1. Go to the Grafana web interface.
2. Click on “Configuration” > “Data Sources”.
3. Click “Add data source” and select “Prometheus”.
4. Set the URL to http://prometheus:9090 and click “Save & Test”.

Step 6: Explore Mimir

With everything set up, you can now explore Mimir’s capabilities. Use Grafana to create dashboards and visualize metrics stored in Mimir. You can also experiment with different configurations and observe how Mimir handles various workloads.

Conclusion

Running Mimir locally is a straightforward process that allows you to test and explore its features in a controlled environment. By using Docker and Docker Compose, you can quickly spin up a local instance of Mimir along with Prometheus and Grafana, providing a complete monitoring stack for experimentation.

Sources

• Grafana Mimir GitHub Repository
• Docker Documentation
• Docker Compose Documentation

By following this guide, you should be well on your way to understanding how Mimir works and how it can be integrated into your monitoring stack. Happy testing!