Threshold deadman checks plugin

The Threshold Deadman Checks Plugin provides comprehensive monitoring capabilities for time series data in InfluxDB 3 Enterprise, combining real-time threshold detection with deadman monitoring. Monitor field values against configurable thresholds, detect data absence patterns, and trigger multi-level alerts based on aggregated metrics. Features both scheduled batch monitoring and real-time data write monitoring with configurable trigger counts and severity levels.

Configuration

Plugin parameters may be specified as key-value pairs in the --trigger-arguments flag (CLI) or in the trigger_arguments field (API) when creating a trigger.

Plugin metadata

This plugin includes a JSON metadata schema in its docstring that defines supported trigger types and configuration parameters. This metadata enables the InfluxDB 3 Explorer UI to display and configure the plugin.

Required parameters

Data write trigger parameters

Threshold check parameters

Notification parameters

TOML configuration

To use a TOML configuration file, set the PLUGIN_DIR environment variable and specify the config_file_path in the trigger arguments. This is in addition to the --plugin-dir flag when starting InfluxDB 3 Enterprise.

Example TOML configuration files provided:

• threshold_deadman_config_scheduler.toml - for scheduled triggers
• threshold_deadman_config_data_writes.toml - for data write triggers

For more information on using TOML configuration files, see the Using TOML Configuration Files section in the influxdb3_plugins/README.md.

Channel-specific configuration

Notification channels require additional parameters based on the sender type (same as the influxdata/notifier plugin).

Schema requirement

The plugin assumes that the table schema is already defined in the database, as it relies on this schema to retrieve field and tag names required for processing.

Software requirements

• InfluxDB v3 Core/Enterprise: with the Processing Engine enabled.
• Notification Sender Plugin for InfluxDB 3 Enterprise: This plugin is required for sending notifications. See the influxdata/notifier plugin.

Installation steps

1. Start InfluxDB 3 Enterprise with the Processing Engine enabled (--plugin-dir /path/to/plugins):

   influxdb3 serve \
     --node-id node0 \
     --object-store file \
     --data-dir ~/.influxdb3 \
     --plugin-dir ~/.plugins

2. Install required Python packages:

   influxdb3 install package requests

3. Optional: For notifications, install and configure the influxdata/notifier plugin

Trigger setup

Scheduled trigger

Create a trigger for periodic threshold and deadman checks:

influxdb3 create trigger \
  --database mydb \
  --path "gh:influxdata/threshold_deadman_checks/threshold_deadman_checks_plugin.py" \
  --trigger-spec "every:10m" \
  --trigger-arguments "measurement=cpu,senders=slack,field_aggregation_values=temp:avg@>=30-ERROR,window=10m,trigger_count=3,deadman_check=true,slack_webhook_url=$SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL" \
  threshold_scheduler

Set SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL to your Slack incoming webhook URL.

Data write trigger

Create a trigger for real-time threshold monitoring:

influxdb3 create trigger \
  --database mydb \
  --path "gh:influxdata/threshold_deadman_checks/threshold_deadman_checks_plugin.py" \
  --trigger-spec "all_tables" \
  --trigger-arguments "measurement=cpu,field_conditions=temp>30-WARN:status==ok-INFO,senders=slack,trigger_count=2,slack_webhook_url=$SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL" \
  threshold_datawrite

Set SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL to your Slack incoming webhook URL.

Enable triggers

influxdb3 enable trigger --database mydb threshold_scheduler
influxdb3 enable trigger --database mydb threshold_datawrite

Example usage

Example 1: Basic threshold monitoring

Write test data and monitor for threshold violations:

# Write test data
influxdb3 write \
  --database sensors \
  "heartbeat,host=server1 status=1"

influxdb3 write \
  --database sensors \
  "heartbeat,host=server1 status=0"

# Create and enable the trigger
influxdb3 create trigger \
  --database sensors \
  --path "gh:influxdata/threshold_deadman_checks/threshold_deadman_checks_plugin.py" \
  --trigger-spec "every:5m" \
  --trigger-arguments "measurement=heartbeat,senders=slack,window=5m,deadman_check=true,slack_webhook_url=$SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL" \
  heartbeat_monitor

influxdb3 enable trigger --database sensors heartbeat_monitor

# Query to verify data
influxdb3 query \
  --database sensors \
  "SELECT * FROM heartbeat ORDER BY time DESC LIMIT 5"

Set SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL to your Slack incoming webhook URL.

Expected output

When no data is received within the window, a deadman alert is sent: “CRITICAL: No heartbeat data from heartbeat between 2025-06-01T10:00:00Z and 2025-06-01T10:05:00Z”

Example 2: Deadman monitoring

Monitor for data absence and alert when no data is received:

influxdb3 create trigger \
  --database sensors \
  --path "gh:influxdata/threshold_deadman_checks/threshold_deadman_checks_plugin.py" \
  --trigger-spec "every:15m" \
  --trigger-arguments "measurement=heartbeat,senders=sms,window=10m,deadman_check=true,trigger_count=2,twilio_from_number=+1234567890,twilio_to_number=+0987654321,notification_deadman_text=CRITICAL: No heartbeat data from \$table between \$time_from and \$time_to" \
  heartbeat_monitor

Multi-level threshold monitoring

Monitor aggregated values with different severity levels:

influxdb3 create trigger \
  --database monitoring \
  --path "gh:influxdata/threshold_deadman_checks/threshold_deadman_checks_plugin.py" \
  --trigger-spec "every:5m" \
  --trigger-arguments "measurement=system_metrics,senders=slack.discord,field_aggregation_values='cpu_usage:avg@>=80-WARN cpu_usage:avg@>=95-ERROR memory_usage:max@>=90-WARN',window=5m,interval=1min,trigger_count=3,slack_webhook_url=$SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL,discord_webhook_url=$DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL" \
  system_threshold_monitor

Set SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL and DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL to your webhook URLs.

Real-time field condition monitoring

Monitor data writes for immediate threshold violations:

influxdb3 create trigger \
  --database applications \
  --path "gh:influxdata/threshold_deadman_checks/threshold_deadman_checks_plugin.py" \
  --trigger-spec "all_tables" \
  --trigger-arguments "measurement=response_times,field_conditions=latency>500-WARN:latency>1000-ERROR:error_rate>0.05-CRITICAL,senders=http,trigger_count=1,http_webhook_url=$HTTP_WEBHOOK_URL,notification_text=[\$level] Application alert: \$field \$op_sym \$compare_val (actual: \$actual)" \
  app_performance_monitor

Set HTTP_WEBHOOK_URL to your HTTP webhook endpoint.

Combined monitoring

Monitor both aggregation thresholds and deadman conditions:

influxdb3 create trigger \
  --database comprehensive \
  --path "gh:influxdata/threshold_deadman_checks/threshold_deadman_checks_plugin.py" \
  --trigger-spec "every:10m" \
  --trigger-arguments "measurement=temperature_sensors,senders=whatsapp,field_aggregation_values='temperature:avg@>=35-WARN temperature:max@>=40-ERROR',window=15m,deadman_check=true,trigger_count=2,twilio_from_number=+1234567890,twilio_to_number=+0987654321" \
  comprehensive_sensor_monitor

Code overview

Files

• threshold_deadman_checks_plugin.py: The main plugin code containing handlers for scheduled and data write triggers
• threshold_deadman_config_scheduler.toml: Example TOML configuration for scheduled triggers
• threshold_deadman_config_data_writes.toml: Example TOML configuration for data write triggers

Logging

Logs are stored in the trigger’s database in the system.processing_engine_logs table. To view logs:

influxdb3 query --database YOUR_DATABASE "SELECT * FROM system.processing_engine_logs WHERE trigger_name = 'threshold_scheduler'"

Main functions

process_scheduled_call(influxdb3_local, call_time, args)

Handles scheduled threshold and deadman checks. Queries data within the specified window, evaluates aggregation-based conditions, and checks for data absence.

process_writes(influxdb3_local, table_batches, args)

Handles real-time threshold monitoring on data writes. Evaluates incoming data against configured field conditions with multi-level severity.

Troubleshooting

Common issues

Issue: No alerts triggered

Solution: Verify threshold values are appropriate for your data ranges. Check that notification channels are properly configured. Ensure the Notifier Plugin is installed and accessible. Review plugin logs for configuration errors.

Issue: False positive alerts

Solution: Increase trigger_count to require more consecutive failures. Adjust threshold values to be less sensitive. Consider longer aggregation intervals for noisy data.

Issue: Missing deadman alerts

Solution: Verify deadman_check=true is set in configuration. Check that the measurement name matches existing data. Ensure the time window is appropriate for your data frequency.

Issue: Authentication issues

Solution: Set INFLUXDB3_AUTH_TOKEN environment variable. Verify API token has required database permissions. Check Twilio credentials for SMS/WhatsApp notifications.

Configuration formats

Aggregation conditions (scheduled)

• Format: field:aggregation@operator value-level
• Example: temp:avg@>=30-ERROR
• Multiple conditions: "temp:avg@>=30-WARN humidity:min@<40-INFO"

Field conditions (data write)

• Format: field operator value-level
• Example: temp>30-WARN:status==ok-INFO
• Supported operators: >, <, >=, <=, ==, !=

Supported aggregations

• avg: Average value
• min: Minimum value
• max: Maximum value
• count: Count of records
• sum: Sum of values
• median: Median value
• stddev: Standard deviation
• first_value: First value in time interval
• last_value: Last value in time interval
• var: Variance of values
• approx_median: Approximate median (faster than exact median)

Message template variables

Deadman notifications

• $table: Measurement name
• $time_from: Start of checked period
• $time_to: End of checked period

Threshold notifications (scheduled)

• $level: Alert severity level
• $table: Measurement name
• $field: Field name
• $aggregation: Aggregation type
• $op_sym: Operator symbol
• $compare_val: Threshold value
• $actual: Actual measured value
• $row: Unique identifier

Threshold notifications (data write)

• $level: Alert severity level
• $field: Field name
• $op_sym: Operator symbol
• $compare_val: Threshold value
• $actual: Actual field value

Row identification

The row variable uniquely identifies alert contexts using format: measurement:level:tag1=value1:tag2=value2

This ensures trigger counts are maintained independently for each unique combination of measurement, severity level, and tag values.

Report an issue

For plugin issues, see the Plugins repository issues page.

Find support for InfluxDB 3 Enterprise

The InfluxDB Discord server is the best place to find support for InfluxDB 3 Core and InfluxDB 3 Enterprise. For other InfluxDB versions, see the Support and feedback options.