Netdata is an open-source, real-time performance and health monitoring tool for systems, applications, and infrastructure. It collects thousands of metrics per second with zero configuration and presents them through an interactive, low-latency dashboard. Netdata runs on Linux, FreeBSD, macOS, and Kubernetes – with a lightweight agent that uses minimal system resources even under heavy metric collection.
This guide walks through installing and configuring Netdata on RHEL 10, Rocky Linux 10, and AlmaLinux 10. We cover the kickstart installation, dashboard access, alarm configuration, application monitoring, firewall rules, and securing the dashboard behind an Nginx reverse proxy. The current stable release is Netdata v2.9.0.
Prerequisites
Before starting, confirm the following requirements are met:
- A server running RHEL 10, Rocky Linux 10, or AlmaLinux 10
- Root or sudo access to the server
- A working internet connection for package downloads
- Port 19999/TCP open for the Netdata dashboard (or port 80/443 if using Nginx reverse proxy)
- At least 1 GB RAM and 1 CPU core (Netdata is lightweight but needs baseline resources)
Step 1: Install Netdata on RHEL 10 / Rocky Linux 10
Netdata provides a kickstart script that detects your distribution and installs the appropriate packages automatically. This is the officially recommended installation method. Run the following command as root or with sudo:
wget -O /tmp/netdata-kickstart.sh https://get.netdata.cloud/kickstart.sh && sh /tmp/netdata-kickstart.sh --dont-waitThe --dont-wait flag skips the confirmation prompt. If you prefer curl over wget:
curl https://get.netdata.cloud/kickstart.sh > /tmp/netdata-kickstart.sh && sh /tmp/netdata-kickstart.sh --dont-waitThe installer downloads dependencies, compiles Netdata if needed, and sets up the systemd service. Once installation finishes, you should see a summary confirming Netdata is installed:
Successfully installed netdata
--- You can now access Netdata at http://localhost:19999Verify the installed version:
netdata -vThis should return the current version:
netdata v2.9.0Step 2: Start and Enable Netdata Service
The kickstart script usually starts Netdata automatically, but confirm the service is running and enabled to survive reboots:
sudo systemctl enable --now netdataCheck the service status to verify it is active and running:
sudo systemctl status netdataThe output should show active (running) with the main PID and memory usage:
● netdata.service - Real time performance monitoring
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/netdata.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
Active: active (running) since Sat 2026-03-22 10:15:32 UTC; 5s ago
Main PID: 12345 (netdata)
Tasks: 45 (limit: 23456)
Memory: 120.4M
CPU: 2.134s
CGroup: /system.slice/netdata.serviceStep 3: Access the Netdata Dashboard
Netdata serves its web dashboard on port 19999 by default. Open your browser and navigate to:
http://your-server-ip:19999Replace your-server-ip with your server’s actual IP address – for example, http://192.168.1.50:19999. The dashboard loads instantly and starts displaying real-time metrics with per-second granularity. You will see system overview charts for CPU, memory, disk I/O, and network traffic right on the landing page.
If the dashboard does not load, check that the firewall allows port 19999 (covered in Step 8) and that the Netdata service is running.
Step 4: Configure Netdata
The main Netdata configuration file is /etc/netdata/netdata.conf. This file controls the agent’s behavior including data retention, memory usage, listening address, and update frequency. The recommended way to edit it is through the built-in editor script:
sudo /etc/netdata/edit-config netdata.confKey settings you may want to adjust in the [global] section:
[global]
# Change the default listening port (default: 19999)
default port = 19999
# Bind to a specific IP (default: all interfaces)
bind to = 0.0.0.0
# Data collection frequency in seconds (default: 1)
update every = 1
# History length in seconds - 3600 = 1 hour of data at 1-second granularity
history = 3600For production servers that need longer retention, increase the history value. Setting it to 86400 retains 24 hours of per-second data but uses more RAM. Alternatively, configure the database engine mode for disk-based storage in the [db] section:
[db]
# dbengine stores data on disk, allowing much longer retention
mode = dbengine
# Disk space limit in MB for tier 0 (per-second data)
dbengine multihost disk space MB = 1024After making changes, restart Netdata to apply:
sudo systemctl restart netdataStep 5: Monitor System Metrics
Netdata automatically collects hundreds of system metrics out of the box with no additional configuration. The dashboard organizes these into sections. Here is what each major section tracks:
CPU – Per-core usage, system vs user time, iowait, softirq, steal time (important for VMs). Look at the “System CPU” chart for overall utilization and “CPU per core” for identifying single-threaded bottlenecks.
Memory – RAM usage breakdown (used, cached, buffers, free), swap usage, page faults, and kernel memory slabs. The “System RAM” chart shows the full memory composition at a glance.
Disk I/O – Read/write throughput per disk, IOPS, average I/O time, disk utilization percentage, and disk space usage per mount point. Critical for database servers where disk latency directly impacts query performance.
Network – Bandwidth in/out per interface, packets per second, errors, drops, and TCP connection states. The “IPv4 TCP connections” chart is useful for tracking connection pool exhaustion.
All metrics update every second by default. Use the time picker at the top of the dashboard to zoom into specific time ranges or highlight anomalies. If you also run Prometheus and Grafana for Linux monitoring, Netdata can export metrics to Prometheus as a data source.
Step 6: Configure Alarms and Notifications
Netdata ships with hundreds of pre-configured health alarms covering CPU usage, memory pressure, disk space, network errors, and more. Alarm configuration files live in /etc/netdata/health.d/. List the available alarm definitions:
ls /etc/netdata/health.d/To create a custom alarm – for example, alert when disk space on the root partition drops below 20% – edit or create a health config:
sudo /etc/netdata/edit-config health.d/disk_space_custom.confAdd the following alarm definition:
alarm: disk_space_root_low
on: disk.space
lookup: average -1m percentage of used
every: 1m
warn: $this > 80
crit: $this > 90
info: Root disk space usage is highThis triggers a warning when disk usage exceeds 80% and a critical alert above 90%. After adding the alarm, reload the health configuration without restarting Netdata:
sudo netdatacli reload-healthTo view current active alarms from the command line:
curl -s http://localhost:19999/api/v1/alarms | python3 -m json.tool | head -50For email notifications, configure the alarm notification settings:
sudo /etc/netdata/edit-config health_alarm_notify.confSet the email recipient and sender in the notification config:
# Enable email notifications
SEND_EMAIL="YES"
# Default recipient for all alarms
DEFAULT_RECIPIENT_EMAIL="[email protected]"
# Sender address
EMAIL_SENDER="[email protected]"Netdata also supports notifications through Slack, PagerDuty, Telegram, Discord, and many other platforms. Check the Netdata configuration documentation for all available notification methods.
Step 7: Monitor Applications – MySQL, Nginx, Docker
Netdata auto-detects many running applications and starts collecting metrics from them. For services that require authentication or custom endpoints, you need to configure the corresponding collector.
Monitor MySQL / MariaDB
Netdata uses the go.d/mysql collector. Create a MySQL user for Netdata:
mysql -u root -pRun these SQL statements to create a read-only monitoring user:
CREATE USER 'netdata'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'StrongPassword123';
GRANT USAGE, REPLICATION CLIENT, PROCESS ON *.* TO 'netdata'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;Then configure the MySQL collector:
sudo /etc/netdata/edit-config go.d/mysql.confAdd the connection details:
jobs:
- name: local_mysql
dsn: netdata:StrongPassword123@tcp(127.0.0.1:3306)/Restart Netdata to pick up the new collector config. The dashboard will show MySQL metrics including queries per second, connections, buffer pool usage, and replication lag.
Monitor Nginx
Netdata monitors Nginx through the stub_status module. Enable the status endpoint in your Nginx configuration by adding a server block or location:
sudo vi /etc/nginx/conf.d/stub_status.confAdd this server block:
server {
listen 127.0.0.1:80;
server_name 127.0.0.1;
location /stub_status {
stub_status;
allow 127.0.0.1;
deny all;
}
}Reload Nginx and Netdata will auto-detect the status endpoint. You will see active connections, requests per second, and connection states in the dashboard.
Monitor Docker Containers
Netdata monitors Docker containers automatically when it has access to the Docker socket. Add the netdata user to the docker group:
sudo usermod -aG docker netdata
sudo systemctl restart netdataAfter restarting, Netdata displays per-container metrics including CPU usage, memory consumption, network I/O, and block I/O. Each container appears as a separate section in the dashboard.
Step 8: Configure Firewall for Netdata
RHEL 10 and Rocky Linux 10 use firewalld by default. Open port 19999/TCP to access the Netdata dashboard from remote machines. If you plan to use an Nginx reverse proxy (Step 9), you can skip this and open only ports 80/443 instead.
To allow direct access to the Netdata dashboard on port 19999:
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=19999/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reloadVerify the port is open in the firewalld configuration:
sudo firewall-cmd --list-portsThe output should include 19999/tcp in the active ports list:
19999/tcpStep 9: Secure Netdata with Nginx Reverse Proxy
Running Netdata behind an Nginx reverse proxy adds TLS encryption and basic authentication. This is the recommended setup for production servers where the dashboard is exposed beyond the local network.
First, install Nginx and the httpd-tools package for password file generation:
sudo dnf install -y nginx httpd-toolsCreate a password file for basic authentication:
sudo htpasswd -c /etc/nginx/.htpasswd netdata_adminEnter a strong password when prompted. Next, bind Netdata to localhost only so it is not directly accessible from the network. Edit the Netdata config:
sudo /etc/netdata/edit-config netdata.confSet the bind address to localhost in the [web] section:
[web]
bind to = 127.0.0.1Restart Netdata to apply the binding change:
sudo systemctl restart netdataCreate the Nginx virtual host configuration for Netdata:
sudo vi /etc/nginx/conf.d/netdata.confAdd the following reverse proxy configuration. Replace netdata.example.com with your actual domain or server IP:
upstream netdata_backend {
server 127.0.0.1:19999;
keepalive 64;
}
server {
listen 80;
server_name netdata.example.com;
auth_basic "Netdata Monitoring";
auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
location / {
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Server $host;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_pass http://netdata_backend;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_pass_request_headers on;
proxy_set_header Connection "keep-alive";
proxy_store off;
}
}Test the Nginx configuration and start the service:
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl enable --now nginxOpen HTTP and HTTPS ports in the firewall and remove the direct Netdata port if you opened it earlier:
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --remove-port=19999/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reloadAccess the dashboard through the proxy at http://netdata.example.com. The browser will prompt for the username and password you created with htpasswd. For TLS, add a certificate from Let’s Encrypt or your preferred CA to the Nginx server block.
Step 10: Connect to Netdata Cloud
Netdata Cloud is a free service that provides a centralized dashboard for monitoring multiple Netdata agents across different servers. It does not store your metrics – the data stays on your servers. Netdata Cloud provides a unified view, cross-server correlation, and role-based access control.
If you did not connect during installation, claim the agent to your Netdata Cloud account:
- Sign up or log in at app.netdata.cloud
- Create a Space and a Room (or use the defaults)
- Click “Connect Nodes” and copy the claiming command
The claiming command looks like this (use the exact token from your Netdata Cloud account):
sudo netdata-claim.sh -token=YOUR_CLOUD_TOKEN -rooms=YOUR_ROOM_ID -url=https://app.netdata.cloudAfter claiming, the agent appears in your Netdata Cloud dashboard within a few seconds. You can now monitor this server alongside all your other Netdata nodes from a single interface. Netdata Cloud also provides composite charts that aggregate metrics from multiple servers – useful for monitoring clusters.
To verify the agent is connected, check the claiming status:
sudo netdatacli aclk-stateThe output should show ACLK state: online if the connection to Netdata Cloud is active. If you run Netdata with Grafana, you can also export Netdata metrics to Grafana dashboards for custom visualization.
Conclusion
Netdata is now installed and running on your RHEL 10 or Rocky Linux 10 server, collecting real-time metrics for system performance, applications, and containers. The Nginx reverse proxy with basic authentication protects the dashboard from unauthorized access.
For production deployments, add TLS certificates to the Nginx proxy, configure Prometheus integration for long-term storage, and set up alarm notifications to catch issues before they affect users. Adjust the dbengine disk space settings based on your retention requirements and available storage.
