added field version to the response for /api/v1/status/buildinfo API for using more efficient API in Grafana for receiving label values, added additional info about setup Grafana datasource (#5370) (#5437)

README.md

@@ -348,6 +348,12 @@ http://<victoriametrics-addr>:8428
 
 Substitute `<victoriametrics-addr>` with the hostname or IP address of VictoriaMetrics.
 
+In the "Type and version" section it is recommended to set the type to "Prometheus" and the version to at least "2.24.x":
+
+<img src="docs/grafana-datasource-prometheus.png" alt="Grafana datasource" />
+
+This allows Grafana to use a more efficient API to get label values.
+
 Then build graphs and dashboards for the created datasource using [PromQL](https://prometheus.io/docs/prometheus/latest/querying/basics/)
 or [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html).
 

app/vmselect/main.go

@@ -537,7 +537,10 @@ func handleStaticAndSimpleRequests(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, path
 	case "/api/v1/status/buildinfo":
 		buildInfoRequests.Inc()
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s", `{"status":"success","data":{}}`)
+		// prometheus version is used here, which affects what API Grafana uses when retrieving label values.
+		// as new Grafana features are added that are customized for the Prometheus version, maybe the version will need to be increased.
+		// see this issue for more info: https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/5370
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s", `{"status":"success","data":{"version":"2.24.0"}}`)
 		return true
 	case "/api/v1/query_exemplars":
 		// Return dumb placeholder for https://prometheus.io/docs/prometheus/latest/querying/api/#querying-exemplars

deployment/docker/provisioning/datasources/datasource.yml

@@ -6,9 +6,15 @@ datasources:
       access: proxy
       url: http://victoriametrics:8428
       isDefault: true
+      jsonData:
+        prometheusType: Prometheus
+        prometheusVersion: 2.24.0
 
     - name: VictoriaMetrics - cluster
       type: prometheus
       access: proxy
       url: http://vmauth:8427/select/0/prometheus
-      isDefault: false
+      isDefault: false
+      jsonData:
+        prometheusType: Prometheus
+        prometheusVersion: 2.24.0

docs/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ The sandbox cluster installation is running under the constant load generated by
   * `go_gc_pauses_seconds` - the [histogram](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/keyConcepts.html#histogram), which shows the duration of GC pauses.
   * `go_scavenge_cpu_seconds_total` - the [counter](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/keyConcepts.html#counter), which shows the total CPU time spent by Go runtime for returning memory to the Operating System.
   * `go_memlimit_bytes` - the value of [GOMEMLIMIT](https://pkg.go.dev/runtime#hdr-Environment_Variables) environment variable.
+* FEATURE: add field `version` to the response for `/api/v1/status/buildinfo` API for using more efficient API in Grafana for receiving label values. Add additional info about setup Grafana datasource. See [this issue](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/5370) and [these docs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/#grafana-setup) for details. 
 
 * BUGFIX: [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html): properly calculate values for the first point on the graph for queries, which do not use [rollup functions](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html#rollup-functions). For example, previously `count(up)` could return lower than expected values for the first point on the graph. This also could result in lower than expected values in the middle of the graph like in [this issue](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/5388) when the response caching isn't disabled. The issue has been introduced in [v1.95.0](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/CHANGELOG.html#v1950).
 * BUGFIX: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/vmagent.html): prevent from `FATAL: cannot flush metainfo` panic when [`-remoteWrite.multitenantURL`](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/vmagent.html#multitenancy) command-line flag is set. See [this issue](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/5357).
@@ -62,7 +63,6 @@ The sandbox cluster installation is running under the constant load generated by
 * BUGFIX: [vminsert](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/Cluster-VictoriaMetrics.html): fix panic when ingesting data via [NewRelic protocol](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/#how-to-send-data-from-newrelic-agent) into VictoriaMetrics cluster. See [this issue](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/5416).
 * BUGFIX: properly escape `<` character in responses returned via [`/federate`](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/#federation) endpoint. See [this issue](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/5431).
 
-
 ## [v1.95.1](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/releases/tag/v1.95.1)
 
 Released at 2023-11-16

docs/README.md

@@ -351,6 +351,12 @@ http://<victoriametrics-addr>:8428
 
 Substitute `<victoriametrics-addr>` with the hostname or IP address of VictoriaMetrics.
 
+In the "Type and version" section it is recommended to set the type to "Prometheus" and the version to at least "2.24.x":
+
+<img src="grafana-datasource-prometheus.png" alt="Grafana datasource" />
+
+This allows Grafana to use a more efficient API to get label values.
+
 Then build graphs and dashboards for the created datasource using [PromQL](https://prometheus.io/docs/prometheus/latest/querying/basics/)
 or [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html).
 

docs/guides/grafana-vmgateway-openid-configuration.md

@@ -197,6 +197,12 @@ It is also possible to provide the public keys directly via the `-auth.publicKey
 Create a new Prometheus datasource in Grafana with the following URL `http://<vmgateway>:8431`.
 URL should point to the vmgateway instance.
 
+In the "Type and version" section it is recommended to set the type to "Prometheus" and the version to at least "2.24.x":
+
+<img src="grafana-vmgateway-openid-configuration/grafana-datasource-prometheus.png" alt="Grafana datasource" />
+
+This allows Grafana to use a more efficient API to get label values.
+
 You can also use VictoriaMetrics [Grafana datasource](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/grafana-datasource) plugin.
 See installation instructions [here](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/grafana-datasource#installation).