01 Introduction
What You'll Learn
What Grafana is and why it's useful for manufacturing
How ENLYZE integrates with Grafana
The difference between the two available data sources
How to navigate the Grafana interface
Prerequisites
Access to your ENLYZE Grafana instance
A web browser (Chrome, Firefox, or Edge recommended)
What is Grafana?
Grafana is an open-source platform for visualizing and analyzing data. Think of it as a powerful tool for creating custom dashboards that display your production data in real-time.
Why Use Grafana for Manufacturing?
Real-time monitoring
See what's happening on your production lines right now
Custom dashboards
Build exactly the views you need for your specific use cases
Historical analysis
Look back at past data to identify trends and issues
Alerting
Get notified when something needs attention
Sharing
Share dashboards with colleagues across your organization
Common Use Cases
Shopfloor displays: Large screens showing live production status
Shift handover: Review what happened during the previous shift
Management reporting: OEE and KPI dashboards for decision makers
Maintenance monitoring: Track machine health and predict issues
Quality control: Monitor process parameters to ensure product quality
ENLYZE and Grafana
ENLYZE provides a hosted Grafana instance that's already connected to your production data. This means you can start building dashboards immediately without any technical setup.
How It Works
Two Ways to Access Your Data
ENLYZE provides two different data sources in Grafana. Each has its own strengths:
The ENLYZE Data Source (Simple)
The ENLYZE data source is designed for ease of use. It provides a point-and-click interface where you simply select:
Best for:
Quick dashboard creation
Users who prefer visual configuration
Simple time series visualizations
Getting started with Grafana
Limitations:
No support for alerting
Limited data transformation options
Cannot use dashboard variables for dynamic filtering
The ENLYZE API Data Source (Advanced)
The ENLYZE API data source (powered by the Infinity plugin) connects directly to the ENLYZE platform API. It's more powerful but requires understanding of API queries.
Best for:
OEE and productivity metrics dashboards
Dashboards with dropdown filters (variables)
Setting up alerts
Complex data transformations
Advanced use cases
Requires:
Understanding of API concepts
JSONPath for parsing responses
More configuration effort
Which Data Source Should You Use?
Create a simple dashboard quickly
ENLYZE
Display basic time series data
ENLYZE
Build OEE/productivity dashboards
ENLYZE API
Add dropdown filters to select machines
ENLYZE API
Set up email or Teams alerts
ENLYZE API
Create dynamic, interactive dashboards
ENLYZE API
Our recommendation: Start with the ENLYZE data source to learn the basics. Move to the ENLYZE API data source when you need its advanced features.
The screenshot below shows an example dashboard built only with the ENLYZE data source.
Navigating Grafana
Let's take a tour of the Grafana interface.
The Home Screen
When you log in, you'll see the home screen with:
Search bar — Find dashboards by name
Starred dashboards — Quick access to your favorites
Recent dashboards — Dashboards you've viewed recently
Navigation menu — Access to all Grafana features (left sidebar)
The Navigation Menu
Grafana's side menu (or main navigation) is your central hub for navigating the platform, offering quick access to Dashboards, Explore, Alerting, Plugins, Data Sources, Users, and Settings (for admins). The categories themselves can be expanded by clicking on the arrow icon.
⭐
Starred
Quick access to your favorites
🎛️
Dashboards
Browse all dashboards
🧭
Explore
Query and analyse data without creating a dashboard
🔔
Alerting
Create and manage alert rules
🔗
Connections
Add and manage data sources
⚙️
Administration
Settings, users, teams (if you have access)
Inside a Dashboard
A dashboard consists of:
Time range selector — Choose which time period to display
Refresh button — Update data manually or set auto-refresh
Dashboard settings (gear icon) — Configure dashboard options
Panels — Individual visualizations (charts, tables, gauges, etc.)
The Time Range Selector
The time range selector is one of the most important controls. You can:
Select preset ranges (Last 1 hour, Last 24 hours, Last 7 days, etc.)
Set a custom range with specific dates and times
Use relative ranges like "Last 30 minutes"
Key Concepts
Before you start building dashboards, here are some important terms:
Dashboard
A collection of panels that display related information
Panel
A single visualization (chart, table, stat, etc.)
Query
The instruction that tells Grafana what data to fetch
Data source
The connection to where your data is stored (ENLYZE or ENLYZE API)
Time range
The period of time shown in your visualizations
What's Next?
Now that you understand the basics, you're ready to create your first dashboard!
In the next tutorial, you'll learn how to:
Create a new dashboard
Add your first panel
Select data using the ENLYZE data source
Save and share your dashboard
Next: Your First Dashboard
Quick Reference
Accessing Grafana
Your Grafana instance is available at the URL provided by ENLYZE. If you don't have access, contact your ENLYZE administrator.
Getting Help
In Grafana: Hover over any setting to see a tooltip explanation
ENLYZE Support: Contact [email protected] for help with data or access issues
These tutorials: Work through them in order for the best learning experience
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