How to Install VictoriaMetrics on Linux Mint

VictoriaMetrics is a high-performance, open-source time-series database and monitoring solution. This tutorial will guide you through the steps to install VictoriaMetrics on Linux Mint, the latest edition.

Prerequisites:

Linux Mint (tested on version 20.2)
Root or Sudo access privileges
A web browser
A text editor

Install VictoriaMetrics

Open the terminal window by pressing the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut.
Update the package manager and upgrade any outdated packages by running the following command:
```
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
```
Install the Prometheus server as a prerequisite for VictoriaMetrics by running the following command:
```
sudo apt install prometheus
```
Download the latest VictoriaMetrics release from https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/releases/ using your preferred web browser.
Extract the files from the downloaded archive. You may use your preferred archive manager or run the following command in the terminal to extract the files to a directory named victoriametrics:
```
tar -xf victoriametrics-vx.x.x-linux-amd64.tar.gz -C victoriametrics --strip-components=1
```

Replace vx.x.x with the version number you have downloaded.

Copy the extracted contents to the /usr/local/bin/ directory by running the following command:
```
sudo cp victoriametrics/victoria-metrics-* /usr/local/bin/
```
Create a system user and group for VictoriaMetrics to run as a non-root service. Run the following command to create the user and group:
```
sudo useradd --system --home-dir /var/lib/victoriametrics --shell /usr/sbin/nologin victoriametrics
```

Create the data directory and change the ownership to the previously created user and group:

sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/victoriametrics/data
sudo chown -R victoriametrics:victoriametrics /var/lib/victoriametrics

Modify the permissions for the /var/lib/victoriametrics directory to allow Prometheus to scrape data from VictoriaMetrics:
```
sudo chmod go+rx /var/lib/victoriametrics
```

Create a configuration file for VictoriaMetrics:

sudo mkdir /etc/victoriametrics/
sudo nano /etc/victoriametrics/vm.yml

Add the following contents to the file:

global:
  dataDir: /var/lib/victoriametrics/data/
  replicaLabels:
    - __address__

Create a systemd service file for VictoriaMetrics:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/victoriametrics.service

Add the following contents to the file:

[Unit]
Description=VictoriaMetrics
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target

[Service]
User=victoriametrics
Group=victoriametrics
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/victoria-metrics-prod \
    -storageDataPath=/var/lib/victoriametrics/data \
    -retentionPeriod=30d \
    -insertIgnoreErrors \
    -httpListenAddr=:8428
Restart=always
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and Exit the file.

Reload the systemd daemon and start the VictoriaMetrics service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start victoriametrics

Enable VictoriaMetrics to start automatically on boot:
```
sudo systemctl enable victoriametrics
```

Conclusion

VictoriaMetrics has been installed on your Linux Mint workstation. You can now access the metrics data by opening a web browser and visiting http://localhost:8428/metrics. You should see a page listing the available metrics.

You may use VictoriaMetrics for various use-cases such as:

Collect and store metrics from various systems and applications
Visualize and troubleshoot issues with the help of graphical dashboards
Query the collected data to generate reports, alerts and charts

Congratulations, you have successfully installed VictoriaMetrics on Linux Mint.