Where it fits
Operations teams that want dashboards while retaining responsibility for metrics and log storage.
Trade-offs and limitations
Grafana OSS, Enterprise and Cloud differ. Do not assume enterprise data-source plugins or access controls are included.
Deployment and technology
Grafana server plus separately operated data sources such as Prometheus. Self-hosting requires a supported deployment, capacity planning and a named maintainer. Consult the official installation guide for the current version.
Portability and integration
| API | HTTP APIs and provisioning; check version and edition requirements |
|---|---|
| Authentication | Local and configured external login; advanced controls may require another edition |
| Data export | Dashboard JSON and server backups; source metrics and logs need their own backup plan |
Migration considerations
Rebuild queries and alerts against target data sources; validate labels, time ranges and notification routing.
Security and ongoing costs
Budget for infrastructure, implementation, monitoring, patching, backups, restore tests and user support. Check the supported release and current advisories with the project. An open licence is not a security guarantee.
Freedom score and exit difficulty
A complete, evidence-backed assessment of all 15 criteria is required before publishing a score. Exit difficulty depends on your customisations, data model, integrations and operating documentation. This profile does not claim a hands-on benchmark or a complete security assessment.
Primary sources
Profile reviewed 2026-09-13. Verify the exact release, edition and extensions before implementation.