k6 + Grafana Synthetic Monitoring Workshop

A hands-on journey from load testing fundamentals to production observability

🚀 Getting Started

Pre-Lab

Module 00: Setup and Environment (Lab 00)

Get your local workshop environment running and verify all services are healthy. Install k6 and run your first smoke check.

Launch Slides

📚 Track 1: k6 Load Testing Fundamentals

Beginner

Module 01: k6 Fundamentals (Lab 01)

Write your first k6 load test. Learn about VUs, duration, iterations, and how to read test output.

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Beginner

Module 02: HTTP Testing, Checks & Thresholds (Lab 02)

Add validation with checks and set pass/fail criteria with thresholds. Learn about exit codes and CI/CD integration.

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Beginner

Module 03: Load Profiles and Stages (Lab 03)

Create realistic load patterns with ramping stages. Learn about spike tests, soak tests, and the scenarios API.

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🔧 Track 2: Advanced k6 Scripting

Intermediate

Module 04: Advanced Scripting (Labs 04-05)

Organize tests with groups and tags. Parameterize requests and create data-driven tests with SharedArray.

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Intermediate

Module 05: Local Observability (Labs 06-07)

Export k6 metrics to InfluxDB and Prometheus. Build real-time dashboards in Grafana for live test monitoring.

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Intermediate

Module 06: Cloud Integration (Labs 08-09)

Export results as JSON, use handleSummary for custom reports, and run tests in k6 Cloud and Grafana Cloud.

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🌐 Track 3: Grafana Synthetic Monitoring

Intermediate

Module 07: Synthetic Monitoring Basics (Labs 10-13)

Introduction to Grafana SM. Create HTTP, DNS, and TCP checks. Build multi-step workflow checks with k6 scripts.

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Intermediate

Module 08: Browser Testing (Labs 14-18)

k6 browser module for real browser automation. Page interactions, mixed HTTP+browser tests, and OpenTelemetry tracing.

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Intermediate

Module 09: Synthetic Advanced Features (Labs 19-23)

Structured logging, custom metrics, k6 extensions, alerting on synthetic results, and SLOs with error budgets.

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🎯 Track 4: Production Integration

Advanced

Module 10: Observability Integration (Labs 24-25)

k6 Studio for recording user journeys, correlation rules, and private probes for monitoring internal services.

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Advanced

Module 11: DataDog Migration (Labs 26-28)

Migrate from DataDog to Grafana. Concept mapping, converting DD synthetic tests to k6, and migrating DD monitors.

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Advanced

Module 12: Capstone Project (Lab 29)

End-to-end observability implementation. Integrate load testing, synthetic monitoring, SLOs, and alerting for production.

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