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Grafana: Dynamic Dashboard with multiple Instana Data Sources - Chained Variables / Query field missing

  • 1.  Grafana: Dynamic Dashboard with multiple Instana Data Sources - Chained Variables / Query field missing

    Posted 01/14/26 10:23 AM
    Hello everyone,
    I am currently trying to build a dynamic Grafana dashboard that allows switching between multiple Instana Data Sources (e.g., instana-dev and instana-int) using a template variable.
    My Setup:
    1. I have created a Datasource Variable (type: Datasource, filtered for Instana).
    2. In my panels, the data source is set to use this variable ${DS_INSTANA}.
    The Problem:
    When I switch the data source via the dropdown, the panel's "Application" selection is lost or becomes invalid. This is expected because the Application IDs differ between the Instana instances.
    To solve this, I tried to create a Chained Variable for the applications (type: Query, using ${DS_INSTANA} as source). However, I am facing two major issues:
    1. Missing Query Field: In the Grafana variable settings, the "Query" input field is completely hidden/missing when I select an Instana data source. I cannot enter any query like applications().
    2. JSON Model won't save: Trying to manually inject the variable into the Dashboard JSON model doesn't work, as the changes are discarded upon saving.
    My Environment:
    • Grafana Version: 11.4.0
    • Instana Plugin Version: 5.0
    Questions:
    1. Is there a known compatibility issue with the Instana plugin and the Grafana Variable UI where the query field is suppressed?
    2. What is the correct query syntax to fetch application names/IDs dynamically based on the selected data source variable?
    3. Is there a recommended way to handle "Application Metrics" panels across multiple instances without hardcoding the App-ID?
    Any help or workarounds would be greatly appreciated!

    #CustomDashboards

    ------------------------------
    Fabian Müller
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  • 2.  RE: Grafana: Dynamic Dashboard with multiple Instana Data Sources - Chained Variables / Query field missing

    Posted 01/20/26 05:48 AM

    Hi Fabian,

    This is a limitation on the plugin itself and a feature that is expected from our customers that use Grafana, there is no way to do that because, as you pointed out, this is something that works with the entity key (Application ID) and the way the plugin works makes it hard to implement a workaround.

    @Phani Pawan Padmanabharao may have an answer on how this will be addressed in the future.

    Regards,



    ------------------------------
    Israel Ochoa
    CSM Architect - NCEE Market
    IBM
    Stockholm
    Visit "IBM Instana - The Lost Docs" -> https://isreal8a.github.io/instana-docs
    ------------------------------