SpaceRover Mission Control

A full-stack monitoring sandbox for the "Advanced Full Stack Monitoring Course with New Relic." This application provides a comprehensive environment for learning and demonstrating monitoring concepts including APM, Infrastructure, and Logs.

🚀 Application Overview

SpaceRover Mission Control simulates a space agency's mission control center that monitors and controls a fleet of rovers exploring distant planets. The application is designed to demonstrate various monitoring concepts in a practical, engaging way.

Components

1. Mission Control Dashboard (Frontend): React application for visualizing rover status and mission data
2. Fleet Command Service (Backend API): Node.js/Express service for rover command and mission management
3. Telemetry Processor (Background Service): Worker service for processing incoming rover data
4. Mission Database: MongoDB database storing mission and rover information
5. Monitoring Tools: Tools to observe and analyze application performance

🎓 Educational Features

• Built-in Monitoring: Pre-configured for New Relic integration
• Realistic Telemetry: Simulated rover data that changes over time
• Structured Logs: Various log formats and patterns for log monitoring demonstrations
• Progressive Complexity: Components can be introduced gradually as students progress
• Complete Documentation: Each component includes details about monitoring opportunities

📊 Monitoring Concepts Demonstrated

Course Module	Application Component	Learning Opportunities
Advanced APM	Fleet Command Service	Transaction tracing, custom instrumentation, change tracking
Infrastructure Agent	Docker containers + Host metrics	Infrastructure monitoring, resource utilization, agent configuration
Logs	Application-wide logging	Log parsing, patterns, integration with APM and Infrastructure

🛠 Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• Node.js (v16+ for frontend, v23+ for backend services if running locally)
• New Relic account (free tier available)

Quick Start with Docker

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/spacerover-mission-control.git
   cd spacerover-mission-control

2. Create a .env file with your New Relic license key:

   NEW_RELIC_LICENSE_KEY=your_license_key
   

3. Start all services:

   docker-compose up -d

4. Access the application:

   • Mission Control Dashboard: http://localhost:3000
   • Fleet Command API: http://localhost:4000
   • Telemetry Service: http://localhost:6000

Manual Development Setup

If you prefer to run components individually for development:

1. Start MongoDB:

   docker-compose up -d mongodb

2. Start the Fleet Command service:

   cd backend
   npm install
   npm run dev

3. Start the Telemetry service:

   cd telemetry
   npm install
   npm run dev

4. Start the frontend application:

   cd frontend
   npm install
   npm start

🔍 Using the Application

Rover Dashboard

The main dashboard shows an overview of all rovers, their status, and telemetry data. From here you can:

• View rover status and health metrics
• Navigate to detailed views for each rover
• See alerts for critical conditions
• Monitor real-time telemetry updates

New Relic Integration

The application includes detailed instructions for connecting to New Relic:

1. Navigate to the "New Relic" tab in the application
2. Follow the step-by-step guide to configure your New Relic account
3. Use the provided dashboards and alert configurations

🏗 Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                Docker Environment                │
│                                                 │
│  ┌─────────────┐      ┌────────────────────┐    │
│  │   React     │      │  Fleet Command     │    │
│  │  Frontend   │◄────►│  Service (Node.js) │    │
│  └─────────────┘      └────────────────────┘    │
│         ▲                       ▲               │
│         │                       │               │
│         ▼                       ▼               │
│  ┌─────────────┐      ┌────────────────────┐    │
│  │  Telemetry  │      │      MongoDB       │    │
│  │  Processor  │◄────►│                    │    │
│  └─────────────┘      └────────────────────┘    │
│                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

👨‍🏫 Course Integration

This application is designed to support the "Advanced Full Stack Monitoring Course with New Relic" with specific features for each module:

Module: Advanced APM

• Custom transaction naming
• Custom metrics and events
• Distributed tracing across services
• Change tracking demonstration

Module: Infrastructure Agent

• Container monitoring
• Host metrics visualization
• Custom dashboard creation
• Alert configuration

Module: Logs

• Structured and unstructured logging
• Log pattern identification
• Log correlation with APM data
• Log-based alerting

📝 Customization

You can customize various aspects of the application:

Customization Settings

Edit docker-compose.yml to change environment parameters:

environment:
  - ENABLE_SIMULATED_ISSUES=true
  - LOAD_INTENSITY=medium  # Options: low, medium, high

Adding New Rovers

Use the Fleet Command API to add new rovers:

curl -X POST http://localhost:4000/api/rovers -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{
  "name": "Curiosity II",
  "model": "Explorer 3000",
  "status": "active",
  "location": {
    "coordinates": {"x": 125.32, "y": 78.91},
    "planet": "Mars"
  },
  "capabilities": ["imaging", "sampling", "drilling"]
}'

Load Generation

The application includes a load generator that can be configured through environment variables:

load-generator:
  environment:
    - SCENARIO=default
    - INTENSITY=medium  # Options: low, medium, high

⚙️ Technical Details

• Frontend: React 17, React Router 6, Recharts for data visualization
• Backend: Node.js 23 on Alpine, Express 4, Winston for logging
• Telemetry Service: Node.js 23, Express, real-time data processing
• Database: MongoDB latest
• Monitoring: New Relic APM, Infrastructure, Browser monitoring
• Container Management: Docker Compose orchestration

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgements

• NASA for inspiration on rover operations and telemetry systems
• New Relic for their monitoring platform and educational resources