loki: Failed to load chunks when object storage is not configured

[calinah]

There's a need to revise and expand our documentation within the monitoring namespace, particularly concerning the configuration of S3 or equivalent object storage for Loki, our log aggregation system. This update is crucial to address a common issue users encounter, namely the failed to load chunks error, which relates to the handling of compressed log data (chunks) in Loki.

The failed to load chunks error can be observed in various scenarios, most notably due to:

• Incorrect or Incomplete Configuration: If the S3/object storage details in the Loki configuration are incorrect or incomplete, Loki cannot access the storage backend to retrieve log chunks. This can happen due to misconfiguration, such as incorrect bucket names, access keys, or region specifications.

• Lack of Storage Backend: Not setting up an external storage backend like S3, leads to reliance on less scalable local storage, which can quickly become overwhelmed.

• Network or Accessibility Issues: Problems with network connectivity or storage backend availability can prevent Loki from accessing stored chunks.

• Resource Constraints: Inadequate resources (like disk space in the case of local storage or IOPS limitations) can result in errors with the loading of chunks.

Similar issue grafana/helm-charts#1111