Prerequisites of a Monitoring System

Choose the measurements that answer an operational question, then define how they reach storage and when they require action. Collection frequency, retention, and alert timing are part of the monitoring design, not incidental settings.

Monitoring: Metrics and alerting

A metric records a defined quantity at a point in time or over an interval. An alert evaluates a rule over observations and routes an actionable notification. Define what a measurement means, how stale it can be, and who responds before choosing thresholds.

To understand how monitoring works, we will examine the significance of metrics, alerts, and the specific data required for effective tracking.