Introduction and Learning Objectives

This chapter discusses observability. We examine the goal of observability to improve the reliability and performance of systems by providing insights that help teams proactively address issues before they impact users.

In the world of complex software systems, observability is the ability to see “inside” such systems, gaining deep insights into their health, performance, and behavior. Observability goes beyond simple monitoring. It’s like having X-ray vision, offering multiple perspectives through three key pillars: metrics (numerical gauges like CPU usage), logs (detailed event records), and traces (mapping how requests flow through the system). Combining these perspectives paints a clear picture.

By leveraging tools and practices associated with observability, teams can quickly identify anomalies, understand dependencies, and make informed decisions based on real-time data. This approach is particularly crucial in complex, distributed systems where understanding the interaction between different components can be challenging. Observability helps in making systems more transparent and maintainable, thereby enhancing overall system resilience and user satisfaction.

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

• Define observability
• Explain how logs, metrics and traces form the pillars of observability
• Explore how observability helps to proactively identify and fix issues and increase system reliability