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Monitoring and Observability

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Appendix: What is Monitoring and Observability?

Monitoring and observability are two critical concepts in software engineering that help developers ensure the health and performance of their applications.

Monitoring refers to the process of collecting and analyzing data about an application's performance. This data can include metrics such as CPU usage, memory usage, network traffic, and response times. Monitoring tools allow developers to track these metrics over time and set alerts when certain thresholds are exceeded. This enables them to quickly identify and respond to issues before they become critical.

Observability, on the other hand, is a more holistic approach to monitoring that focuses on understanding the internal workings of an application. Observability tools provide developers with deep insights into the behavior of their applications, allowing them to understand how different components interact with each other and how changes in one area can affect the overall system. This includes collecting data on things like logs, traces, and events, which can be used to reconstruct the state of the system at any given point in time.

Together, monitoring and observability provide developers with a comprehensive view of their applications' performance, enabling them to quickly identify and respond to issues as they arise. By leveraging these tools, software engineers can ensure that their applications are running smoothly and efficiently, delivering the best possible experience to their users.