The data model and the four types of metrics

12 min
Audience
beginner, module 1 finished (the lab is running, you have seen up and http_requetes_total in Grafana)
Duration
35 to 45 min
Module
2/7
Target skill
read a raw line of /metrics, name its three parts (name, labels, value), recognize the four types (counter, gauge, histogram, summary) and estimate how many series a metric will cost

In one picture

Think of a meter reader. Every 15 seconds, he walks past each device in the lab, reads the dial and writes in his notebook: which meter, which value, what time. He does not understand what he reads; he writes it down. The notebook is Prometheus. A metric is a dial; a time series is a line of the notebook, the sequence of values of one dial over time; a sample is a cell: one value at one time.

Preview — the rest of the lesson is for enrolled readers.

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This lesson is part of the “Metrics: Prometheus end-to-end” module

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