In this chapter, we had the chance to understand the true value of monitoring and how to approach the term in a specific context, including the context that's used in this book. This will help you avoid any misunderstandings and ensure a clear perception of where the book stands on this topic. We also went through different aspects of monitoring, such as metrics, logging, tracing, alerting, and visualizations, while presenting observability and the benefits it brings. Whitebox and blackbox monitoring were addressed, which provide the basis to comprehend the benefits of using metrics. Armed with this knowledge about metrics, we went through the mechanics of push and pull and all the arguments regarding each one, before ending with what the metrics to track on the systems you manage are.
In the next chapter, we will look at an overview of the Prometheus ecosystem, and...