Observability Engineering

Chapter 9. How Observability and Monitoring Come Together

So far in this book, we’ve examined the differentiating capabilities of observable systems, the technological components necessary for observability, and how observability fits into the technical landscape. Observability is fundamentally distinct from monitoring, and both serve different purposes. In this chapter, we examine how they fit together and the considerations for determining how both may coexist within your organization.

Many organizations have years—if not decades—of accumulated metrics data and monitoring expertise set up around their production software systems. As covered in earlier chapters, traditional monitoring approaches are adequate for traditional systems. But when managing modern systems, does that mean you should throw all that away and start fresh with observability tools? Doing that would be both cavalier and brash. The truth for most organizations is that their approach to coexisting approaches should be dictated by their adopted responsibilities.

This chapter explores how observability and monitoring come together by examining the strengths of each, the domains where they are best suited, and the ways they complement one another. Every organization is different, and a recipe for the coexistence of observability and monitoring cannot be universally prescribed. However, a useful guideline is that observability is best suited to understanding issues at the application level and that monitoring is ...