Real-World SRE

Chapter 2. Monitoring

Monitoring is defined by Oxford Dictionaries (https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/monitor) as to "observe and check the progress or quality of (something) over a period; keep under systematic review." This definition points out two crucial details—firstly, you need to define what quality is and make sure that your system is making progress toward, or staying within, a limit of quality. Secondly, you need to be systematic about this work—you should not be randomly looking at your system. Instead, your approach should be consistent. The need for systematic measurements is one reason that your dentist asks you to come in every six months, or a reason why some insurance companies ask you to get a dedicated primary care ...