logo

OTel Me About Metrics: A Metrics 101 Crash Course

2023-04-19

Authors:   Reese Lee


Summary

The presentation covers the basics of metrics and Open Telemetry, including the architecture of a metrics pipeline, metric instruments, and their use cases.
  • Metrics and Open Telemetry are used for observability and provide an API and SDK for instrumenting code and collecting telemetry data.
  • The media provider is the API entry point for metrics, and meters and instruments are used to record measurements.
  • Aggregation, temporality, and dimensions are important concepts in metrics.
  • Async up down counters and gauges are two types of metric instruments that are used for different purposes.
  • There is much more to learn about metrics and Open Telemetry, including customization options and different processors for transforming metrics data.
  • The presentation provides references for further exploration and credits to the people who contributed to the content.
The presenter explains that the scope of the session is necessarily brief, and compares it to dipping one's feet into the water rather than deep diving into the lake of metrics. She also mentions a talk from the previous day about temporality in Open Telemetry, and encourages attendees to seek out the speakers for more information.

Abstract

As more and more OpenTelemetry languages release stable metrics SDKs, many users are trying to understand metrics as they look to implement it as part of their observability strategy, but it can be quite confusing. There is so much to learn, such as – how do I choose which metrics instruments to implement to get certain measurements? What even are metrics instruments? What metrics can help me better understand my services? What’s the difference between an UpDownCounter and a Histogram? If you find these terms baffling, don’t worry. I will help you gauge when to use one over the other with this introduction to metrics using OpenTelemetry! In this session, you will get clarity around these concepts and the value different metrics and types of metrics can provide, with fun analogies and real world examples.

Materials:

Post a comment