Metrics
In plain terms
Numeric measurements tracking system behavior over time.
Going deeper
Metrics are quantitative measurements, like CPU, latency, or request rate, collected continuously to monitor health and performance. They quantify how a system behaves.
Under the hood
Time-series data enabling dashboards and alerts; one of observability's three pillars with logs and traces.
Examples
CPU usage, request rate, latency, Prometheus, dashboards, alerts.
Think of it like...
Like a vehicle's gauges showing speed, fuel, and temperature at a glance.