The components of an observability platform

Throughout the history of networking, vendors have introduced monitoring solutions built either in-house or by third parties, exemplifying a monolithic approach. Similarly, traditional open source round robin database (RRD) tools, for example, Cacti (http://www.cacti.net/) and MRTG (https://oss.oetiker.ch/mrtg/), were crafted to address these issues, with an emphasis on being vendor-neutral and applicable across various platforms. However, these solutions often encounter difficulties in compatibility with other systems. The ability to integrate or extend their functionalities—for instance, to add new types of metrics or create new types of visualizations—has typically been constrained, necessitating custom development.

These monolithic solutions certainly have their merits and can add significant value to your organization. However, since you’re reading this book, you likely have an interest in exploring a more integrated...