Observability vs. Monitoring in DevOps
In DevOps and modern software systems, monitoring and observability are closely related but fundamentally different concepts. Both aim to improve system reliability and performance, but they serve different purposes and operate at different depths.
1. What Is Monitoring?
Monitoring is the practice of collecting, tracking, and alerting on predefined system metrics to detect known issues.
Key Characteristics of Monitoring:
Focuses on known problems
Uses predefined metrics and thresholds
Alerts when something goes wrong
Answers the question:
“Is the system working?”
Common Monitoring Metrics:
CPU and memory usage
Disk space
Network latency
Error rates
Service uptime
Typical Monitoring Tools:
Prometheus
Nagios
Zabbix
Datadog (monitoring features)
2. What Is Observability?
Observability is the ability to understand the internal state of a system by examining its outputs, without needing predefined assumptions.
Key Characteristics of Observability:
Focuses on unknown or unexpected issues
Explores system behavior in real time
Supports deep investigation and root cause analysis
Answers the question:
“Why is the system behaving this way?”
The Three Pillars of Observability:
Logs – Detailed event records
Metrics – Quantitative measurements
Traces – End-to-end request flows across services
Common Observability Tools:
OpenTelemetry
Jaeger
Zipkin
Elastic Stack
New Relic (observability features)
3. Key Differences at a Glance
Aspect Monitoring Observability
Focus Known issues Unknown issues
Data Predefined metrics Metrics, logs, traces
Alerts Threshold-based Context-driven
Investigation Limited Deep root cause analysis
Question “Is it broken?” “Why is it broken?”
4. Why Observability Matters in DevOps
Modern applications are:
Distributed
Cloud-native
Microservices-based
Highly dynamic
In such systems, failures can emerge in unexpected ways. Observability enables teams to:
Debug complex incidents faster
Reduce Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR)
Understand system behavior at scale
Improve reliability and user experience
5. Monitoring vs Observability: Not Either/Or
Monitoring and observability complement each other:
Monitoring provides early warning signals
Observability enables deep investigation
A mature DevOps practice uses both together.
6. Example Scenario
Monitoring alerts you that API latency is high
Observability helps you trace the issue to:
A specific microservice
A slow database query
A downstream dependency failure
7. Best Practices
Start with strong monitoring for core metrics
Add observability for complex, distributed systems
Use consistent instrumentation across services
Correlate logs, metrics, and traces
Focus on user experience and business impact
Conclusion
Monitoring tells you when something is wrong, while observability helps you understand why it is wrong. In modern DevOps environments, both are essential for building reliable, scalable, and resilient systems.
Learn DevOps Training in Hyderabad
Read More
GitOps: Managing Infrastructure with Git
Contract Testing in Microservices
Integrating Selenium into CI/CD
Visit Our Quality Thought Institute in Hyderabad
Subscribe by Email
Follow Updates Articles from This Blog via Email
No Comments