What is Prometheus and how does it help in performance monitoring?

What is Prometheus and how does it help in performance monitoring?

Prometheus is an open-source monitoring and alerting toolkit designed for reliability and scalability. It collects metrics from configured targets at specified intervals, evaluates rule expressions, and can trigger alerts.

What kind of metrics can Prometheus collect?

Prometheus can collect a wide range of metrics, including CPU usage, memory consumption, disk I/O, network traffic, and application-specific metrics.

How does Prometheus store the collected data?

Prometheus stores data in a time-series database, using a custom format that allows for efficient storage and retrieval of time-stamped data.

Can I visualize the data collected by Prometheus?

Yes, you can visualize Prometheus data using tools like Grafana, which allows you to create dashboards and graphs based on the metrics collected.

What are some common use cases for Prometheus?

Common use cases include monitoring microservices, tracking application performance, and setting up alerting systems for infrastructure health.