Monitoring with Custom Metrics

Custom metrics are critical for advanced monitoring in cloud-native systems, offering insights beyond the basic metrics provided by tools like Prometheus and Kube State Metrics. These metrics, tailored to specific application or business needs, enable companies to track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), detect issues faster, and manage resources more effectively, including monitoring latency, database connections, and sales transactions. While custom metrics enhance observability and allow for detailed autoscaling, they also come with challenges such as potential cost increases, cardinality explosion, and alert fatigue. Properly naming and labeling metrics is crucial to avoid resource overuse, and the Kubernetes Metrics API and Prometheus integration are essential tools for implementing custom metrics. Despite their complexities, custom metrics are indispensable for organizations seeking to refine their monitoring strategies and achieve comprehensive business observability.