The 4 Pillars of Observability - Metrics

Metrics are the foundation of effective observability, providing a clear, real-time view of system performance and health. In this first video of our four-part Grafana Observability Pillars series, we explore how metrics help teams understand what is happening across their applications and infrastructure. You’ll learn how metrics work within Grafana, how they are stored using time series databases such as Prometheus and Mimir, and how they support proactive monitoring and alerting. We also cover key approaches including the RED method (Rate, Errors, and Duration) for application performance, and the USE method (Utilisation, Saturation, and Errors) for infrastructure health. By turning system activity into measurable insights, metrics help teams move from reactive troubleshooting to proactive observability - identifying potential issues before they impact users. In the next video, we’ll explore the second pillar of observability: logs, and how they provide the deeper context needed to understand the root cause behind system issues.