Monitoring and Observability for Development and DevOps

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/monitoring-and-observability-for-development-and-devops

Introduction

## Course Review: Monitoring and Observability for Development and DevOps on Coursera ### Course Overview In the fast-paced world of application development and DevOps, ensuring that software runs optimally is a top priority. Coursera’s course, **Monitoring and Observability for Development and DevOps**, addresses these crucial needs by equipping professionals with essential skills for application monitoring and enhancing observability. This course is tailored for both developers and DevOps engineers aiming to preemptively tackle issues that can arise within their applications, such as bugs and performance slowdowns, through continuous monitoring and analysis. ### Detailed Course Structure The course is structured into several modules, each geared toward building a comprehensive understanding of monitoring and observability concepts. Here’s a breakdown of what to expect: #### 1. Introduction to Monitoring for Applications This module lays the groundwork by elucidating the significance of application monitoring. You'll learn the terminology associated with monitoring, understand the various types of monitoring available, and grasp the “Four Golden Signals” crucial for app performance visibility. The emphasis on understanding the difference between monitoring (an ongoing process) and evaluation (long-term) prepares learners to implement effective monitoring systems. #### 2. Monitoring Systems and Techniques Delving deeper, this module introduces synthetic monitoring and tools that aid in enhancing application observability. You'll explore how Prometheus and Grafana can transform your monitoring data into visual insights, ultimately leading to enhanced decision-making processes. The insights into alerting mechanisms—essential for quick response to issues—ensure that participants can formulate proactive strategies for maintaining app health. #### 3. Methodologies and Tools in Logging Understanding how to log effectively is vital for any developer or DevOps professional. This module covers the importance of application logging, distributed logging, and the implementation techniques needed for effective log management. Not only will you learn about using Mezmo for your logging needs, but you’ll also grasp best practices that contribute to more efficient logging processes. #### 4. Observability and Concepts This module focuses on observability, introducing you to its benefits and the critical pillars that support effective monitoring practices. Participants will explore cloud-native observability and the essentials of telemetry, learning to differentiate between telemetry and distributed tracing. Familiarity with tools like Instana further enhances your ability to observe and analyze application behavior in real-time. #### 5. Final Project and Assessment The crowning feature of the course is the hands-on project where you get to apply the knowledge gained. By working with an actual application (Robotshop) and implementing monitoring using Instana, you’ll solidify your skills and gain practical experience. This practical application is a crucial component that bridges the gap between theory and real-world application. ### Why You Should Enroll - **Practical Knowledge**: The course content not only presents theoretical concepts but emphasizes practical skills, allowing you to test and apply what you’ve learned directly. This hands-on experience is invaluable in reinforcing the learning process. - **Industry-Relevant Skills**: In a landscape where monitoring and observability are becoming increasingly important for application performance, the skills taught in this course will be relevant across numerous organizations and projects. - **Flexible Learning**: As with all Coursera courses, the ability to learn at your own pace allows you to absorb the material thoroughly without the pressure of deadlines. - **Expert Instructors**: Benefit from insights and guidance from industry experts who understand current trends and challenges in application monitoring. ### Conclusion and Recommendation The **Monitoring and Observability for Development and DevOps** course on Coursera is a well-structured and insightful program for anyone keen on enhancing their application development or DevOps proficiency. With its comprehensive syllabus, practical assignments, and a focus on real-world applications, the course is an excellent investment for professionals aiming to ensure their applications operate seamlessly. I highly recommend this course to developers, DevOps engineers, and anyone interested in mastering the art of monitoring and observability in modern applications. Whether you are looking to advance your career or improve your current skills, you'll find this course a fundamental stepping stone to your success. Don't miss out on the opportunity to transform the way you manage and optimize application performance.

Syllabus

 Introduction to Monitoring for Applications

This week, you will be introduced to application monitoring, common terms used in monitoring, and why monitoring matters to developers. You'll also learn about the types of monitoring that give you visibility into app performance and connected information technology (IT) systems. You'll become familiar with the four Golden Signals of Monitoring and learn to use the Golden Signals to improve your monitoring systems. Then, you will explore the differences between the Monitoring and Evaluation processes. You'll learn that monitoring is a routine, ongoing process, while evaluation is a long-term process. You'll learn more about the components of monitoring, including metrics, observability, and alerts. You'll also explore the importance of tracking host-based, application, network and connectivity, and server pool metrics. Finally, you'll learn about the need for application monitoring and its importance.

This week, you will learn about synthetic monitoring and its importance. You’ll also explore the synthetic monitoring tools, their uses, as well as features. You will gain insights into how application monitoring allows developers to observe applications and how monitoring can provide valuable insights into application performance. You’ll learn about Prometheus and the benefits of using an analytics tool. You’ll also learn about Grafana, which is typically used with Prometheus. You’ll explore how a visualization tool, like Grafana, can organize all of your monitoring data. Additionally, you’ll discover how the right visualization tool can help your organization and that visualization includes many options, like charts, graphs, and timelines. Finally, you’ll learn about alerting, the responsive part of a monitoring system, and you’ll learn about the metric, log, activity log, and smart detection alerts.

In this module, you will explore the concept of application logging and its importance. You will discover the benefits of using log monitoring tools and their features. Further, you will be introduced to distributed logging and tracing techniques. You’ll also learn about the key concepts in distributed tracing and the steps to implement distributed logging. You will explore how to implement logging and the different types of logs. You will gain insight into formatting, parsing, and retention of logs. Further, you will identify the major reasons to store log data. You will explore the analytical dimensions that suggest how long the retention period for log data should be. You will also learn about a few best practices for storing logs. Further, you will explore Mezmo, its use cases, and its features. Finally, you will be introduced to working with Mezmo and the methods for ingesting log data on the Mezmo platform.

In this module, you will learn about observability, its benefits, and the three pillars of observability. You’ll explore the concept of cloud native observability, its tools, and the pillars of cloud enterprise observability Further, you will be introduced to the concept of sampling in logging and its advantages and disadvantages and also learn about Instana and its use cases. You will gain insights into Telemetry and explain its importance and benefits. You will discover the working of telemetry and the steps to implement it in application development. You will also differentiate between distributed tracing and telemetry while learning about popular telemetry and distributed tracing tools. You will explore why tracing for container applications is required and the best practices for implementing tracing in application development.

In this module, you’ll complete two practice projects where you'll be able to apply monitoring and observability skills using applicable tools. In the first part, you will create and set up an Instana account to explore the credentials for application and infrastructure monitoring. You will also get the opportunity to create an Instana dashboard and a website and save their credentials for future use. In the next part, you will explore Instana to monitor an application named Robotshop using Docker. You will delve into the process of connecting the Robotshop application with Instana for efficient monitoring and analysis. Using Docker commands in the terminal, you will establish a seamless connection between the Instana dashboard and the Robotshop application. This hands-on practice project will equip you with the knowledge and skills to monitor your application's performance effectively and make data-driven decisions to optimize its efficiency.