Metrics collection (Prometheus) in Microservices - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is Prometheus used for in microservices?

Prometheus is used to collect and store metrics from microservices. It helps monitor system health and performance by gathering data like request counts and response times.

beginner

What format does Prometheus expect metrics to be exposed in?

Prometheus expects metrics to be exposed in a simple text format called the Prometheus exposition format, usually via an HTTP endpoint like /metrics.

intermediate

How does Prometheus collect metrics from microservices?

Prometheus uses a pull model. It regularly sends HTTP requests to microservices' /metrics endpoints to fetch the latest metrics data.

intermediate

What is a 'scrape config' in Prometheus?

A scrape config tells Prometheus where to find metrics endpoints and how often to collect data from them.

beginner

Name two common metric types Prometheus collects.

Counter (counts events like requests) and Gauge (measures values like current memory usage).

How does Prometheus get metrics from microservices?

A By pulling metrics from /metrics endpoints

B By pushing metrics to a central server

C By reading log files

D By scanning network packets

Prometheus uses a pull model, regularly requesting metrics from microservices' /metrics endpoints.

Which of these is NOT a Prometheus metric type?

A Database

B Gauge

C Histogram

D Counter

'Database' is not a metric type. Common types include Counter, Gauge, and Histogram.

What does a Prometheus scrape config define?

A How to visualize metrics

B How to store metrics in a database

C How to alert on metrics

D Where and how often to collect metrics

Scrape configs tell Prometheus where to find metrics endpoints and how often to scrape them.

What HTTP path do microservices usually expose metrics on for Prometheus?

A /health

B /status

C /metrics

D /data

The standard path for Prometheus metrics is /metrics.

Why is Prometheus popular for microservices monitoring?

A It stores logs efficiently

B It supports dynamic service discovery and flexible queries

C It automatically fixes bugs

D It replaces databases

Prometheus supports dynamic discovery of services and powerful queries, making it ideal for microservices.

Explain how Prometheus collects and stores metrics from microservices.

Think about how Prometheus asks microservices for data and where it finds that data.

Describe the difference between Counter and Gauge metric types in Prometheus.

One counts up only, the other can go up or down.