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Interview Question
Explain the roles of metrics, logs, and traces in observability, and how they complement each other.
Key Points to Cover
- Metrics: numerical time series for SLIs and alerts
- Logs: detailed event/context data for debugging
- Traces: request flows across distributed systems
- Together: metrics trigger, logs explain, traces show causal flow
Evaluation Rubric
Defines metrics clearly30% weight
Explains logs role30% weight
Describes traces and correlation20% weight
Explains how they complement each other20% weight
Hints
- 💡Think “RED” and “USE” monitoring methods.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- ⚠️Treating them as independent entities rather than a cohesive system.
- ⚠️Over-reliance on one pillar (e.g., only metrics) leading to blind spots.
- ⚠️Insufficient detail in logs, making root cause analysis difficult.
- ⚠️Inconsistent or missing trace data across services in a distributed environment.
- ⚠️Not correlating metrics anomalies with specific log entries or traces for effective debugging.
Potential Follow-up Questions
- ❓Which tools integrate all three?
- ❓How to set SLOs from metrics?
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