Satya Maharjan
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Observability in Distributed Systems

Published on January 23, 2026

Observability in Distributed Systems


As systems become more distributed and complex, observability becomes crucial for understanding and debugging production issues.


The Three Pillars of Observability


1. Metrics

  • System performance indicators
  • Custom application metrics
  • Infrastructure monitoring

    • 2. Logging

  • Structured logging for better analysis
  • Centralized log aggregation
  • Log sampling and filtering

    • 3. Tracing

  • Distributed request tracing
  • Service dependency visualization
  • Performance bottleneck identification

    • Tools and Platforms


  • **Prometheus**: Metrics collection and alerting
  • **ELK Stack**: Log aggregation and analysis
  • **Jaeger**: Distributed tracing
  • **Grafana**: Visualization and dashboarding

    • Implementation Strategies


  • Instrument all services with appropriate logging
  • Track request flows across services
  • Set up meaningful alerts and dashboards
  • Continuous monitoring and refinement

    • Observability is essential for maintaining reliable distributed systems in production.