What is Metrics-Data? (Section – 1)
Metric is a kind of information only, though it focuses just on values/numbers. The values are indicators depending on time & may need some extra dimensions. Every value in one’s metric dataset is understood as a metric data point. One metric-data point needs to have a timestamp that comes along with numerous indicators & multiple dimensions. Metric is a measure of quantitative assessment that’s normally used for tracking performance, comparing, or production
Handling metrics-data at Splunk:
With Splunk, one can handle metrics data more gracefully. You will have the choice of creating a custom metrics index to keep metrics data. Furthermore, the ‘Metrics index’ kind is enhanced for the storage & retrieval of metric data.
Furthermore, Splunk has some metric-specific commands including msearch, mstats, etc. This will allow you to use just metric data points.
In this blog, metric-specific commands are well explained.
Metrics data Sources
Almost every appliance, host, device, etc. which builds up IT infrastructure can generate metrics data. Other modules from web servers, databases, sensors, etc. could generate metrics data.
Metrics-data Splunking
Splunk utilizes a metric-collection framework of APIs & agents to gather & stream high-volume metrics information to its platform. More significantly Splunk supports line-metric protocols like “collectd” & “StatsD”.
Streaming & ingestion of metrics data to Splunk platform occurs in the same way as those of event data. Forwarders use a collection framework to take in metric data & safely forward it to Splunk indexers. This is where it’s stored in the metrics index. This helps it obeys to protocols on well-structured-metrics. It also allows one to change event information to metrics information using its “log-to-metrics” functions.
Moreover, there are various commands like ‘mcollect’ & ‘meventcollect’ which enabled you to change the outcomes of streaming events or event-data searches into metric data points at search time.