The Future of Observability with M.E.L.T

Observability is a key concept for modern software systems, especially those that are distributed, complex and dynamic. Observability means being able to monitor and understand the internal state and behaviour of a system based on the external outputs, such as metrics, events, logs and traces (M.E.L.T). Observability helps developers and operators troubleshoot issues, optimise performance, ensure reliability and deliver business value.

However, observability is not easy to achieve. It requires collecting and processing large amounts of telemetry data from various sources and formats, integrating them with different tools and platforms, and correlating them with business context and outcomes. This can be costly, time-consuming and error-prone, especially when dealing with multiple vendors, standards and protocols.

OpenTelemetry is a Game Changer

That's why OpenTelemetry is a game-changer for observability. OpenTelemetry is an open source project that aims to create a vendor-neutral and portable standard for M.E.L.T data collection and export. OpenTelemetry provides a set of APIs, SDKs, libraries and agents that enable consistent and easy instrumentation of applications and infrastructure across languages, frameworks and platforms. OpenTelemetry also supports various backends and exporters that allow users to send their telemetry data to any observability solution of their choice.

Open Source Standard

OpenTelemetry is the result of a collaboration between cloud service providers, observability vendors and end-users who share a common vision for the future of observability. By turning telemetry collection into a commodity, OpenTelemetry empowers users to focus on gaining insights and taking actions that matter for their business. AppDynamics, report they are excited about OpenTelemetry and its potential to transform observability. They are proud to be part of the OpenTelemetry community and contribute to its development and adoption. As a leader in application performance monitoring (APM), AppDynamics leverages OpenTelemetry to provide their customers with full-stack observability that connects the dots between application performance, user experience and business outcomes.

With AppDynamics and Cisco FSO Platform, you can use OpenTelemetry to collect telemetry data from your entire stack, including backend applications, frontend web pages, web servers, infrastructure, databases and network devices. You can then send your data to AppDynamics or any other backend of your choice using our flexible exporters. You can also enrich your data with business context using our Business Transaction framework for holistic visibility.

By using OpenTelemetry with AppDynamics and Cisco FSO Platform, you can benefit from:

- Ease of use:

You can instrument your applications and infrastructure with minimal code changes using our user-friendly installation and maintenance experience. You can also use community-approved extension mechanism to customise your instrumentation as needed.

- Security:

You can protect your telemetry data from unauthorised access or tampering using our secure extensions like OAuth2 Client Credentials. You can also use their encryption features to ensure data privacy in transit and at rest.

- Depth and width of data:

You can collect rich and relevant telemetry data from your full stack using AppDynamics comprehensive coverage of languages, frameworks and platforms. You can also use advanced features like distributed tracing, synthetic monitoring, browser real user monitoring (RUM), serverless monitoring and network visibility to get deeper insights into your system.

- Business-focused insights:

You can use AppDynamics powerful analytics engine to process your telemetry data and generate actionable insights that align with your business goals. You can also use our dashboards, reports, alerts and baselines to visualise your data and communicate it effectively to your stakeholders.

If you want to experience the future of observability today with OpenTelemetry, AppDynamics and Cisco FSO Platform, reach out for a demo. I'd love to hear from you.

Wayne Howard - Account Manager, Cisco | JDS Australia

wayne.howard@jds.net.au | +61 433 830 055