A deep dive into data collectors

The first component in the observability architecture we’re exploring is the Data Collection layer. Here, data collectors interface with the target infrastructure – routers, switches, load balancers, firewalls, servers, and storage appliances – using methods such as SNMP, gNMI, and syslog (as discussed in Chapter 3) to gather data on their health and operations:

Figure 5.1 – The Data Collection layer (Created using the icons from https://icons8.com)

Let’s review what we learned about data collectors in Chapter 4:

“Data collectors are the tools or processes that collect metrics, logs, and traces or perform synthetic checks across your system and network. Data collectors can be anything from agents installed on servers or network devices to systems that have been configured to scrape, pull, or listen to metrics forwarded to them.”

Note

Throughout this book, the terms...