Enabling system metrics

In IBM Cloud Logs, you can enable data usage metrics to collect predefined metrics that you can use to monitor your data usage. Then, you can use these metrics in custom dashboards, insights, and alerts

Prereqs

To configure this feature, you must attach a metrics bucket to your IBM Cloud Logs instance. For more information, see Configuring the metrics bucket.

System metrics

The following metrics are generated when you enable Data Usage metrics:

  • cx_data_usage_bytes_total: Reports GB Sent.
  • cx_alerts : Reports data whern an alert is triggered or resolved.

The information gathered on the new metrics includes the following labels:

Data Usage metric labels
Label Description
pillar Type of traffic.
Valid values are: logs, metrics
subsystem_name Subsystem that generates the traffic.
Only valid for pillar set to logs.
application_name Application that generates the traffic
Only valid for pillar set to logs.
priority TCO priority
Valid values are: high, medium, low, blocked
severity Log severity
Valid values are: critical, error, warn, info, debug, trace
Only valid for pillar set to logs.
blocking_reason_type The reason why traffic is blocked.
Valid values are: tco_policy or parsing_rule.
blocking_reason_name The name of the TCO policy or parsing rule which is blocking traffic.

Enabling the data usage metric

Complete the following steps to enable collection of the Data Usage metric cx_data_usage_bytes_total:

  1. Navigate to your IBM Cloud Logs instance: Observability > Logging > Cloud Logs > Your Service Instance > Open Dashboard.

  2. Select the Usage icon Data pipeline icon > Data Usage.

    The Data Usage page opens.

    Data Usage
    Data Usage

  3. Switch on the toggle Enable usage metrics.

    Enable Data Usage
    Enable Data Usage

After you enable data usage metrics, it can take up to two hours to see metrics.

Enabling the alerts metric

Complete the following steps:

  1. Navigate to your IBM Cloud Logs instance: Observability > Logging > Cloud Logs > Your Service Instance > Open Dashboard.

  2. Select the Preferences icon Preferences icon.

    Preferences
    Preferences

  3. Select Preferences.

  4. In the Alerts section, enable the toggle to create a gauge-type metric called cx_alerts.

    cx_alerts metrics
    cx_alerts metrics

If enabled, the metric is generated whenever an alert is triggerred or resolved.

You can add this metric to custom dashboards.