Best Practices for Observability Centralization Points

Critical factors to consider

When setting up Observability Centralization Points, consider the following:

Factor	Description	Impact
System Volume	The number of monitored systems	Larger infrastructures may need multiple centralization points to maintain performance
Data Transfer Costs	Bandwidth usage between environments	Strategic placement reduces egress bandwidth costs in multi-cloud or hybrid environments
Usability Without Netdata Cloud	Standalone operation considerations	Fewer centralization points simplifies access and management
Optimized Deployment with Netdata Cloud	Cloud integration benefits	Provides complete infrastructure view with optimized security, cost, and operational controls

Cost Optimization Strategies

Netdata is designed to keep observability efficient and cost-effective. To manage costs:

Strategy	Description	Benefit
Scale Out	Use multiple smaller centralization points	Improves efficiency and performance across distributed systems
Use Existing Resources	Leverage spare capacity	Minimize additional hardware costs by using available resources
Centralized or Separate Logs & Metrics	Choose storage approach based on needs	Optimize based on access patterns, retention policies, and compliance requirements
Flexible Configuration Management	Customize each centralization point	Control costs with unique retention and alert settings tailored for different teams or services

Advantages of Netdata's Approach

Netdata provides several benefits over other observability solutions:

Advantage	Description	Value
Scalability & Flexibility	Multiple independent centralization points	Customized observability by region, service, or team
Resilience & Reliability	Built-in replication	Observability continues even if a centralization point fails
Optimized Cost & Performance	Distributed workloads	Prevents bottlenecks and improves resource efficiency
Ease of Use	Minimal setup and maintenance	Reduces complexity and operational overhead
On-Prem Control	Data remains within your infrastructure	Enhanced security and compliance, even when using Netdata Cloud
Comprehensive Observability	Segmented infrastructure with unified view	Deep visibility with tailored retention, alerts, and machine learning

Following these best practices helps you maintain a cost-effective, high-performance observability setup with Netdata.