Hands-On Monitoring and Alerting with Prometheus

Build reliable, scalable monitoring and alerting systems with Prometheus, PromQL, and real-world demosKey

Features

● Learn how to install, configure, and optimize Prometheus from scratch to build scalable, production-ready setups.
● Work through step-by-step labs for Linux, Windows, Docker, and databases for analyzing metrics.
● Unlock powerful insights using PromQL to filter, aggregate, and alert on metrics to monitor complex systems with precision.

Book Description

Prometheus has emerged as the leading open-source monitoring solution for building resilient, observable systems, and Hands-On Monitoring and Alerting with Prometheus shows you exactly how to utilize its full potential.

The book begins with the fundamentals of modern monitoring and the core architecture of Prometheus. Through hands-on labs, you’ll master Prometheus service discovery, labeling, and relabeling to organize metrics at scale.

Whether you are collecting metrics from Linux machines, Windows servers, Docker containers, or databases, this book equips you with practical skills through real-world examples and tutorials. You will learn how to install and configure Prometheus, use its service discovery features, label and relabel metrics, and build powerful queries using PromQL - all leading to actionable insights through alerts and dashboards.

You’ll configure alerts and Alertmanager integrations, apply advanced techniques, and put everything together with real-world applications. Each chapter builds practical skills so you can confidently design and operate a robust observability stack.

Whether you're a DevOps engineer, SRE, or system architect, this book is your gateway to production-grade monitoring. Don’t just collect metrics—turn them into action with Prometheus today.

What you will learn

● Grasp modern monitoring principles and observability best practices
● Install and configure Prometheus in real-world environments
● Monitor Linux, Windows, Docker, and databases using exporters
● Use Service Discovery for dynamic infrastructure monitoring
● Label and relabel metrics for organized, efficient observability
● Write advanced PromQL queries to gain actionable system insights
● Design alerts with custom rules and performance thresholds
● Configure Alertmanager with Slack, email, and other receivers

Who is this book for?

This book is ideal for DevOps engineers, SREs, system administrators, platform and infrastructure engineers, observability specialists, performance engineers, software developers, and cloud architects. A basic understanding of Linux, containers, and system operations is recommended. If you're responsible for system reliability or monitoring, this book is for you.

1. Introduction and Key Concepts in Monitoring
2. Prometheus Server Architecture and Features
3. Different Types of Prometheus Metrics
4. Metrics Exporters for Infrastructure Monitoring
5. Prometheus Service Discovery Feature
6. Metrics Labeling and Relabeling
7. Prometheus Query Language PromQL
8. Alerts and Alert Receivers
9. Advanced Prometheus Techniques
10. Prometheus and Real-world Applications
11. Conclusion: Future Steps
Index

Muhammad Badawy is a senior DevOps and Platform Engineer with over 12 years of experience at the intersection of development and operations, driving efficiency, scalability, and automation across global cloud environments. Certified as a Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) and AWS Solutions Architect, Muhammad specializes in cloud-native architecture, infrastructure as code, observability, and CI/CD automation.

He has architected and maintained complex systems for leading organizations including ING, Mambu, Mobiquity, and Vodafone, leveraging technologies such as Kubernetes, Helm, Terraform, Azure DevOps, and the ELK stack. Muhammad has a proven track record of accelerating delivery pipelines, optimizing monitoring systems with Prometheus and Grafana, and implementing robust DevSecOps Practices.

Currently based in the Netherlands, he is also an active technical writer, contributing expert-level articles to platforms including Medium, Earthly, and StormForge. Beyond engineering, Muhammad is an Arabic Calligrapher with a passion for digital art, and enjoys playing Padel in his free time.

ABOUT TECHNICAL REVIEWER

Thinknyx® Technologies is a team of seasoned IT professionals with expertise ranging from software development to the management of IT infrastructure, cloud, automation, container management, web and app development, security, and professional services. Recognized as a trusted brand, Think Nyx® Technologies provides IT consulting, technical and soft skills training as well as talent acquisition and recruitment solutions for organizations across Industries.

Mr. Kulbhushan Mayer, Co-Founder of Thinknyx® Technologies, is a certified expert in DevOps, SRE, Cloud, and Containerisation, with over 17 years of experience in the IT industry. His technical expertise spans Public/Private Cloud platforms, Containers, Automation tools, Continuous Integration/ Deployment/Delivery tools, Monitoring and Logging tools, and more. Passionate about knowledge sharing, Mr. Mayer regularly engages with the global tech community through various forums, conferences, webinars, blogs, and LinkedIn. He has also served as a technical reviewer for several books on Automation, DevOps, DevTools, and related technologies.