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Observability As Code With Checkly Is Amazing

Feb 11, 2025 | Episode

In today’s fast-paced software world, traditional monitoring just isn’t cutting it anymore. Developers and operations teams are tired of dealing with clunky, outdated systems that struggle to keep up with rapidly evolving applications. Enter Checkly—a game-changing platform that’s shifting the paradigm from old-school monitoring to what we now call Observability As Code.

In this episode of the SMC Journal, we’ll dive into how Checkly is transforming application reliability by embedding monitoring directly into the development process.

Show Links

https://bit.ly/checklymonitoring

https://www.checklyhq.com/docs/tcp-checks/

https://www.checklyhq.com/blog/checkly-traces-ga/

The Issues with Old-School Monitoring

Traditional monitoring systems were never designed for the agile, fast-moving development environments of today. Here are some of the biggest headaches:

  • Maintenance Overhead: Old monitoring tools often fall out of sync with your software. Constant tweaks and updates are necessary, which wastes valuable time and resources.
  • Delayed Issue Detection: Waiting for users to report bugs or relying on slow metrics means that critical issues can go unnoticed until it’s too late—leading to avoidable downtime and frustrated customers.
  • Lack of Clarity: Traditional methods often offer a fragmented view of what’s happening. Logs, metrics, and traces alone rarely tell the full story of your user experience.
  • Siloed Tools: When problems arise, you’re forced to juggle multiple tools. This not only creates a patchwork of configurations but also leaves room for gaps in coverage.

Why Monitoring as Code Matters

The shift to Monitoring as Code is a breath of fresh air for developers. Instead of treating monitoring as an afterthought, it’s now woven into every step of the development lifecycle. Here’s what makes it so powerful:

  • Programmability: Monitoring configurations become part of your codebase. This means you can customize and extend them just like any other piece of your application.
  • Scalability: As your application grows, your monitoring evolves with it. Automation helps ensure that your monitoring tools keep up with increasing complexity.
  • Evolvability: Your monitoring adapts right alongside your code changes. This way, you’re always on top of any issues as they happen.

By integrating monitoring directly into your workflow, you can catch problems early and maintain a healthier, more reliable application.

Checkly: Pioneering the Change

Checkly isn’t just another tool in the market—it’s built by developers, for developers. It combines monitoring, observability, and testing into one streamlined platform. Here’s what you can expect:

  • Synthetic Monitoring: Keep an eye on end-to-end scenarios and uptime to ensure that your applications perform as expected.
  • API Monitoring: Continuously check your API endpoints with powerful HTTP-based checks.
  • Heartbeat Monitoring: Get notified instantly when scheduled jobs fail, so you’re never caught off guard.
  • Native Playwright Support: Use your existing Playwright tests to monitor complex transactions effortlessly.
  • Monitoring as Code: Write your monitoring logic in JavaScript or TypeScript, making it easier to test, deploy, and maintain.
  • Terraform and Pulumi Providers: Manage your monitoring setup as code. This means creating and maintaining checks at scale becomes a breeze.
  • Private Locations: Securely monitor internal systems, even behind firewalls.

The Leap to Observability As Code

Checkly isn’t stopping at monitoring. With Checkly Traces, the platform takes a giant leap toward Observability As Code. This new approach offers deeper insights into how your applications perform by providing full-stack trace data. Here’s how it helps:

  • Root Cause Analysis: By correlating performance issues with trace events, Checkly Traces helps you pinpoint exactly where things went wrong.
  • Reduced Data Volume: It smartly captures only the essential trace data tied to failed checks, which means you get the insights you need without drowning in data.
  • Unified View: Merge your frontend and backend monitoring into one comprehensive view, making troubleshooting simpler than ever.
  • OpenTelemetry Support: Native support for OpenTelemetry ensures seamless integration with your existing observability tools.

Real-World Wins with Checkly

Companies like LinkedIn and Render are already reaping the benefits of Checkly’s approach:

  • LinkedIn: They use Checkly to run end-to-end Playwright tests, expanding monitoring from the frontend to the backend and critical infrastructure. This integration has helped them detect issues in minutes instead of hours, streamline their testing processes, and reduce overall costs.
  • Render: As a cloud platform, Render relies on Checkly to maintain infrastructure reliability. By automating check creation with Terraform and leveraging Checkly Traces, Render has slashed issue resolution times and boosted team collaboration through effective alert management.

Wrapping Up

The future of application reliability is all about integrating monitoring and observability directly into your development process. Checkly is leading the charge with its innovative approach to Observability As Code. By moving away from fragmented, reactive monitoring systems, Checkly empowers teams to be proactive, agile, and truly in control of their application’s health.

If you’re looking to cut down on downtime, reduce maintenance headaches, and ensure your applications are performing at their best, it might be time to explore how Checkly can transform your monitoring strategy. Embrace the change and see firsthand how Observability As Code can make a real difference in your development lifecycle.

Check out this other episode with Checkly.

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