Monitoring and Maintenance
May 11, 2024
Updated July 19, 2025
15 minute read
Monitoring and maintaining IT infrastructure is a critical aspect of ensuring reliable and efficient operations. It involves proactively monitoring systems and networks to identify potential issues and taking corrective actions to minimize downtime and maintain performance. This topic covers the principles and practices of monitoring and maintaining IT infrastructure, including best practices for data collection, analysis, and response.
Why Learn Monitoring and Maintenance?
There are several reasons why learning about monitoring and maintenance is beneficial:
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Find a path to becoming a Monitoring and Maintenance. Learn more at:
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Reading list
We've selected 25 books
that we think will supplement your
learning. Use these to
develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a
deeper understanding of the topics covered in
Monitoring and Maintenance.
This foundational book, authored by members of the Google SRE team, provides a comprehensive overview of the principles and practices of Site Reliability Engineering. It is highly relevant to understanding modern monitoring and maintenance in large-scale systems. While some topics are specific to Google, it offers a valuable framework and mental model for anyone involved in ensuring the reliability of systems. is commonly used as a reference by industry professionals.
Delves into the crucial topic of Service Level Objectives (SLOs), which are a key component of effective monitoring and reliability engineering. It provides guidance on defining, measuring, and implementing SLOs to improve system reliability and performance. This must-read for anyone serious about data-driven monitoring and maintenance.
As a companion to 'Site Reliability Engineering,' this workbook offers practical examples and case studies for implementing SRE principles. It delves into the how-to aspects of topics introduced in the first book, including monitoring distributed systems and incident management. is valuable for those looking to apply SRE concepts in real-world scenarios and serves as an excellent resource for deepening understanding.
Explores the concepts and practices of observability in distributed systems, a contemporary and increasingly important aspect of monitoring and maintenance. It delves into topics such as logging, metrics, and tracing in complex system architectures. It valuable resource for understanding modern approaches to gaining visibility into distributed environments.
This handbook provides a comprehensive guide to implementing DevOps principles, which are closely intertwined with effective monitoring and maintenance practices. It covers strategies and best practices for improving IT operations and includes real-world case studies. It valuable resource for understanding the cultural and organizational aspects that support robust monitoring and maintenance.
Focuses on observability specifically within cloud environments. As cloud infrastructure becomes increasingly prevalent, understanding how to monitor and maintain systems in this context is essential. This book provides practical guidance and insights for those working with cloud-native applications and services.
Provides an in-depth exploration of logging and log management, a fundamental aspect of monitoring and troubleshooting. It covers concepts, tools, and techniques for collecting, analyzing, and utilizing log data for various purposes, including security and operational insights. It valuable resource for anyone needing to deepen their understanding of this critical area.
Deep dive into system performance analysis and tuning, which is intrinsically linked to effective monitoring and maintenance. Understanding how to measure and improve system performance is crucial for identifying issues and ensuring optimal operation. It highly technical but valuable resource for those looking to deepen their expertise in performance monitoring.
While a novel, this book offers a compelling story that illustrates the challenges and solutions related to IT operations, including monitoring and maintenance. It introduces core DevOps principles in an accessible way, highlighting the importance of flow, feedback, and continuous learning. is an excellent starting point for gaining a broad understanding of the context in which monitoring and maintenance are critical.
Provides a practical guide to using Prometheus, a popular open-source monitoring system. It covers the fundamentals of infrastructure and application performance monitoring using this specific tool. It is highly relevant for those implementing or working with Prometheus and offers a deep dive into a widely used contemporary monitoring solution.
OpenTelemetry is an emerging standard for instrumenting applications and infrastructure for observability. provides a guide to setting up and operating systems using OpenTelemetry, covering metrics, logs, and traces. It is highly relevant for those looking to implement contemporary observability practices.
Focuses on software telemetry, covering the collection, storage, and analysis of log data for monitoring and improving systems. It discusses managing logs, metrics, and traces within an end-to-end telemetry system. It's a valuable resource for understanding the technical aspects of gathering and utilizing software-generated data for monitoring.
Offers a practical approach to designing and implementing effective monitoring strategies. It covers principles of monitoring design, alert management, and getting valuable data from applications and infrastructure. It useful guide for practitioners looking for actionable advice on improving their monitoring systems.
Focuses on network observability using popular open-source tools. It provides a practical guide to monitoring modern networks, which are a critical component of many systems. It's a valuable resource for those specializing in network monitoring and troubleshooting.
Considered a classic in the field of system administration, this book covers a wide range of topics essential for maintaining robust and reliable systems and networks. While not solely focused on monitoring, it provides foundational knowledge in areas like configuration management, troubleshooting, and automation that are critical for effective monitoring and maintenance. valuable reference for system administrators at all levels.
Offers a hands-on introduction to modern application and infrastructure monitoring. It covers key concepts, metrics, logging, and alerting, with a focus on tools and techniques relevant to cloud and distributed environments. It's a practical guide for both developers and system administrators looking to implement effective monitoring.
Focuses specifically on the practical aspects of monitoring and alerting for web operations. It provides guidance on designing effective monitoring strategies and setting up actionable alerts. It useful resource for those working with web-based systems and needing to deepen their understanding of monitoring in this context.
Another classic in system administration, this comprehensive handbook covers the essential tasks and concepts for managing Unix and Linux systems. It includes sections relevant to monitoring system performance, managing logs, and troubleshooting issues. It serves as a strong reference for anyone working with these operating systems and provides a solid foundation for understanding system-level monitoring.
Provides a comprehensive guide to maintenance planning and scheduling, including chapters on monitoring and maintenance of IT infrastructure.
While not solely focused on monitoring and maintenance, this book provides essential background knowledge on building reliable, scalable, and maintainable data systems. Understanding the underlying architecture of these systems is crucial for effective monitoring and troubleshooting. It valuable resource for deepening the understanding of the systems being monitored.
This manual focuses on setting up cost-effective preventive maintenance systems and provides methods and tools for monitoring various components. It's a practical guide for implementing preventive maintenance strategies, a key aspect of overall maintenance programs.
This classic text on system administration, providing a hands-on approach to managing Unix and Linux systems. While older, the fundamental principles of system management, including monitoring and troubleshooting, remain relevant. It's a good resource for historical context and foundational knowledge.
Covers the key processes involved in maintenance planning and scheduling, which are essential for a high-performance maintenance organization. It delves into topics such as work requests, backlog management, and using a CMMS. It's a valuable resource for those involved in managing maintenance operations.
Provides practical guidance on troubleshooting and maintaining Windows 11 systems. While specific to a particular operating system, it covers essential concepts of diagnosing and resolving issues, which are fundamental to maintenance. It useful resource for those focusing on Windows environments.
For more information about how these books relate to this course, visit:
OpenCourser.com/topic/tvp5p5/monitoring
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