Use case playbook — Backend

A clear path to Backend Observability

Follow one practical playbook from top to bottom: start with server health, add APM traces, then lock reliability with API/DB monitoring and alerts—without guessing what to do next.

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Outcome
Health + errors + latency clarity
Time to first value
~ 60–120 minutes
Best for
DevOps + Backend teams

Quick start checklist

Do these first. They remove 80% of uncertainty before you go deeper.

Get infra baselines

Install the Agent on 1–2 key servers and confirm CPU, memory, disk, and process metrics.

Add traces

Enable APM for your backend service to see slow routes, errors, and DB spans.

Wire alerts

Set thresholds for error rate, p95 latency, and resource saturation. Route to Slack/Telegram/Webhook.

Backend playbook

Expand a track and execute it. Minimal scrolling, practical steps, and only docs links (no videos).

Track 1 — Stabilize your baseline•20 minutes•DevOps / Infra

Server Agent & infrastructure metrics

Get live visibility into servers, processes, and core resources—then set basic CPU/Disk/Memory alerts.

CPU / RAM / DiskProcess healthLinuxPM2 / services
Steps
6 steps
  1. 1

    Install the Watchlog Agent on one critical server and set the API key.

  2. 2

    Set server name and environment (prod/stage) so dashboards stay clean.

  3. 3

    Enable system metrics: CPU, memory, disk, network, and process/service status.

  4. 4

    Create baseline alerts: CPU > 85%, Disk > 80%, Memory pressure.

  5. 5

    Open the infrastructure dashboard and confirm live data is flowing.

  6. 6

    Repeat for your second most critical server (or the node running the main service).

What you get

Clear infrastructure health + faster diagnosis for memory leaks, IO pressure, and CPU saturation.

Alerts to wire
  • CPU/Disk/Memory thresholds → Slack/Telegram/Webhook
  • Process crash/restart detection for critical services
Agent documentationInfrastructure dashboards
Track 2 — Root cause for latency & errors•45 minutes•Backend + QA

APM tracing for backend services

See full traces per request: slow spans, errors, and DB calls—plus optional custom events for business actions.

Node.jsPythonError trackingCustom events
Steps
6 steps
  1. 1

    Install the Watchlog APM SDK for your service runtime (Node/Python/etc).

  2. 2

    Add the middleware/interceptor so each request produces a trace.

  3. 3

    Enable error capture and DB spans (SQL/Redis/Mongo) if available in your integration.

  4. 4

    Add a release/version tag so you can compare before/after deployments.

  5. 5

    Send one custom business event (e.g., order_created) if you need product-level insight.

  6. 6

    Open the APM dashboard to find the slowest routes and most frequent errors.

What you get

Fast bottleneck detection and error context; compare changes using release tags.

Alerts to wire
  • Error rate threshold per service (e.g., > 2% for 5 minutes)
  • p95 latency alert for critical endpoints (e.g., /checkout)
APM documentationSDK setup examples
Track 3 — Measurable reliability•30 minutes•Backend + Product

API & database monitoring + reliability signals

Define what “healthy” means for key APIs and DB performance, then alert on deviations.

API healthDB metricsLatency & errorsReporting-ready
Steps
5 steps
  1. 1

    List your 3–5 critical paths (login, checkout, payments) and mark them as watch targets.

  2. 2

    Alert on 5xx spikes and latency regressions for those paths.

  3. 3

    Enable DB metrics (connections, query time, slow queries) from Agent/Integration where available.

  4. 4

    Set weekly targets (p95 latency, error rate) and track trend changes after deployments.

  5. 5

    Review results weekly with the team and tune thresholds based on baselines.

What you get

Clear reliability signals for critical flows + actionable alerts aligned with SLO-like targets.

Alerts to wire
  • Latency or error rate outside acceptable range for critical paths
  • DB connection pressure or query-time spikes beyond baseline
API monitoring docsDatabase integrations
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