Units of measurement

Observe works with many types of machine data which is presented in many different measurement units. This page discusses the units of measurement that can be used in Observe’s OPAL Console (via the set_metric verb) when using the Metrics Explorer or making Monitors, Dashboards, and Worksheets using metrics. Using set_metric or a visualization does not alter stored data, it only changes presentation.

When working with high precision evaluation of large scale metrics, it may be important to verify you are using the correct unit terms, such as Gibibytes instead of Gigabytes. Observe charts in Explorers, Dashboards, and Worksheets will scale charts by the unit size selected in Settings, Axes, Unit. For more information about charts, see Visualization Type Reference.

Using full unit names instead of abbreviations will improve clarity.

Note that both names and abbreviations are case-sensitive.

Note

Observe uses standard SI unit names from the math.js, see its documentation for unit names, abbreviations, and pluralization, with the following exceptions:

Exceptions:

• The m abbreviation denotes minutes. Use the full name meter for length.

• The C abbreviation denotes degrees celsius. Use the full name coulomb for electric charge.

• The F abbreviation denotes degrees Fahrenheit. Use the full name farad for capacitance.

Examples of data units:

Name	Abbreviation
bits	b
bytes	B
kilobytes	kB
gigabytes	GB
terabytes	TB
bytes/second	B/s
megabits/second	Mb/s

Please contact your Observe Data Engineer if you require help with an unusual or custom unit.