Metrics references

Overview

This page defines common Kubernetes-related metrics collected by SUSE Observability and explains how they are computed.

container_memory_usage

Name

container_memory_usage
Type

gauge
Unit

bytes
Source

Direct read from the container cgroup hierarchy.
cgroup version Source file

v1

memory.usage_in_bytes

v2

memory.current
Summary

The total amount of memory currently being used by the cgroup and its descendants. This is a sum that includes Anonymous Memory (RSS), Page Cache, and Kernel Memory. Use one of the following metrics to get more details about a specific memory area.

container_memory_kernel

Name

container_memory_kernel
Type

gauge
Unit

bytes
Source

Direct read from the container cgroup hierarchy.
cgroup version Source file

v1

memory.kmem.usage_in_bytes

v2

memory.stat → kernel field inside the file
Summary

Amount of total kernel memory, including (kernel_stack, pagetables, percpu, vmalloc, slab)

container_memory_rss

Name

container_memory_rss
Type

gauge
Unit

bytes
Source

Direct read from the container cgroup hierarchy.
cgroup version Source file

v1

memory.stat → total_rss field inside the file

v2

memory.stat → anon field inside the file
Summary

The Resident Set Size (RSS) of Anonymous Memory. This is the non-file-backed memory (heap and stack) actively used by the processes within the cgroup. This value often reflects the true "working set" of the application.

container_memory_cache

Name

container_memory_cache
Type

gauge
Unit

bytes
Source

Direct read from the container cgroup hierarchy.
cgroup version Source file

v1

memory.stat → total_cache field inside the file

v2

memory.stat → file field inside the file
Summary

The Page Cache (memory used to cache filesystem data, including tmpfs and shared memory).