Adding upstream version 1.36.0.upstream/1.36.0

Signed-off-by: Daniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>

1 files changed, 42 insertions, 25 deletions

diff --git a/docs/store/distributed-data-architecture.md b/docs/store/distributed-data-architecture.md
index c834d710a..62933cfe5 100644
--- a/docs/store/distributed-data-architecture.md
+++ b/docs/store/distributed-data-architecture.md
@@ -10,34 +10,43 @@ Netdata uses a distributed data architecture to help you collect and store per-s
 Every node in your infrastructure, whether it's one or a thousand, stores the metrics it collects.
 
 Netdata Cloud bridges the gap between many distributed databases by _centralizing the interface_ you use to query and
-visualize your nodes' metrics. When you [look at charts in Netdata
-Cloud](/docs/visualize/interact-dashboards-charts.md), the metrics values are queried directly from that node's database
-and securely streamed to Netdata Cloud, which proxies them to your browser.
+visualize your nodes' metrics. When you [look at charts in Netdata Cloud](/docs/visualize/interact-dashboards-charts.md)
+, the metrics values are queried directly from that node's database and securely streamed to Netdata Cloud, which
+proxies them to your browser.
 
 Netdata's distributed data architecture has a number of benefits:
 
--   **Performance**: Every query to a node's database takes only a few milliseconds to complete for responsiveness when
-    viewing dashboards or using features like [Metric
-    Correlations](https://learn.netdata.cloud/docs/cloud/insights/metric-correlations).
--   **Scalability**: As your infrastructure scales, install the Netdata Agent on every new node to immediately add it to
-    your monitoring solution without adding cost or complexity.
--   **1-second granularity**: Without an expensive centralized data lake, you can store all of your nodes' per-second
-    metrics, for any period of time, while keeping costs down.
--   **No filtering or selecting of metrics**: Because Netdata's distributed data architecture allows you to store all
-    metrics, you don't have to configure which metrics you retain. Keep everything for full visibility during
-    troubleshooting and root cause analysis.
--   **Easy maintenance**: There is no centralized data lake to purchase, allocate, monitor, and update, removing
-    complexity from your monitoring infrastructure.
+- **Performance**: Every query to a node's database takes only a few milliseconds to complete for responsiveness when
+  viewing dashboards or using features
+  like [Metric Correlations](https://learn.netdata.cloud/docs/cloud/insights/metric-correlations).
+- **Scalability**: As your infrastructure scales, install the Netdata Agent on every new node to immediately add it to
+  your monitoring solution without adding cost or complexity.
+- **1-second granularity**: Without an expensive centralized data lake, you can store all of your nodes' per-second
+  metrics, for any period of time, while keeping costs down.
+- **No filtering or selecting of metrics**: Because Netdata's distributed data architecture allows you to store all
+  metrics, you don't have to configure which metrics you retain. Keep everything for full visibility during
+  troubleshooting and root cause analysis.
+- **Easy maintenance**: There is no centralized data lake to purchase, allocate, monitor, and update, removing
+  complexity from your monitoring infrastructure.
 
-## Does Netdata Cloud store my metrics?
+## Ephemerality of metrics
 
-Netdata Cloud does not store metric values. 
+The ephemerality of metrics plays an important role in retention. In environments where metrics collection is dynamic and
+new metrics are constantly being generated, we are interested about 2 parameters:
 
-To enable certain features, such as [viewing active alarms](/docs/monitor/view-active-alarms.md) or [filtering by
-hostname/service](https://learn.netdata.cloud/docs/cloud/war-rooms#node-filter), Netdata Cloud does store configured
-alarms, their status, and a list of active collectors.
+1. The **expected concurrent number of metrics** as an average for the lifetime of the database. This affects mainly the
+   storage requirements.
 
-Netdata does not and never will sell your personal data or data about your deployment.
+2. The **expected total number of unique metrics** for the lifetime of the database. This affects mainly the memory
+   requirements for having all these metrics indexed and available to be queried.
+
+## Granularity of metrics
+
+The granularity of metrics (the frequency they are collected and stored, i.e. their resolution) is significantly
+affecting retention.
+
+Lowering the granularity from per second to every two seconds, will double their retention and half the CPU requirements
+of the Netdata Agent, without affecting disk space or memory requirements.
 
 ## Long-term metrics storage with Netdata
 
@@ -47,7 +56,8 @@ appropriate amount of RAM and disk space.
 Read our document on changing [how long Netdata stores metrics](/docs/store/change-metrics-storage.md) on your nodes for
 details.
 
-## Other options for your metrics data
+You can also stream between nodes using [streaming](/streaming/README.md), allowing to replicate databases and create
+your own centralized data lake of metrics, if you choose to do so.
 
 While a distributed data architecture is the default when monitoring infrastructure with Netdata, you can also configure
 its behavior based on your needs or the type of infrastructure you manage.
@@ -55,12 +65,19 @@ its behavior based on your needs or the type of infrastructure you manage.
 To archive metrics to an external time-series database, such as InfluxDB, Graphite, OpenTSDB, Elasticsearch,
 TimescaleDB, and many others, see details on [integrating Netdata via exporting](/docs/export/external-databases.md).
 
-You can also stream between nodes using [streaming](/streaming/README.md), allowing to replicate databases and create
-your own centralized data lake of metrics, if you choose to do so.
-
 When you use the database engine to store your metrics, you can always perform a quick backup of a node's
 `/var/cache/netdata/dbengine/` folder using the tool of your choice.
 
+## Does Netdata Cloud store my metrics?
+
+Netdata Cloud does not store metric values.
+
+To enable certain features, such as [viewing active alarms](/docs/monitor/view-active-alarms.md)
+or [filtering by hostname/service](https://learn.netdata.cloud/docs/cloud/war-rooms#node-filter), Netdata Cloud does
+store configured alarms, their status, and a list of active collectors.
+
+Netdata does not and never will sell your personal data or data about your deployment.
+
 ## What's next?
 
 You can configure the Netdata Agent to store days, weeks, or months worth of distributed, per-second data by