Metric cardinality limit

메트릭 카디널리티 상한

Cap the number of time series created by label combinations.

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html
<div class="demo"><div class="title">SERIES LIMIT: 4</div><div class="scene"><div class="slots"><span>id=1</span><span>id=2</span><span>id=3</span><span>id=4</span></div><div class="incoming" id="incoming">new id=1</div><div class="warning" id="warning">4 / 4 retained</div></div></div>
css
.demo{width:min(94vw,690px);height:min(88vh,320px);box-sizing:border-box;padding:clamp(9px,2.5vmin,18px);border:1px solid var(--line);border-radius:14px;background:var(--surface);color:var(--fg);font:600 clamp(12px,2.4vmin,16px)/1.25 var(--font-sans,"Pretendard Variable",Pretendard,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,sans-serif);display:flex;flex-direction:column;gap:clamp(7px,2vmin,14px);overflow:hidden}.title{color:var(--accent);font:700 clamp(12px,2.4vmin,16px)/1.2 var(--font-sans,"Pretendard Variable",Pretendard,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,sans-serif);letter-spacing:.04em}.scene{flex:1;min-height:0;position:relative;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center;overflow:hidden}.scene{flex-direction:column;gap:8px}.slots{width:100%;display:flex;gap:4px}.slots span{flex:1;min-width:0;border:1px solid var(--accent);border-radius:5px;padding:9px 2px;text-align:center;white-space:nowrap;overflow:hidden;background:var(--bg);font:600 clamp(12px,2.4vmin,15px)/1 ui-monospace,monospace}.incoming{padding:6px 12px;border-radius:5px;border:1px dashed var(--line);animation:arrive 1s infinite alternate}.warning{color:var(--accent);font:700 clamp(12px,2.4vmin,15px)/1 ui-monospace,monospace}.scene.dropped .incoming,.scene.dropped .warning{color:var(--accent-3);border-color:var(--accent-3)}@keyframes arrive{to{transform:translateY(5px)}}
js
let n=1;function tick(){document.getElementById("incoming").textContent="new id="+n;const drop=n>4;document.querySelector(".scene").classList.toggle("dropped",drop);document.getElementById("warning").textContent=drop?"DROP · limit reached":n+" / 4 retained";document.querySelectorAll(".slots span").forEach((s,i)=>{const active=i<n;s.style.borderColor=active?"var(--accent)":"var(--line)";s.style.background=active?"color-mix(in srgb,var(--accent) 16%,var(--surface))":"var(--bg)";s.style.color=active?"var(--fg)":"var(--muted)"});n=n===5?1:n+1}tick();setInterval(tick,850)

Metric cardinality is the number of distinct time series created by label combinations. Unbounded values such as user IDs can quickly raise collection cost and memory use.

In the demo, new label values fill a limit; after that, the series count stops and a dropped-data warning appears. A cap protects the system but can omit data, so monitor drops and redesign labels where needed.

When to use

Use it to control time-series growth when metrics carry many distinct label values.

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