---
title: "Key takeaways | Grafana Labs"
description: "Summary of the two approaches to database monitoring"
---

> For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt).

## What you learned

1. **Two approaches to database monitoring**, each for a different need:
   
   | Approach               | Best for                                                  | Depth                                                       |
   |------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|
   | Database Observability | Query performance analysis (MySQL, PostgreSQL)            | Deepest: individual queries, explain plans, and wait events |
   | Integrations           | Infrastructure health monitoring (any supported database) | Broad: metrics, dashboards, and alerts                      |
2. **How to choose:**
   
   - Database supported by DB Observability? → Use it for the deepest visibility
   - Not supported? → Use an integration for infrastructure monitoring
3. **Key details:**
   
   - Database Observability supports managed databases (RDS, Aurora, CloudSQL, Azure) for MySQL and PostgreSQL
   - Integrations use Grafana Alloy with built in exporters. Most set up in 15–20 minutes.
   - These approaches are complementary. Use Database Observability for MySQL and PostgreSQL, and integrations for other databases in the same environment.

## The one thing to remember

> **Start with Database Observability for MySQL and PostgreSQL.** It gives you the deepest visibility. For other databases, use integrations.