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# Databases

**Databases** are the datastores your instrumented services query, monitored in APM v2 as first-class **entities** alongside your services. Coralogix derives RED metrics (requests, errors, duration) from the database client spans your services emit, so a slow query or a failing datastore surfaces next to the services it affects, with no database agent to install. Select **Databases** in the sidebar to scope the catalog to databases, then open any database to drill into its operations.

Use it to:

* **Find the slow database behind a slow service**: rank a database's operations by the time they consume and surface the query dragging performance down.
* **Catch failing queries**: track query error rate and failures per second, per operation.
* **See which services hit a database**: read how many services call each operation, and which tables they touch.
* **Trace a query to its spans**: open any operation to inspect the individual query spans and the traces they belong to.

[![The Databases scope of the catalog: the Requests, Errors, and Latency overview widgets above the database table in its Health view, with the DB System filter in the sidebar.](/docs/assets/images/databases-catalog-health-a455bcda77ba5fc0c23e818307f35711.webp)](https://coralogix.com/docs/assets/images/databases-catalog-health-a455bcda77ba5fc0c23e818307f35711.webp)

## What you need[​](#what-you-need "Direct link to What you need")

* Coralogix [APM](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/apm-v2/getting-started/apm-onboarding-tutorial.md) installed, with your services instrumented to emit spans.
* [Span Metrics](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/apm-v2/getting-started/span-metrics.md) with database metrics enabled. The Span Metrics preset generates RED metrics for database client spans, which is what makes your databases appear as entities. It is on by default in the latest [Coralogix Helm chart](https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/blob/master/otel-integration/k8s-helm/Chart.yaml).
* Database client spans that follow the [OpenTelemetry database semantic conventions](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/semconv/database/database-spans/), so Coralogix can identify the datastore, table, and operation:

| Attribute            | Populates                                                                                                             |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `db.system`          | The database system - for example `postgresql`, `mysql`, `mongodb`, `redis`. Also the catalog's **DB System** filter. |
| `db.namespace`       | The database (or namespace) being accessed.                                                                           |
| `db.collection.name` | The table or collection an operation reads or writes. Populates the **Table** column.                                 |
| `db.operation.name`  | The operation, such as `SELECT` or `findAndModify`.                                                                   |

## Databases in the catalog[​](#databases-in-the-catalog "Direct link to Databases in the catalog")

Databases appear in the [catalog](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/apm-v2/services.md) alongside services. Select **Databases** in the sidebar to scope the catalog to databases only. The table then shows database-specific columns - query volume (**Queries**, **Total queries**), error rate, latency, and health - and the sidebar offers **Environment**, **Team**, **Health**, and **DB System** filters. Select a database to open its drilldown.

As in the [Services](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/apm-v2/services.md) catalog, switch the table between its **Health** view (performance columns) and its **Ownership** view (the owning **Team**, SLO status, alerts, and cases).

[![The Databases scope in its Ownership view, showing the owning Team, SLO status, alerts, and cases per database.](/docs/assets/images/databases-catalog-ownership-d6023ee13efab5bf1230dd733207a056.webp)](https://coralogix.com/docs/assets/images/databases-catalog-ownership-d6023ee13efab5bf1230dd733207a056.webp)

## The database drilldown[​](#the-database-drilldown "Direct link to The database drilldown")

Databases expose a focused set of tabs:

* **Overview**: RED metrics for the database over the selected range.
* **Operations**: query performance per operation and table. See [Operations](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/apm-v2/features/operations.md).
* **Errors**: failed queries grouped for triage. See [Errors](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/apm-v2/features/errors.md).
* **Traces**: the spans and traces the database participates in. See [Traces](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/apm-v2/features/traces.md).
* **Service Map**: the database's place in your dependency graph. See [Service Map](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/apm-v2/features/service-map.md).

[![A database drilldown: the Overview section with Requests, Errors, and Latency by operation, and the Operations section ranking operations by time consumed.](/docs/assets/images/database-drilldown-1935612ca59f0873cae153a9da06fa19.webp)](https://coralogix.com/docs/assets/images/database-drilldown-1935612ca59f0873cae153a9da06fa19.webp)

## Ask Olly[​](#ask-olly "Direct link to Ask Olly")

Select **Ask Olly** in the APM header, or press `Cmd+I` / `Ctrl+I`, to open the [Olly](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/olly/ask-olly.md) drawer scoped to what you're viewing - the databases in view on the catalog, or the database you've drilled into - so you can ask what's slowing a query or driving failures without describing your view first.

## Next steps[​](#next-steps "Direct link to Next steps")

Open a service or database to explore its telemetry in the [entity drilldown](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/apm-v2/entity-drilldown.md).

## Additional resources[​](#additional-resources "Direct link to Additional resources")

* [Introduction to Application Performance Monitoring](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/apm-v2/getting-started/apm-onboarding-tutorial.md)
* [Span Metrics](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/apm-v2/getting-started/span-metrics.md)
* [Services](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/apm-v2/services.md)