--- title: "Plan better and preempt bottlenecks with predict for metrics" page_name: "Plan better and preempt bottlenecks with predict for metrics" type: "blog" slug: "plan-better-preempt-bottlenecks-with-predict-for-metrics" published_at: "2023-04-17" modified_at: "2025-06-17" url: "https://www.sumologic.com/blog/plan-better-preempt-bottlenecks-with-predict-for-metrics" canonical: "https://www.sumologic.com/blog/plan-better-preempt-bottlenecks-with-predict-for-metrics" markdown_url: "https://www.sumologic.com/blog/plan-better-preempt-bottlenecks-with-predict-for-metrics.md" lang: "en" excerpt: "This metrics forecast query is ideal for capacity planning and stopping bottlenecks before they start. Learn how to do more with your metrics and prevent the inevitable." taxonomy_blog_category: - "DevOps & IT Operations" --- [ All blogs ](https://www.sumologic.com/blog "blog")[DevOps & IT Operations](https://www.sumologic.com/blog/devops-it-operations) # Plan better and preempt bottlenecks with predict for metrics [Michael Riordan](#blog-author-block-231) April 17, 2023 2 min read [DevOps & IT Operations](https://www.sumologic.com/blog/devops-it-operations) ##### Table of contents Nothing is certain in this world except for death, taxes, and that you will eventually run out of disk space. You may have used our unique [predict operator](https://help.sumologic.com/docs/search/search-query-language/search-operators/predict/) to query logs and forecast future values (we’ve even heard of customers predicting their ingest volume for Sumo Logic log data to better forecast their usage and budget!) — and wanted to do the same with metrics. With the recent general availability of the [predict for metrics operator](https://help.sumologic.com/docs/metrics/metrics-operators/predict/), you can. This metrics forecast query can help you preempt bottlenecks and assist with capacity planning. ### How to get started with predict for metrics with a common DynamoDB use case Teams like yours use Sumo Logic dashboards to monitor service usage and prepare for capacity conversations with their cloud vendors. You can easily track errors, understand their context, and set alerts for when they’re going above certain thresholds. Our predict for metrics operator can enhance this workflow. For example, take the common use case of monitoring [Amazon DynamoDB](https://help.sumologic.com/docs/integrations/amazon-aws/dynamodb/) performance. While AWS infrastructure does much of the heavy lifting to support DynamoDB, teams often track how they’re using the service to ensure optimal performance — focusing on if their requests are being throttled and if they’ve exceeded their allotted capacity. With the predict for metrics operator, you create a quick query in the metrics explorer to see if you have sufficient DynamoDB read capacity to support your expected consumption. And remember, you can even run queries, including this predict for metrics operator, on [metrics pulled from logs](https://help.sumologic.com/docs/metrics/logs-to-metrics/). In the above example, Series B provides the input for the actual Read Capacity Consumed time series. Series C \[ *\#B | predict model=ar forecast=24h* \] takes Series B as an input to forecast 24 hours into the future using an auto-regression model. In addition to the auto-regression model, the predict operator supports a linear model. The red dotted line represents the forecasted consumption over 24 hours versus the actual consumption in green. The results suggest that the user is not expected to exceed their provisioned capacity during the applied time period. ### Improve your capacity planning and stop bottlenecks before they start Modern observability demands rich analytics for your telemetry. With predict operators available to query both logs and metrics, the [Sumo Logic platform](https://www.sumologic.com/platform/) is uniquely equipped to help your teams anticipate and avoid what otherwise may seem inevitable (except, unfortunately, for death and taxes). If you want to get started with the predict for metrics operator and need more information, please consult our [technical documentation](https://help.sumologic.com/docs/metrics/metrics-operators/predict/). ### Article Tags - [DevOps & IT Operations](https://www.sumologic.com/blog/devops-it-operations) Michael Riordan Senior Product Marketing Manager Michael is a member of the Observability Product Marketing team at Sumo Logic. Before Sumo Logic, he worked as a PMM at forward-looking technology companies Axon and Fastly. When he’s not working with sellers and product managers, Michael enjoys watching reality TV and collecting vintage clothes. [](https://www.sumologic.com/feed "RSS Feed")[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Plan%20better%20and%20preempt%20bottlenecks%20with%20predict%20for%20metrics&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sumologic.com%2Fblog%2Fplan-better-preempt-bottlenecks-with-predict-for-metrics "X")[](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sumologic.com%2Fblog%2Fplan-better-preempt-bottlenecks-with-predict-for-metrics "Facebook")[](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sumologic.com%2Fblog%2Fplan-better-preempt-bottlenecks-with-predict-for-metrics "Linkedin") [Previous blog Even faster 3 am troubleshooting with new logs search and query](https://www.sumologic.com/blog/faster-troubleshooting-logs-search-query)[Next blog Find connections and expand your data visualization with new dashboards](https://www.sumologic.com/blog/find-connections-and-expand-your-data-visualization-with-new-dashboards) People who read this also enjoyed [ Sumo Logic AWS Region European Sovereign Cloud is now generally available June 2, 2026 ](https://www.sumologic.com/blog/sumo-logic-aws-region-european-sovereign-cloud-generally-available)[ How to secure cloud workloads without building a full-scale SOC April 30, 2026 ](https://www.sumologic.com/blog/secure-cloud-workloads-with-limited-resources)[ Join operator and Query Agent for smarter log analysis April 22, 2026 ](https://www.sumologic.com/blog/using-the-join-operator)[ 92% of security leaders say their SIEM is effective. 51% say it’s exceptional. What’s living in that gap? April 16, 2026 ](https://www.sumologic.com/blog/from-effective-to-exceptional-siem) [AI Instructions](https://www.sumologic.com/ai-instructions.md)