# Metric cardinality calculator

See how many time series your metric labels produce, and which label to fix first.

## How it works

Every distinct combination of label values is a separate series. The number of series is the distinct values of each label, multiplied together, for every metric name.

```
series = metrics × Π distinct values
```

## Questions

### What makes cardinality explode?

Labels with unbounded values: user IDs, request IDs, full URLs or timestamps.

### Where should those values go?

On spans and logs, which are built for high-cardinality detail.

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