---
title: "Get started with telemetry signals | Grafana Cloud documentation"
description: "Learn what telemetry signals are, choose the right Grafana product, and explore observability data in Grafana Cloud."
---

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

# Get started with telemetry signals

Telemetry signals, including metrics, logs, traces, and profiles, are the data your systems generates to help you understand their behavior. Understand the core observability signals and how Grafana products use them to explore real data.

## What you’ll learn

This guide walks you through three areas: understanding the core telemetry signals, learning how Grafana Cloud products use those signals, and exploring real data hands-on.

[](/media/docs/grafana-cloud/telemetry-signals/getting-started-learning-path.svg)

## Next steps

Expand table

| Topic                                                                                                        | Description                                                              |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| [What are telemetry signals?](/docs/grafana-cloud/telemetry-signals/get-started/what-are-telemetry-signals/) | Learn about metrics, logs, traces, and profiles—and when to use each     |
| [How products use signals](/docs/grafana-cloud/telemetry-signals/get-started/products-use-signals/)          | Choose the right Grafana product and understand data collection options  |
| [Quick start](/docs/grafana-cloud/telemetry-signals/get-started/quick-start/)                                | Explore all four signals hands-on using Grafana Play (no setup required) |