# Observability

> Automatically trace and visualize every integration, from system architecture to cell-level lineage.

Source: https://orbitalhq.com/features/observability

![](/assets/hero-05-observability-YtEl2PvT.webp)

Observability

# See **exactly what happened**

Orbital records every integration as it runs - the plan, the services called, and where each value in the result came from.

Tracing and lineage are built in. No instrumentation required.

[Get Started](/docs)[Read the docs](/docs/querying/observability)

Observability

## Be in the **room where it happened**

Orbital builds and runs the integration, so tracing comes built in. Every call, transformation and result is captured automatically.

Tracing

### Complete call tracing

Follow a request across every database query, API call and service invocation, with timings, inputs and outputs for each step.

See the exact path Orbital took to produce the result.

[Read the docs](/docs/querying/observability)

![A sequence diagram of a single query, showing each service call made and the response it returned.](/assets/observability-sequence-DuyDCbj0.png)

Lineage

### Lineage, down to the value

Trace any value in a result back through the operations and transformations that produced it, all the way to its source.

Essential for debugging complex integrations and proving regulatory compliance.

[Read the docs](/docs/querying/observability)

![Cell-level lineage for one value, tracing it back through each lookup and transformation that produced it.](/assets/observability-cell-lineage-CAx0WHJ7.png)

Observability

### See where the time goes

Track latency, throughput and errors across the services involved in each integration.

Find the slow call or bottleneck without reconstructing the path yourself.

[Explore observability](/features/observability)

![An endpoint performance dashboard, charting request rate and latency over time.](/assets/endpoints-performance-CwxMvKJT.png)

Architecture

### Integration architecture diagrams

Orbital builds service and data-flow diagrams from the integrations it executes.

See which systems depend on each other and how data moves between them, based on runtime behaviour rather than a diagram someone has to keep updated.

[Explore the catalog](/features/data-and-api-catalog)

![A query execution plan, showing the services touched to satisfy a request and the time each one took.](/assets/query-plan-C29DTOW8.png)

Use cases

## Debug and verify

Whether you’re troubleshooting an integration or proving regulatory compliance, Orbital shows you exactly how your data flows.

-   [
    
    ### Integration debugging
    
    Track down issues in complex integrations by following the exact path of your data.
    
    See every service call, transformation, and error in context.
    
    
    
    ](/docs/querying/observability)
-   [
    
    ### Regulatory compliance
    
    Show where a value came from, which systems handled it, and how it was transformed before reaching the result.
    
    
    
    ](/docs/querying/observability)
-   [
    
    ### Performance optimization
    
    Identify bottlenecks and slow services with detailed timing data across your integration flows.
    
    Drive improvements based on real usage patterns.
    
    
    
    ](/docs/querying/observability)

![](/assets/gareth-mcnicol-dE1kD4hw.jpg)

> Adopting an Orbital First approach has empowered LendingCrowd to model our domain seamlessly while integrating with third-party providers.
> 
> With Orbital, we’ve rapidly developed new partner and client-facing portals, achieving immediate success.
> 
> This approach will remain central to our data platform strategy as we scale and evolve.

[

Gareth McNicol

Head of Software Engineering - LendingCrowd

](https://www.lendingcrowd.com/)

![](/assets/alex-cheeseman-CuGA5oP0.jpg)

> We delivered a critical project in weeks, not months, using a single developer instead of a team.
> 
> Our run costs are also much lower, as we’re not running hundreds of integration microservices.
> 
> Orbital has become a key part of our strategic architecture for the bank.

[

Alex Cheeseman

Director of Engineering, Architecture & Change - Metro Bank

](https://www.metrobankonline.co.uk/)

## Frequently asked questions

Got another gnarly question? We’d love to hear it. Come and chat on [Slack](https://join.slack.com/t/orbitalapi/shared_invite/zt-697laanr-DHGXXak5slqsY9DqwrkzHg).

Orbital acts as a proxy for your service calls, naturally capturing timing and payload data as requests flow through the system.

There’s no code instrumentation required and no performance overhead on your services - we simply observe the interactions that are already happening.

While traditional catalogs rely on static analysis and manual documentation to guess at data flows, Orbital captures what actually happens at runtime.

Every service call, transformation, and calculation is automatically recorded, giving you a precise, up-to-date view of how your data moves and changes.

This eliminates months of documentation effort and removes the need for a separate lineage system - saving both significant time and licensing costs.

You get better data lineage as a natural byproduct of your integrations.

Yes - Orbital’s runtime lineage is specifically designed for regulatory compliance.

For every value produced by Orbital, we automatically capture the complete chain of evidence: which services were called, what transformations were applied, and how the final value was calculated.

Instead of spending months documenting flows and maintaining a separate lineage system, you get audit-ready evidence automatically.

This dramatically reduces compliance overhead while providing more accurate, trustworthy data for regulations like BCBS 239.

## See what actually happened - **on every call**

Every API call, every transformation applied, every value traced back to its source.

[Start for free](/docs)[Talk to us](/contact)

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