---
title: Meter Definition
slug: Kuek_c0SM-eAh1YbP5DOB
docTags: 
createdAt: 2024-07-09T15:06:35.509Z
---

# Defining Your First Meter

There are three main parts to a meter definition. These parts are detailed below to help you create the right meter for your needs.

## Meter Event

A meter event is a usage event sent to Amberflo for ingestion and aggregation. Any single usage event ingested via any ingestion sources and options supported constitutes a meter event.

## Name & Description Fields

**Label** is the meter's name that will be displayed throughout the dashboard. This field can be changed after activating the meter.

**Meter Api Name** is the technical label of the meter used by the backend processes. This is also the identifier for event ingestion. This field **can not** be changed after activating the meter.

**Description** allows you to leave a brief explanation of what the meter is. This is viewable when looking at the meter definitions. This field can be changed after activating the meter.

## Types of Meters

Amberflo supports three types of meters: count meters, continuous meters, and seat-based meters. Each type serves a specific purpose and is tailored to handle event data in different ways.

1. **Count Meters** 
   - **Functionality**: Count meters increment their value each time an event occurs and provide summary statistics when queried.
   - **Use Cases**:
     - Monitoring total API calls.
     - Tracking the number of transactions in a system.
     - Measuring the total volume of error occurrences.
   - **Advantages**:
     - Simple to implement and use.
     - Offers a clear overview of event totals over time.
     - Provides flexibility in summarizing data with MAX, AVG, and SUM statistics.
2. **Continuous Meters** 
   - **Functionality**: Continuous meters log the start and stop of an event, calculating the total duration or quantity of usage between these points.
   - **Use Cases**:
     - Measuring application uptime.
     - Tracking active session durations for users.
     - Monitoring resource utilization, such as CPU or memory usage, over time.
   - **Advantages**:
     - Provides precise tracking of time-based usage.
     - Ideal for billing systems and resource management.
3. **Seat-based Meters** 
   - **Functionality**: Seat-based meters keep track of the number of active users or instances at any given time, providing a way to measure compliance with seat-based licensing agreements. (This can be found under "Advanced Mode" in the Create Meter UI flow)
   - **Use Cases**:
     - Monitoring software license utilization.
     - Ensuring compliance with subscription-based services.
     - Tracking active user accounts in a system.
   - **Advantages**:
     - Simplifies compliance with licensing agreements.
     - Provides visibility into resource allocation and usage.
     - Supports capacity planning and cost optimization

To create your 

## Meter Dimensions

Meter dimensions are the last piece to meter definitions. These dimensions may take a bit more thought into what should qualify as a dimension and be sent as additional information to a meter event. More details on this can be found [here](docId:9cdmnulSBFjPn_tQ42h_O).