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Planet Mainframe

TRIVIA – Observability and Resiliency

Sep 15, 2025

Observability, resiliency, Trivia

Observability and Resiliency Trivia

Sonja Soderlund

Sonja Soderlund is an Oregon-based B2B freelance writer. Whether writing about mainframe computers, educational technology, or sustainable retail, she strives to bring clarity to complex issues. Connect with her or LinkedIn.

At Planet Mainframe, September is the month that we pay special attention to two critical pillars of modern mainframe operations — observability and resiliency. 

Observability goes beyond traditional monitoring by providing deep insights into applications, infrastructure, and dependencies in real time. Resiliency ensures that systems can withstand failures, adapt to unexpected conditions, and maintain continuity of service. Together, these capabilities help mainframe environments remain robust, secure, and able to support everything from transaction processing to regulatory compliance in industries where downtime and data loss are not an option.

Take our quiz and see how well you know the topic!

1. What is the primary goal of observability in IT systems?

 
 
 
 

2. In the context of mainframe resiliency, what does “high availability” typically refer to?

 
 
 
 

3.  What is the term for the ability of a system to continue operating smoothly despite hardware failures or unexpected events?

 
 
 
 

4. What does the “three pillars” of observability refer to?

 
 
 
 

5. Which protocol is often used for transmitting telemetry data (like metrics and logs) in observability systems?

 
 
 
 

6. In a mainframe system, what is the purpose of a “heartbeat” signal in resiliency contexts?

 
 
 
 

7. When building a resilient mainframe architecture, which of the following is essential for preventing single points of failure (SPOF)?

 
 
 
 

8. Which type of resiliency is typically focused on ensuring that the system can quickly recover from failures?

 
 
 
 

9. In z/OS, what does the term “RAS” stand for in the context of resiliency?

 
 
 
 

10. What is the primary advantage of “observability as code” in modern IT practices?

 
 
 
 

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