Infrastructure monitoring involves real-time observation and analysis of IT components for optimal performance.It focuses on hardware, virtualization, network, storage, and cloud resources.Monitoring aims to proactively detect issues, optimize performance, plan capacity, save costs, and enhance security.It operates through data collection, analysis, visualization, and alerting processes.Key benefits include preventing downtime, optimizing resource utilization, and enabling faster troubleshooting.Infrastructure monitoring tools cater to server, cloud, network, data center, virtualization environments, and more.Best practices involve focusing on critical metrics, setting meaningful alerts, proper visualization, and regular adjustments.Integration with other monitoring systems and choosing the right tool are essential for effective monitoring.Considerations for different environments and scalability factors impact tool selection.ROI of implementing robust monitoring includes reduced downtime, lower costs, better utilization, and extended hardware lifespans.Infrastructure monitoring must evolve to address containerized environments with dynamic monitoring and service-level metrics.