> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.chronosphere.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# License unit definitions

Chronosphere Observability Platform uses the following definitions for licensing
units across both capacity and consumption models:

* *Control* is the volume of data that undergoes transformation and reshaping.
  Control is measured in `GB` for traces, `GB` for logs, and matched writes for
  metrics.
* *Long Term Retention* is the number of months Chronosphere will retain data at
  a negotiated resolution.
* *Persistence* is the volume of data stored following processing by control.
  Persistence is measured in `GB` for traces, `GB` for logs, `WPM` for events,
  and cardinality and resolution for metrics.
* *Raw Retention* is the number of days Chronosphere will retain raw data. For more
  information, see [ingestion limits and retention policies](/administer/limits-licensing/licensing#contract-details).
* *Resolution* is the ratio of active time series to persisted writes per second.
* *Time series* is a set of data points with matching labels.

## Consumption definitions

The following definitions apply only to the
[consumption pricing model](/control/consumption) that uses partitions and budgets to
control your telemetry data usage:

* *Credits* are a flexible, fungible unit of currency that you can spend on any
  telemetry type without needing to renegotiate your contract. Learn more about
  [Credits consumption](/administer/limits-licensing/licensing#credits-consumption)
  to understand how credits work in the consumption pricing model.
* *Effective Datapoint Resolution* (EDR) represents the average time interval between
  data points for your time series.
* *Metrics Matched Datapoint* is a data point matched for aggregation. One Metrics
  Matched Datapoint is incurred for each aggregation rule matched for each data point.
* *Metrics Matched Histogram Datapoint Bucket* is a bucket within a histogram
  data point matched for aggregation. One Metrics Matched Histogram Datapoint Bucket
  is incurred for each non-zero bucket within a matched histogram data point.
* *Metrics Persisted Datapoint* is an individual, timestamped data point that's
  persisted to storage. Metrics Persisted Datapoints pricing varies by Effective
  Datapoint Resolution.
* *Metrics Persisted Histogram Datapoint Bucket* is a bucket within a histogram
  data point that's persisted to storage. One Metrics Persisted Histogram Datapoint
  Bucket is incurred for each non-zero bucket within a persisted histogram data point.
* *Metrics Persisted Series* is a time series, defined as a combination of metric
  name and labels, that's persisted to storage. One Metrics Persisted Series is
  incurred for a time series if no identical time series have been persisted in the
  last 48 hours. Metrics Persisted Series pricing varies by storage retention.

## Capacity definitions

The following definitions apply only to the capacity pricing model that uses
[quotas and pools](/control/shaping/shape-metrics/quotas) to control your telemetry
data usage:

* *Matched Writes* (`mW`) are the number of writes per second being matched for
  transformation and reshaping. For more information, see
  [matched writes](/administer/limits-licensing/concepts#matched-writes).
* *Persisted Cardinality* is the count of unique time series of the
  persisted writes stored by Chronosphere. For more information, see
  [persisted cardinality](/administer/limits-licensing/concepts#persisted-cardinality).
* *Persisted Writes Per Minute* (`WPM`) is the total count of individual, timestamped
  data points persisted in a one-minute interval. For more information, see
  [persisted writes](/administer/limits-licensing/concepts#persisted-writes).
* *Persisted Writes Per Second* (`WPS`) is the total count of individual, timestamped
  data points persisted in a one-second interval.