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

# Core Concepts

> Key terms and data-model primitives that appear throughout Pelanor.

<Info>
  A clear understanding of these concepts will help you navigate Pelanor and get the most from its cost-optimization features.
</Info>

## Vendor-Specific vs. Vendor-Agnostic Terminology

Pelanor lets you analyse cost data from two complementary angles:

| Perspective         | When to Use                                                                              | Examples                                                                                                                                       |
| ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Vendor-specific** | Query or group by each cloud provider’s native fields.                                   | <ul><li>AWS Product Name</li><li>Azure Billing Profile</li><li>Kubernetes Namespace</li><li>ECS Service</li><li>Databricks Task Name</li></ul> |
| **Vendor-agnostic** | Apply FOCUS-aligned, cross-cloud terminology that works the same in AWS, Azure, and GCP. | Usage Category · Service Name · Entity Type                                                                                                    |

***

## Properties vs. Metrics

| Concept        | Purpose                                                   | Typical Uses                                                                                                                                            | Examples                                                                       |
| -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Properties** | Descriptive metadata collected from Pelanor integrations. | <ul><li>Group data (e.g. by vendor or service)</li><li>Filter results (e.g. by Account ID or tag value)</li><li>Add context columns in tables</li></ul> | <ul><li>Service Name</li><li>Entity Category</li><li>Snowflake Table</li></ul> |
| **Metrics**    | Numeric measurements—Cost is the primary one.             | <ul><li>Display in charts or tables alongside Cost</li><li>Build queries such as “Cost > \$500”</li></ul>                                               | <ul><li>Cost</li><li>CPU Utilization</li><li>Data Transferred</li></ul>        |

Pelanor auto-collects metrics from its platform and service integrations. You can further extend the metrics list by pushing **Custom Metrics** into Pelanor.

***

## Resources vs. Entities

| Layer         | Definition                                      | Examples                                                                                                               |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Resources** | Items that appear directly in billing exports.  | ARN (AWS) · Global Name (GCP) · Region · Account                                                                       |
| **Entities**  | Logical groupings or subdivisions of resources. | <ul><li>Node groups of VMs</li><li>Kubernetes namespaces</li><li>Databases separate from their host clusters</li></ul> |

***

## Dimensions & Segments

**Dimensions** provide business-aligned views of cost data—think “cost per *X*” (Tenant, Business Unit, Feature, etc.).\
Each dimension contains multiple **Segments**, which define individual values and their selection rules.

After creation, dimensions appear under **Custom Dimensions** in the property tree and are available for grouping and filtering everywhere in Pelanor.

### Ways to Create Dimensions

| Method                  | Best For                                                                                                                                         |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Manual**              | A small, mostly static list (e.g. Departments)                                                                                                   |
| **Tag-based (“Batch”)** | Leverage existing tags and properties to auto-populate segments (example: you already have a `Tenant` tag with a reasonable coverage percentage) |
| **API**                 | Automating updates or syncing from external systems such as CRMs                                                                                 |

For API details, see the *Dimensions & Segments* section of the Pelanor API reference.