title: Spring boot actuator gauge provides unreliable data
body: <p>I don't understand what this value intends to provide.</p>
  
  <p>According to the documentation, the gauge sounds like the "totals" while the counter is the delta (since last request? delta compared to what?).</p>
  
  <p>Well, in my standard spring boot application (still on version 1.4.2), all counters are 0 and the gauge would go up and down without any logic. </p>
  
  <p>I am the only person in the system, i'll hit refresh, and i'll get a value like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>{"gauge.servo.response.rest.star-star":20.0}
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I'll hit refresh again on the application, and i'll get this again:</p>
  
  <pre><code>{"gauge.servo.response.rest.star-star":20.0}
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Hit refresh again, and I get this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>{"gauge.servo.response.rest.star-star":12.0}
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>How can this number ever go DOWN? shouldn't it always increase as the use on my system increases? Perhaps it gauges the last few seconds? If so, how do I know when to monitor? </p>
  
  <p>I need a decent monitoring solution that provides the following data:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Total number of requests (and rate)</li>
  <li>Total number of errors</li>
  <li>Latency information</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>Seems like item #3 is not supported by metrics at all, and the first two simply don't work as I expect them to.</p>
  
  <p>Note: this server is a Spring Zuul gateway, but I don't think this should impact anything?</p>
  
  <p>Any help would be appreciated.</p>