Summary

The issue requests documentation clarifying that the Elastic Synthetics app is not intended for Kubernetes or infrastructure monitoring, and directing users to appropriate alternatives (Heartbeat with autodiscovery, or standalone Elastic Agent with the Uptime Monitors integration). No linked code PRs exist because this is a pure documentation gap — the behavior is already established and the request is to add guidance that is currently missing from the docs. The issue comments (especially from eedugon, Nov 2025) provide a clear two-part action plan: (1) add a note clarifying the Synthetics UI scope, and (2) document the correct approach for k8s/infra uptime monitoring.

Request accuracy

Accurate — the Synthetics UI docs currently lack any guidance about k8s/infrastructure monitoring limitations or alternatives; the gap is confirmed by reviewing the existing pages.

Next action for author

Add a note or short section to the Synthetics overview page clarifying this limitation, and add a corresponding guidance section (or sibling page) pointing users to Heartbeat/Elastic Agent alternatives for k8s autodiscovery-based monitoring.

Impact: Medium

Scope boundary

No code changes are needed; the Uptime app (/solutions/observability/uptime/) and Heartbeat external docs may need cross-links added, but their core content does not need to change.

Recommended documentation targets

Recommendations

1. Add a short "Not for infrastructure or Kubernetes monitoring" note/admonition to solutions/observability/synthetics/index.md. State clearly that the Synthetics app is designed for active synthetic checks of URLs and user journeys, not for host/pod availability monitoring via autodiscovery. Link to the Heartbeat / Elastic Agent alternatives.
2. Add a matching section to solutions/observability/synthetics/scale-architect-synthetics-deployment.md (alongside the existing CCS/CCR "do not use" section) documenting the k8s infra monitoring limitation and recommended alternatives.
3. The recommended alternatives to document are: Heartbeat with autodiscovery (full flexibility) and standalone Elastic Agent with the Uptime Monitors integration (with a note that hints-based autodiscovery is not supported for managed agents — confirm exact limitation scope with the dev team before publishing).

Notes

• The Uptime app (/solutions/observability/uptime/) is deprecated as of 8.15 and should not be promoted as the primary destination; link to it only as a legacy reference where Heartbeat data lands.
• Confirm with SMEs (emilioalvap, eedugon) whether the "hints-based autodiscovery not supported" limitation applies to managed agents only or also to standalone agents before finalising recommendation 3.
• No new standalone page is needed; adding sections to the existing overview and scale pages is the smallest viable change.