Which default time aggregation is used for a rate in Datadog?

In Datadog, the default time aggregation used for a rate is the average. When calculating rates, Datadog computes the change over time by considering the average value of the data points within the specified time window. This average gives a meaningful representation of the rate of occurrence over time, effectively smoothing out any spikes or fluctuations that might occur in the raw data.

Using averages for rates allows users to interpret patterns and trends more clearly, providing a reliable measure of activity, such as requests per second or error rates, over time. This method is particularly useful for monitoring performance metrics where consistent averages are critical for assessing the health of applications and systems.

The other choices represent different types of aggregations that focus on summing values, counting occurrences, or identifying maximum values, which do not effectively capture the rate concept as applied in Datadog's context.