In today’s complex software ecosystems, gaining visibility into application performance and infrastructure health is crucial. OpenTelemetry and Datadog are two powerful tools that, when combined, provide a robust observability solution.
What is OpenTelemetry?
OpenTelemetry (OTel) is an open-source observability framework that offers a standardized way to collect, process, and export telemetry data, including metrics, traces, and logs. It aims to simplify instrumentation across various programming languages.
Why Integrate with Datadog?
Datadog is a widely adopted monitoring and analytics platform. Integrating OpenTelemetry with Datadog allows you to leverage Datadog’s advanced visualization, alerting, and dashboard capabilities while maintaining vendor-neutral instrumentation.
Step-by-Step Integration
We’ll demonstrate a simple example using a Node.js application to integrate OpenTelemetry with Datadog.
Step 1: Install Dependencies
Make sure you have a Node.js project ready. Install the required packages:
npm install @opentelemetry/api @opentelemetry/sdk-node @opentelemetry/exporter-otlp-grpc
If you’re using Docker, make sure to expose and forward the necessary ports.
Step 2: Set Up OpenTelemetry Configuration
Create an otel.js file to configure OpenTelemetry:
const { NodeSDK } = require('@opentelemetry/sdk-node');
const { OTLPTraceExporter } = require('@opentelemetry/exporter-otlp-grpc');
const { getNodeAutoInstrumentations } = require('@opentelemetry/auto-instrumentations-node');
const exporter = new OTLPTraceExporter({
url: 'http://localhost:4317', // Adjust if needed
});
const sdk = new NodeSDK({
traceExporter: exporter,
instrumentations: [getNodeAutoInstrumentations()],
});
sdk.start();
Step 3: Update Datadog Configuration
Ensure your Datadog Agent is set up to receive OTLP data. Update the datadog.yaml file:
apm_config:
enabled: true
receiver_port: 4317
otlp:
grpc:
enabled: true
Step 4: Run and Test
Start your Datadog Agent, then run your Node.js application:
node otel.js
Use Datadog’s APM dashboard to visualize the traces and monitor the application’s performance.
Conclusion
Integrating OpenTelemetry with Datadog bridges the gap between vendor-neutral instrumentation and advanced monitoring. This combination provides flexibility, scalability, and deep insights into your system’s health.
