Using OpenTelemetry with Dynatrace

OpenTelemetry data can be ingested using the following services:

SaaS ingest API

The SaaS endpoint provides the easiest ingest option, as you only need to configure your application for a standard OTLP export and do not require other installed components or services.

  • Requires an access token for authentication and a secure connection using TLS
  • For hosts monitored by OneAgent, it requires manual data enrichment to ensure proper host-mapping and use of allocated DDUs

otlp

See Export to ActiveGate for more details.

Collector

Export to the Collector if you want an intermediate service layer for data collection, protocol conversion, or central post-processing of your telemetry data. You can also use the Collector to send your data to more than one backend at the same time.

otlp

See Dynatrace Collector and Collector use cases for more details.

ActiveGate

Central collection gateway to the Dynatrace backend, providing OTLP endpoints for OpenTelemetry data.

  • Requires an access token for authentication and a secure connection using TLS
  • For hosts monitored by OneAgent, it requires manual data enrichment to ensure proper host-mapping and use of allocated DDUs
  • With a single point of ingest, network traffic and management are simplified and centralized

otlp

See Export to ActiveGate for more details.

OneAgent (traces-only)

If you have OneAgent deployed, you can also export traces to its local-only endpoint. This provides a convenient ingest interface with automatic request enrichment, no need for explicit authentication, but has the following limitations:

  • Only works with localhost connections
  • Does not work with containerized setups
  • Only accepts traces (no metrics or logs for now)
  • Requires the EEC to be enabled

otlp

See Export to OneAgent for more details.