Dynatrace version 1.274
The Unified service type represents services detected using Service Detection v2 (SDv2) rules based on resource attributes. These services were first introduced for OpenTelemetry and are now being rolled out for OneAgent in public preview (fall 2025).
Services using SDv2 detection show Unified service as their service type in the web UI properties, indicating that SDv2 detection rules are being applied.
Key capabilities:
The term "unified services" was introduced before SDv2 existed. The underlying service, endpoint, failure, and splitting detection rules were introduced at the same time, but were hardcoded. SDv2 now makes these rules configurable. While properties still display Unified service, SDv2 focuses on detection rules rather than service types.
The Grail metrics dt.service.request.response_time, dt.service.request.failure_count, and dt.service.request.count are billable. To learn more, see Metrics powered by Grail (DPS).
For current detection rules and customization options, see the Service Detection v2.
Customers still using legacy span:services will be automatically migrated to SDv2 and will get the type Unified service by October 1, 2025. This can be done manually at any time before then using a simple toggle in Settings.
The original OpenTelemetry service detection from 2021 was span:services. Over 95% of customers have already upgraded to unified services, which launched in 2023.
This affects span:services (OTLP API ingested services) only, not span (default) services detected by OneAgent with the OpenTelemetry sensor.
For details, see the Service Detection V2 (SDv2) Overview post in the Dynatrace Community.