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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11You can send OpenTelemetry traces, metrics, and logs to IBM Instana through an Instana agent, an OpenTelemetry Collector, or directly to the Instana backend. The Collector is optional: use it when you need to collect from multiple sources or process and filter telemetry before forwarding it. For reliable results, plan host identity and W3C trace-context propagation alongside the data route.
What OpenTelemetry and Instana do together
OpenTelemetry provides instrumentation and a standard way to collect and export telemetry; Instana receives and analyzes that data. IBM documents traces, metrics, and logs as generally available in Instana. It also supports combining OpenTelemetry spans with Instana AutoTrace spans for continuous mixed tracing (IBM’s OpenTelemetry overview).
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This is not an automatic guarantee of complete observability. The signals still need to reach the correct destination, carry usable service and host identity, and—when traces cross between OpenTelemetry-instrumented and Instana-traced services—propagate compatible context.
Choose an ingestion route
The right route depends on where you want processing, routing, credentials, and operational responsibility to live.
#1 Best Overall
| Route | When it fits | What to plan for |
|---|---|---|
| Application to an Instana agent | The application already emits OTLP and a nearby agent can receive it. | Configure the agent endpoint and confirm OTLP ingestion is enabled. The agent forwards data to the backend. |
| Application or receivers through a Collector to an agent | You need to gather from multiple sources or apply Collector processors before forwarding locally. | Operate and configure the Collector as well as the agent. Place processors and filtering where they can serve the relevant sources. |
| Application or Collector directly to the Instana backend | You want OTLP delivery without routing through a host agent. | Configure the deployment’s regional endpoint, agent key, TLS, and required host or entity identity. |
| Instana Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector (IDOT) | You want IBM’s Collector distribution with Instana-oriented mappings and correlation settings. | IBM says IDOT handles service mappings and infrastructure correlation by default. With a self-configured sender, you may need to set resource attributes explicitly. |
IBM describes the Collector as optional when an application already emits OTLP and no additional middle-stage processing is needed. The IBM ingestion-method guidance covers the available routes.
Send OTLP through an Instana agent
An Instana agent can receive OTLP traces, metrics, and logs, then forward them to the backend. IBM documents default listener ports of 4317 for OTLP/gRPC and 4318 for OTLP/HTTP or HTTPS. The endpoint and protocol must match the exporter configuration.
Agent behavior is version-sensitive: IBM says OTLP ingestion defaults to activated for host-agent version 1.1.726 or higher; earlier versions had it deactivated by default. Check the actual agent configuration rather than assuming the default applies to every installation. See IBM’s agent ingestion instructions.
For a Collector forwarding to an agent, IBM’s examples use the OTLP exporter with endpoint: localhost:4317 for gRPC, or the OTLP/HTTP exporter with endpoint: http://localhost:4318. Treat these as local, plaintext example endpoints—not a production security recommendation. Use TLS where the connection crosses a trust boundary, and configure the exporter and receiver consistently.
Send OTLP directly to the backend
The backend’s otlp-acceptor can receive OTLP directly from an application or a Collector. This avoids the agent as an ingestion hop, but shifts responsibility for endpoint selection, credentials, transport security, and identity to the sender configuration.
- Identify the Instana region. Use the region associated with your Instana deployment; there is no single endpoint to assume for all customers.
- Configure authentication. Set the
x-instana-keyagent key in the exporter configuration and protect it as a credential. - Use TLS. Configure the transport for the endpoint and deployment; do not carry a plaintext example into a production connection.
- Provide resource identity. Include one of
host.id,faas.id, ordevice.id, or use the documentedx-instana-hostalternative. - Verify the received entity. Check that telemetry is associated with the intended host or entity and that traces and metrics appear under the expected service.
IBM’s backend ingestion guide describes the regional destination and configuration requirements. It says IDOT configures the required endpoints, authentication keys, resource attributes, and TLS settings; those using a manually configured Collector must handle the relevant settings themselves.
Preserve trace continuity across services
Instana correlates OpenTelemetry traces with Instana-generated traces using W3C Trace Context, which is also OpenTelemetry’s default propagation format. If a request passes between OpenTelemetry-instrumented and Instana-traced services, check that trace context survives each boundary. IBM documents a limitation: the Instana default context propagator cannot be combined with propagators other than W3C Trace Context.
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Validate this in the actual request path: follow a request across an OpenTelemetry service and an Instana AutoTrace service, then confirm the spans share the expected trace. A span that arrives without the propagated context may be visible but not connected to the surrounding trace. IBM also documents support for commonly used trace and resource semantic-convention attributes, as well as span events and span links. See IBM’s tracing documentation.
Keep attributes useful and bounded
Instana represents OpenTelemetry attributes as dynamic or static tags. Dynamic tags are derived from incoming attributes and appear in the call tag catalog; IBM documents a limit of 500 different attribute names in that catalog. Static tags can be used for filtering and grouping by an OpenTelemetry tag or resource-tag key and are not subject to that catalog limit.
Keep attribute keys stable and put changing values in the value, not in a newly generated key. For example, use a single user.id key with different user values rather than creating a distinct attribute name per user. This avoids exhausting the dynamic-tag name catalog and makes queries and groupings more predictable.
Ingest logs without losing useful context
IBM documents two OTLP log routes: send logs to the backend’s otlp-acceptor, directly or through a Collector, or send them through an Instana agent. Log ingestion may require an add-on or extra configuration, so confirm entitlement and setup for your specific Instana plan with IBM. The log sender must also identify the host or entity. IBM lists resource identity options including service.instance.id, container.id, Kubernetes object IDs, and host.id, along with the x-instana-host alternative. See IBM’s log ingestion documentation.
What Instana maps from an OTLP log record
- Trace ID, span ID, and body are mapped without alteration.
- Instana uses ingestion time for the timestamp it considers.
- Log level is determined primarily from
SeverityText, withSeverityNumberas a fallback. - Attributes are mapped as key-value custom tags.
These mapping rules can explain differences between a source record and its representation in Instana. For example, the displayed time may reflect ingestion rather than the timestamp your application recorded.
Best Value
Prevent avoidable log volume and attribution problems
- Use a consistent structure for timestamps, levels, error codes, and contextual fields.
- Send essential logs rather than every available message; excess volume increases processing, memory, network, retention, and analysis load.
- Where possible, configure a Collector to send logs to an agent on the same host. IBM warns that routing logs from multiple hosts through one agent can cause incorrect host attribution and failed correlation.
IBM’s log best-practices guidance explains these operational recommendations.
Check compatibility and exporter guidance before rollout
Use an OTLP exporter for Instana ingestion. IBM says its OpenTelemetry Contrib Collector instanaexporter was removed on 8 October 2024; do not build a new setup around that exporter. The host-agent threshold of 1.1.726 concerns the agent’s default OTLP activation, not a general compatibility promise for every SDK or Collector version.
IBM’s documentation does not establish one cross-language SDK and Collector compatibility matrix for every deployment in the material cited here. Confirm supported versions and configuration for the language, Collector distribution, agent, and Instana environment you actually run.
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