A Step-by-Step Guide to Standardizing Telemetry with the BindPlane Observability Pipeline

Adding additional attributes to your telemetry not only provides valuable context to your observability pipeline but also enhances the flexibility and precision of your data operations. Consider, for example, the need to route data from specific geographical locations, like the EU, to a designated destination. With a ‘Location’ attribute added to your logs, you can seamlessly achieve this.

Additionally, attributes can serve to filter data, improve data classification, and aid in troubleshooting by providing enriched information about data sources. Attributes can tag data with specific server types, differentiate between production and development environments, or highlight high-priority data sources, thereby improving data management efficiency.

In this article, we’ll guide you through the process of leveraging these benefits by adding custom attributes to your telemetry data with BindPlane OP.

Step 1. Identify the Attributes You Wish to Add

In our example, we aim to incorporate an attribute called ‘Location’ with its value set as ‘EU’.

Step 2. Add the Processor

Begin by navigating to the configuration page and clicking on a processor node in your pipeline. Processors offer the flexibility to be integrated either immediately after a source or just before a destination, depending on the nature of the data you wish to affect. Choose a location within the pipeline that best aligns with your requirements.

Next, select ‘Add Processor’ and then ‘Add Attribute’.

Step 3. Configure the Processor

This step involves deciding on the types of telemetry to which you’d like to append this attribute—options include logs, metrics, and traces.

BindPlane OP supports three actions: Upsert, Insert, and Update. In this instance, we will use ‘Upsert’. Input ‘Location’ as the Key, and ‘EU’ as the value. Remember, this step is entirely customizable – you can add as many attributes as you want.

Step 4. Validate the Processor

To confirm the successful addition of your new attribute, use the Snapshots feature to inspect your data stream. Check if the new attribute, ‘Location’, has been appropriately incorporated into your telemetry.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can easily standardize and enrich your telemetry using BindPlane OP, leading to more insightful and efficient data management. Enriched telemetry allows for better routing, filtering, classification, and troubleshooting, providing a higher level of control over your observability pipeline.

Moreover, this process of standardization can empower your team to quickly pinpoint key insights from your data, streamlining your decision-making process and enhancing your overall operational efficiency.

In the future, as you continue to scale your operations and encounter more complex data environments, the ability to add attributes in BindPlane OP can become an essential tool. By embracing this level of customization and control, you can ensure your telemetry data is always primed to provide the most relevant, actionable insights for your evolving needs.