What are Connectors in OpenTelemetry? 

Why the OpenTelemetry Collector?

The OpenTelemetry Collector is a powerful tool for processing different types of telemetry data, such as metrics, traces, and logs, all in one place. This is important because traditional observability tools often require separate toolchains, which can be inconvenient and inflexible when changes are needed.

Understanding the Pipeline Architecture

At the heart of the Collector is a pipeline architecture where individual components manage and process telemetry data. It's important to differentiate between managing telemetry—routing, merging, and replicating data streams—and processing telemetry—filtering, annotating, transforming, etc.

Introducing Connectors

While the Collector was already a powerful tool for processing telemetry, it had limitations in managing data streams efficiently. Enter connectors—a feature set that overcomes these limitations and introduces new ways to manage telemetry within the Collector, while also supporting backward compatibility with the existing architecture.

Connectors are a bridge between telemetry pipelines. They can forward and replicate data from one pipeline to another, condense detailed telemetry streams, and ultimately help you get the right data to the right place.

If you want a crash course on the OpenTelemetry Collector and the capabilities of connectors, I think you’ll find the following talk helpful.

Data Types and Pipelines

In the Collector's pipeline architecture, it's important to clearly define the different data types. Each pipeline should handle just one type of data, whether it's logs, metrics, or traces. Receivers, processors, and exporters all have specific roles within the data pipeline, which helps keep things organized and easy to understand.

Overcoming Limitations

Now, with the introduction of connectors, the Collector supports the sequencing of data pipelines, conditional data flow, and correlated data processing. This framework allows for more advanced telemetry management than ever before.

The OpenTelemetry Collector's connectors framework marks a significant step forward, providing a generalized system for telemetry processing. The result is a more powerful tool for observability, enhancing the management of telemetry streams in diverse and dynamic environments.