Overview

Observability boils down to a data problem. To gain observability, we need to collect signals from many different data sources, frameworks and programming languages. It is important to turn heterogeneous data across so many different signals into actionable insights through a framework like OpenTelemetry, an open source standard enabling us to collect, process, and export telemetry data. In this session, we will discuss the complexities that come with handling telemetry data from distributed systems as they scale. Next, we will show you how to build an observability data pipeline using the OpenTelemetry collector and open source plugins that can perform a wide variety of data processing, such as injecting infrastructure metadata into traces and metrics, implementing tail-based sampling, and exporting data to any backend via OTLP. Finally, we will share some of the challenges with running the collector, so that you can take them into account as you build out your own observability pipeline with OpenTelemetry.

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Presenters

Daniel Kim
Lead Developer Advocate, New Relic

Daniel Kim (He/Him) is a Lead Developer Relations Engineer at New Relic and the founder of Bit Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated make tech accessible to underserved communities. He wants to inspire generations of students in tech to be the best they can be through inclusive, accessible developer education. He is passionate about diversity and inclusion in tech, good food, and dad jokes.

Reese Lee
Developer Relations Engineer, New Relic

Reese Lee joined the OpenTelemetry team at New Relic in 2020, bringing with her extensive experience in providing quality technical support for observability end users. She is passionate about technical enablement, particularly with making complex concepts accessible for those newer to the tech industry. She has spoken on several topics related to OpenTelemetry, and is primarily focused on working with end users and enabling teams on this emerging technology. She enjoys troubleshooting issues and is excited to contribute more to the OpenTelemetry community.