Enable Loadbalancer exporter when using opentelemetry collector for both tracing and metrics data

[suxiaoxiaomm]

Component(s)

exporter/loadbalancing

Describe the issue you're reporting

Dear experts,
Currently we are using opentelemetry collector to collect tracing data and we are planning to use loadbalancing exporter as tracing's heavy load.

But we also want to send our metrics to opentelemetry collector.

Since loadbalancing exporter doesn't support metrics yet, could you help suggest what would be a better configuration for both metrics and tracing data?

Appreciate your help!

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• exporter/loadbalancing: @jpkrohling

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[jpkrohling]

Sorry, I don't understand the question. Do you want a metrics pipeline on the same collector instance that does load balancing for traces? Or do you want to load balance metrics?

[suxiaoxiaomm]

@jpkrohling Currently I am thinking create two layers of collector: First layer is using loadbalancing exporter, which will export traces to other 3 instances of collector. I am using kubernetes, so maybe the second layer need to be a statefulset?

While I am not sure what would be a good choice for metrics. Should they be sent to the first layer and get exported from the first layer? Or send them to the second layer directly?

Actually it will be great that you could give some suggestion about the best practice on above scenario?

[jpkrohling]

maybe the second layer need to be a statefulset?

It can be, it doesn't have to. I believe the documentation for the load balancing exporter has some details about it, but let me know if you can't figure out based on it.

Actually it will be great that you could give some suggestion about the best practice on above scenario?

Without further information, I would send to the second layer, keeping the first only as a gateway to the second, which is needed only for traces. The second layer would be your "business" collector, the one that knows how to process your data.

Note that this only works if your metrics are being sent to the collector, as opposed to using the collector to scrape the metrics. Scaling a scraping service is something totally different.