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Extending the OpenTelemetry .NET SDK

Quick links:

Exporter

OpenTelemetry .NET SDK has provided the following built-in trace exporters:

Custom exporters can be implemented to send telemetry data to places which are not covered by the built-in exporters:

  • Exporters should derive from OpenTelemetry.BaseExporter<Activity> (which belongs to the OpenTelemetry package) and implement the Export method.
  • Exporters can optionally implement the OnForceFlush and OnShutdown method.
  • Depending on user's choice and load on the application, Export may get called with one or more activities.
  • Exporters will only receive sampled-in and ended activities.
  • Exporters should not throw exceptions from Export, OnForceFlush and OnShutdown.
  • Exporters should not modify activities they receive (the same activity may be exported again by different exporter).
  • Exporters are responsible for any retry logic needed by the scenario. The SDK does not implement any retry logic.
  • Exporters should avoid generating telemetry and causing live-loop, this can be done via OpenTelemetry.SuppressInstrumentationScope.
  • Exporters should use Activity.TagObjects collection instead of Activity.Tags to obtain the full set of attributes (tags). Activity.Tags only returns tags whose value are of type string (source). For improved performance, use Activity.EnumerateTagObjects if planning to enumerate over all TagObjects.
  • Exporters should use ParentProvider.GetResource() to get the Resource associated with the provider.
class MyExporter : BaseExporter<Activity>
{
    public override ExportResult Export(in Batch<Activity> batch)
    {
        using var scope = SuppressInstrumentationScope.Begin();

        foreach (var activity in batch)
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"Export: {activity.DisplayName}");
        }

        return ExportResult.Success;
    }
}

A demo exporter which simply writes activity name to the console is shown here.

Apart from the exporter itself, you should also provide extension methods as shown here. This allows users to add the Exporter to the TracerProvider as shown in the example here. See here for more detailed extension method guidance.

Exporting Activity Status

DiagnosticSource package did not originally have a dedicated field for storing Status, and hence, users were encouraged to follow the convention of storing status using tags "otel.status_code" and "otel.status_description". DiagnosticSource version 6.0.0 added Status and StatusDescription to Activity class. Exporters which support reading status from Activity directly should fall back to retrieving status from the tags described above, to maintain backward compatibility. ConsoleActivityExporter may be used as a reference.

Instrumentation Library

The inspiration of the OpenTelemetry project is to make every library observable out of the box by having them call OpenTelemetry API directly. However, many libraries will not have such integration, and as such there is a need for a separate library which would inject such calls, using mechanisms such as wrapping interfaces, subscribing to library-specific callbacks, or translating existing telemetry into OpenTelemetry model.

A library which enables instrumentation for another library is called Instrumentation Library and the library it instruments is called the Instrumented Library. If a given library has built-in instrumentation with OpenTelemetry, then instrumented library and instrumentation library will be the same.

The OpenTelemetry .NET Github repo ships the following instrumentation libraries. The individual docs for them describes the library they instrument, and steps for enabling them.

More community contributed instrumentations are available in OpenTelemetry .NET Contrib. If you are writing an instrumentation library yourself, use the following guidelines.

Writing a custom instrumentation library

This section describes the steps required to write a custom instrumentation library.

Note

If you are writing a new library or modifying an existing library the recommendation is to use the ActivitySource API/OpenTelemetry API to emit activity/span instances directly. If a library is instrumented using the ActivitySource API then there isn't a need for a separate instrumentation library to exist. Users simply need to configure the OpenTelemetry SDK to listen to the ActivitySource used by the library by calling AddSource on the TracerProviderBuilder being configured. The following section is applicable only if you are writing an instrumentation library for something you cannot modify to emit activity/span instances directly.

Writing an instrumentation library typically involves 3 steps.

  1. The first step involves attaching to the target library. The exact attachment mechanism will depend on the implementation details of the target library itself. For example, System.Data.SqlClient when running on .NET Framework happens to publish events using an EventSource which the SqlClient instrumentation library listens to in order to trigger code as Sql commands are executed. The .NET Framework HttpWebRequest instrumentation patches the runtime code (using reflection) and swaps a static reference that gets invoked as requests are processed for custom code. Every library will be different.

  2. The second step is to emit activity instances using the ActivitySource API on behalf of the target library. Irrespective of the actual mechanism used in first step, this should be uniform across all instrumentation libraries. The ActivitySource must be created using the name and version of the instrumentation library (eg: "OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http") and NOT the instrumented library (eg: "System.Net.Http")

    1. Context Propagation: If your library initiates out of process requests or accepts them, the library needs to inject the PropagationContext to outgoing requests and extract the context and hydrate the Activity/Baggage upon receiving incoming requests. This is only required if you're using your own protocol to communicate over the wire. (i.e. If you're using an already instrumented HttpClient or GrpcClient, this is already provided to you and do not require injecting/extracting PropagationContext explicitly again.)

  3. The third step is an optional step, and involves providing extension methods on TracerProviderBuilder and/or IServiceCollection to enable the instrumentation. For help in choosing see: Registration extension method guidance for library authors. This is optional, and the below guidance should be followed:

    • If the instrumentation library requires state management tied to that of TracerProvider then it should:

      • Implement IDisposable.

      • Provide an extension method which calls AddSource (to enable its ActivitySource) and AddInstrumentation (to enable state management) on the TracerProviderBuilder being configured.

        An example instrumentation using this approach is SqlClient instrumentation.

      [!WARNING] The instrumentation libraries requiring state management are usually hard to auto-instrument. Therefore, they take the risk of not being supported by OpenTelemetry .NET Automatic Instrumentation.

    • If the instrumentation library does not require any state management, then providing an extension method is optional.

      • If an extension is provided it should call AddSource on the TracerProviderBuilder being configured to enable its ActivitySource.

      • If an extension is not provided, then the name of the ActivitySource used by the instrumented library must be documented so that end users can enable it by calling AddSource on the TracerProviderBuilder being configured.

        [!NOTE] Changing the name of the source should be considered a breaking change.

Special case : Instrumentation for libraries producing legacy Activity

There is a special case for libraries which are already instrumented to produce Activity, but using the DiagnosticSource method. These are referred to as "legacy Activity" in this repo. These libraries already create activities but they do so by using the Activity constructor directly, rather than using ActivitySource.StartActivity method. These activities does not by default runs through the sampler, and will have their Kind set to internal and they'll have empty ActivitySource name associated with it.

Some common examples of such libraries include ASP.NET Core. Instrumentation libraries for these are already provided in this repo. The OpenTelemetry .NET Contrib repository also has instrumentations for libraries like ElasticSearchClient and HTTP client .NET Core etc. which fall in this category.

If you are writing instrumentation for such library, it is recommended to refer to one of the above as a reference.

Processor

OpenTelemetry .NET SDK has provided the following built-in processors:

Custom processors can be implemented to cover more scenarios:

  • Processors should inherit from OpenTelemetry.BaseProcessor<Activity> (which belongs to the OpenTelemetry package), and implement the OnStart and OnEnd methods.
  • Processors can optionally implement the OnForceFlush and OnShutdown methods. OnForceFlush should be thread safe.
  • Processors should not throw exceptions from OnStart, OnEnd, OnForceFlush and OnShutdown.
  • OnStart and OnEnd should be thread safe, and should not block or take long time, since they will be called on critical code path.
  • Processors should use Activity.TagObjects collection instead of Activity.Tags to obtain the full set of attributes (tags). Activity.Tags only returns tags whose value are of type string (source). For improved performance, use Activity.EnumerateTagObjects if planning to enumerate over all TagObjects.
class MyProcessor : BaseProcessor<Activity>
{
    public override void OnStart(Activity activity)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"OnStart: {activity.DisplayName}");
    }

    public override void OnEnd(Activity activity)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"OnEnd: {activity.DisplayName}");
    }
}

A demo processor is shown here.

Enriching Processor

A common use case of writing custom processor is to enrich activities with additional tags. An example of such an "EnrichingProcessor" is shown here. Such processors must be added before the exporters.

This processor also shows how to enrich Activity with additional tags from the Baggage.

Many instrumentation libraries shipped from this repo provides a built-in Enrich option, which may also be used to enrich activities. Instrumentation library provided approach may offer additional capabilities such as offering easy access to more context (library specific).

Filtering Processor

Another common use case of writing custom processor is to filter Activities from being exported. Such a "FilteringProcessor" can be written to toggle the Activity.Recorded flag. An example "FilteringProcessor" is shown here.

When using such a filtering processor it should be registered BEFORE the processor containing the exporter which should be bypassed:

using var tracerProvider = Sdk.CreateTracerProviderBuilder()
    .SetSampler(new MySampler())
    .AddSource("OTel.Demo")
    .AddProcessor(new MyFilteringProcessor(activity => true))
    .AddProcessor(new SimpleActivityExportProcessor(new MyExporter("ExporterX")))
    .Build();

Most instrumentation libraries shipped from this repo provides a built-in Filter option to achieve the same effect. In such cases, it is recommended to use that option as it offers higher performance.

Sampler

OpenTelemetry .NET SDK has provided the following built-in samplers:

Custom samplers can be implemented to cover more scenarios:

  • Samplers should inherit from OpenTelemetry.Trace.Sampler (which belongs to the OpenTelemetry package), and implement the ShouldSample method.
  • ShouldSample should be thread safe, and should not block or take long time, since it will be called on critical code path.
class MySampler : Sampler
{
    public override SamplingResult ShouldSample(in SamplingParameters samplingParameters)
    {
        return new SamplingResult(SamplingDecision.RecordAndSampled);
    }
}

A demo sampler is shown here.

Registration extension method guidance for library authors

Note

This information applies to the OpenTelemetry SDK version 1.4.0 and newer only.

Library authors are encouraged to provide extension methods users may call to register custom OpenTelemetry components into their TracerProviders. These extension methods can target either the TracerProviderBuilder or the IServiceCollection classes. Both of these patterns are described below.

Note

Libraries providing SDK plugins such as exporters, resource detectors, and/or samplers should take a dependency on the OpenTelemetry SDK package. Library authors providing instrumentation should take a dependency on OpenTelemetry.Api or OpenTelemetry.Api.ProviderBuilderExtensions package. OpenTelemetry.Api.ProviderBuilderExtensions exposes interfaces for accessing the IServiceCollection which is a requirement for supporting the .NET Options pattern.

When providing registration extensions:

  • DO support the .NET Options pattern and DO support named options. The Options pattern allows users to bind configuration to options classes and provides extension points for working with instances as they are created. Multiple providers may exist in the same application for a single configuration and multiple components (for example exporters) may exist in the same provider. Named options help users target configuration to specific components.

    • Use the Configure extension to register configuration callbacks for a given name.

    • Use the IOptionsMonitor<T>.Get method to access options class instances by name.

  • DO throw exceptions for issues that prevent the component being registered from starting. The OpenTelemetry SDK is allowed to crash if it cannot be started. It MUST NOT crash once running.

Note

The SDK implementation of TracerProviderBuilder ensures that the .NET Configuration engine is always available by creating a root IConfiguration from environment variables if it does not already exist in the IServiceCollection containing the TracerProvider. Library authors can rely on IConfiguration always being present in the final IServiceProvider.

TracerProviderBuilder extension methods

When registering pipeline components (for example samplers, exporters, or resource detectors) it is recommended to use the TracerProviderBuilder as the target type for registration extension methods. These extensions will be highly discoverable for users interacting with the TracerProviderBuilder in their IDE of choice.

The following example shows how to register a custom exporter with named options support using a TracerProviderBuilder extension.

using System.Diagnostics;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.Extensions;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Options;
using MyLibrary;
using OpenTelemetry;
using OpenTelemetry.Metrics;
using OpenTelemetry.Trace;

namespace OpenTelemetry.Trace
{
    public static class MyLibraryTracerProviderBuilderRegistrationExtensions
    {
        public static TracerProviderBuilder AddMyLibraryExporter(
            this TracerProviderBuilder builder,
            string? name = null,
            Action<MyExporterOptions>? configureExporterOptions = null,
            Action<BatchExportActivityProcessorOptions>? configureBatchProcessorOptions = null)
        {
            ArgumentNullException.ThrowIfNull(builder);

            // Support named options.
            name ??= Options.DefaultName;

            builder.ConfigureServices(services =>
            {
                if (configureExporterOptions != null)
                {
                    // Support configuration through Options API.
                    services.Configure(name, configureExporterOptions);
                }

                if (configureBatchProcessorOptions != null)
                {
                    // Support configuration through Options API.
                    services.Configure(name, configureBatchProcessorOptions);
                }

                // Register custom service as a singleton.
                services.TryAddSingleton<MyCustomService>();
            });

            builder.AddProcessor(serviceProvider =>
            {
                // Retrieve MyExporterOptions instance using name.
                var exporterOptions = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<IOptionsMonitor<MyExporterOptions>>().Get(name);

                // Retrieve BatchExportActivityProcessorOptions instance using name.
                var batchOptions = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<IOptionsMonitor<BatchExportActivityProcessorOptions>>().Get(name);

                // Retrieve MyCustomService singleton.
                var myCustomService = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<MyCustomService>();

                // Return a batch export processor using MyCustomExporter.
                return new BatchActivityExportProcessor(
                    new MyCustomExporter(exporterOptions, myCustomService),
                    batchOptions.MaxQueueSize,
                    batchOptions.ScheduledDelayMilliseconds,
                    batchOptions.ExporterTimeoutMilliseconds,
                    batchOptions.MaxExportBatchSize);
            });

            // Return builder for call chaining.
            return builder;
        }
    }
}

namespace MyLibrary
{
    // Options class can be bound to IConfiguration or configured by code.
    public class MyExporterOptions
    {
        public Uri? IngestionUri { get; set; }
    }

    internal sealed class MyCustomExporter : BaseExporter<Activity>
    {
        public MyCustomExporter(
            MyExporterOptions options,
            MyCustomService myCustomService)
        {
            // Implementation not shown.
        }

        public override ExportResult Export(in Batch<Activity> batch)
        {
            // Implementation not shown.

            return ExportResult.Success;
        }
    }

    internal sealed class MyCustomService
    {
        // Implementation not shown.
    }
}

When providing TracerProviderBuilder registration extensions:

  • DO Use the OpenTelemetry.Trace namespace for TracerProviderBuilder registration extensions to help with discoverability.

  • DO Return the TracerProviderBuilder passed in to support call chaining of registration methods.

  • DO Use the TracerProviderBuilder.ConfigureServices extension method to register dependent services.

  • DO Use the dependency injection extension methods utilizing factory patterns to perform configuration once the final IServiceProvider is available.

IServiceCollection extension methods

When registering instrumentation or listening to telemetry in a library providing other features it is recommended to use the IServiceCollection as the target type for registration extension methods.

The following example shows how a library might enable tracing and metric support using an IServiceCollection extension by calling ConfigureOpenTelemetryTracerProvider and ConfigureOpenTelemetryMeterProvider.

using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.Extensions;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Options;
using MyLibrary;
using OpenTelemetry.Metrics;
using OpenTelemetry.Trace;

namespace Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection
{
    public static class MyLibraryServiceCollectionRegistrationExtensions
    {
        public static IServiceCollection AddMyLibrary(
            this IServiceCollection services,
            string? name = null,
            Action<MyLibraryOptions>? configure = null)
        {
            ArgumentNullException.ThrowIfNull(services);

            // Register library services.
            services.TryAddSingleton<IMyLibraryService, MyLibraryService>();

            // Support named options.
            name ??= Options.Options.DefaultName;

            if (configure != null)
            {
                // Support configuration through Options API.
                services.Configure(name, configure);
            }

            // Configure OpenTelemetry tracing.
            services.ConfigureOpenTelemetryTracerProvider((sp, builder) =>
            {
                var options = sp.GetRequiredService<IOptionsMonitor<MyLibraryOptions>>().Get(name);
                if (options.EnableTracing)
                {
                    builder.AddSource("MyLibrary");
                }
            });

            // Configure OpenTelemetry metrics.
            services.ConfigureOpenTelemetryMeterProvider((sp, builder) =>
            {
                var options = sp.GetRequiredService<IOptionsMonitor<MyLibraryOptions>>().Get(name);
                if (options.EnableMetrics)
                {
                    builder.AddMeter("MyLibrary");
                }
            });

            return services;
        }
    }
}

namespace MyLibrary
{
    // Options class can be bound to IConfiguration or configured by code.
    public class MyLibraryOptions
    {
        public bool EnableTracing { get; set; }

        public bool EnableMetrics { get; set; }
    }

    internal sealed class MyLibraryService : IMyLibraryService
    {
        // Implementation not shown.
    }

    public interface IMyLibraryService
    {
        // Implementation not shown.
    }
}

The benefit to using the IServiceCollection style is users only need to call a single AddMyLibrary extension to configure the library itself and optionally turn on OpenTelemetry integration for multiple signals (tracing & metrics in this case).

Note

ConfigureOpenTelemetryTracerProvider and ConfigureOpenTelemetryMeterProvider do not automatically start OpenTelemetry. The host is responsible for either calling AddOpenTelemetry in the OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting package, calling Build when using the Sdk.CreateTracerProviderBuilder and Sdk.CreateMeterProviderBuilder methods, or by accessing the TracerProvider and MeterProvider from the IServiceCollection where configuration was performed.

When providing IServiceCollection registration extensions:

  • DO Use the Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection namespace for IServiceCollection registration extensions to help with discoverability.

  • DO Return the IServiceCollection passed in to support call chaining of registration methods.

  • DO Use the IServiceCollection directly to register dependent services.

  • DO Use the dependency injection extension methods utilizing factory patterns to perform configuration once the final IServiceProvider is available.

References