Install OpenTelemetry on an EC2 Instance

This tutorial demonstrates how to set up an EC2 instance with OpenTelemetry Collector.

Setup

Installation

STEP 1. Create an EC2 instance.

STEP 2. Download and install OpenTelemetry. On this page, select the package for your OS. Before downloading it, edit the name of the package to include otelcol-contrib instead of otelcol.

For example, replace

wget https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-releases/releases/download/v0.86.0/otelcol_0.86.0_linux_amd64.deb

with

wget https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-releases/releases/download/v0.86.0/otelcol-contrib_0.86.0_linux_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i otelcol-contrib_0.86.0_linux_amd64.deb

Configuration

Edit /etc/otelcol-contrib/config.yaml using this example configuration:

receivers:
  filelog:
    start_at: beginning
    include:
      - /example.log
    include_file_path: true
    # Specify multiline pattern only if there are multiline logs like stack errors.
    # Usually log entries are in single line and this setting can be omit.
    # multiline: {line_start_pattern: "\\\\n"}
  hostmetrics:
      collection_interval: 30s
      scrapers:
        cpu:
        memory:
processors:
  batch:
    send_batch_size: 1024
    send_batch_max_size: 2048
    timeout: "1s"
  resourcedetection:
    detectors: [env, ec2, system]
exporters:
  coralogix:
    domain: "Domain"
    private_key: "Private key"
    application_name: "Application Name"
    subsystem_name: "Subsystem Name"
    timeout: 30s

service:
  pipelines:
    logs:
      receivers: [ filelog ]
      processors: [resourcedetection, batch]
      exporters: [ coralogix ]
    metrics:
      receivers: [ hostmetrics ]
      processors: [resourcedetection, batch]
      exporters: [ coralogix ]

Notes:

Coralogix recommends the default otel-integration chart settings for batch processors in all collectors. Learn more here.
Learn more about receivers and exporters, the filelog receiver, and the hostmetrics receiver.

Collect EC2 Tags [Optional]

To add EC2 tags, add a role to your instance.

Create a New Policy

STEP 1. Navigate to IAM > Policies. Click Create policy.

STEP 2. Select the following options.

STEP 3. Enter a policy name. Click Save.

Create a New Role

STEP 1. Navigate to IAM > Roles. Click Create role.

STEP 2. Select the following options.

STEP 3. Click Next.

STEP 4. Click on the checkbox next to the rule you just created.

STEP 5. Enter a rule name. Click Create rule.

Add IAM Role to Your Instance

STEP 1. Open your instance from the EC2 instance screen.

STEP 2. Add the IAM role to the empty IAM.

STEP 3. Select the IAM role. Click Update IAM role.

STEP 4. Allow tags in the metadata instance.

STEP 5. Update the resourcedetection processor at the processors.

resourcedetection:
    # ecs & docker detectors not required when using ecslogresourcedetection for logs
    detectors: [env, ec2, system]
    ec2:
      tags:
        - ^TagName$
    timeout: 2s
    override: false

Notes:

It is mandatory to specify the tags parameter, as it is not added by default.
Set any Regex to limit the number of tags or use ^.*$ to get all tags.

Validation

Start Otel to validate your setup, using this example from Ubuntu Linux.

/usr/bin/otelcol-contrib --config=file:/etc/otelcol-contrib/config.yaml

Support

Need help?

Our world-class customer success team is available 24/7 to walk you through your setup and answer any questions that may come up.

Feel free to contact us via our in-app chat or by emailing [email protected].

Windows Event Logs & OpenTelemetry

Next OpenTelemetry using Docker