This page describes how to install and configure the Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector to monitor non-Kubernetes® Windows hosts, such as Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud, Azure Virtual Machines, and bare-metal Linux machines.

To configure the Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector to monitor Kubernetes Windows hosts, see Cisco AppDynamics Collectors Settings.

  • This page is intended for users who want to use and configure the Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector independently of Host Monitoring. 
  • The Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector is intended to be used with OTLP metric and trace sources, such as Cisco Cloud Observability Collectors and OpenTelemetry™ Tracers.

Before You Begin

Before installing the Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector, ensure that you meet the following requirements:

  • You have access to the following ports:
    • 4317 (to receive OTLP data over gRPC)
    • 4318 (to receive OTLP data over HTTP)
    • 13133 (Health Check extension)

    • 55679 (zPages extension)

    • 9100 (Prometheus Node Exporter)
  • You have allowlisted the package management URL and the Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector endpoint.

Configuration Options

The following environment variables can be provided during the installation process:

VariableRequiredDescription
APPD_OTELCOL_CLIENT_IDYes

Defines the client ID for authenticating with Cisco Cloud Observability.

APPD_OTELCOL_CLIENT_SECRETYes

Defines the secret string in plaintext for authenticating with Cisco Cloud Observability.

APPD_OTELCOL_TOKEN_URLYes

Defines the URL the collector retrieves OAuth2 tokens from.

APPD_OTELCOL_ENDPOINT_URLYesDefines the endpoint the collector sends data to.
APPD_OTELCOL_EXTRA_CONFIGNo

Defines the location of an overwritten configuration file. The value of APPD_OTELCOL_EXTRA_CONFIG must be --config=provider:, where provider can be file, http, or yaml. See https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector/blob/main/confmap/README.md.

This variable is used to support multiple configuration files. If you have an additional configuration file that must be used, APPD_OTELCOL_EXTRA_CONFIG can be used to extend and override the collector's configuration. You can specify a value for APPD_OTELCOL_EXTRA_CONFIG to define the location of an additional configuration file, whose content will be merged to the default configuration file. The content from the additional configuration file will take higher precedence. If the same configuration exists in the default file, it will be overwritten by the configuration in the additional file.

The overwritten configuration file must be located in the /opt/appdynamics folder to be accessed by Cisco Cloud Observability users. If the file is not in the /opt/appdynamics folder, you must grant access permissions for Cisco Cloud Observability users.

(Optional) Proxy Configuration Options

To set up a HTTP- or HTTPS-based proxy, configure the respective environment variable for the service:

VariableDescription
HTTP_PROXYIf you are using a HTTP-based proxy, set this environment variable to the URL of the proxy. Example: HTTP_PROXY="http://myproxy/".
HTTPS_PROXYIf you are using a HTTPS-based proxy, set this environment variable to the URL of the proxy. Example: HTTPS_PROXY="https://myproxy/".

Example Configuration File

APPD_OTELCOL_CLIENT_ID=81e_ddb3e1b3b4a63905ab14f6effb3
APPD_OTELCOL_CLIENT_SECRET=f95675b5dc248ac_a_e9344_bca04efbe7743
APPD_OTELCOL_TOKEN_URL=https://env.test.saas.appd-test.com/auth/123/default/oauth2.token
APPD_OTELCOL_ENDPOINT_URL=https://env.test.saas.appd-test.com/data
APPD_OTELCOL_EXTRA_CONFIG=--config=file:/opt/appdynamics/extra.yaml
CODE

Deploy the Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector in Amazon EC2 (Windows)

These are the high-level steps:

  1. Install the Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector
  2. Update the configuration file

1. Install the Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector

On the Cisco Cloud Observability UI, navigate to Configure > Databases and Hosts. Follow the instructions on the page to install the Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector.

The appdotelcol.msi installs a Windows service named AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector. The configuration file for this service is located in C:\Program Files\AppDynamics\AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector\otel-config.yaml.

2. Update the Configuration File

To update the configuration of a service:

  1. Update the configuration files mentioned in Install the Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector.

  2. Restart the service using the following command: 

    net stop appdotelcol /yes 
net start appdinfracol /yes
    BASH

    Stopping the Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector service also stops the Cisco AppDynamics Infrastructure Collector service. When you restart the Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector, you must also restart the Cisco AppDynamics Infrastructure Collector.

OpenTelemetry™ Data Transport

The Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector Windows service facilitates the transport of OpenTelemetry™-formatted traces and metrics to Cisco Cloud Observability through the following endpoints:

  • 0.0.0.0:4317 — To receive the OpenTelemetry™ data over gRPC
  • http://0.0.0.0:4318 — To receive OpenTelemetry™ data over HTTP

View Diagnostics

Check Status

To check the status of a service, run the following command: 

C:\> sc query appdotelcol
BASH

Health Check Extension

The Health Check extension is packaged and enabled by default. It provides an HTTP endpoint (0.0.0.0:13133) that can be probed to check the health status.

zPages Extension

The zPages extension is enabled by default. It provides an HTTP endpoint that provides live data for debugging different components that are properly instrumented for debugging. This extension enables users to view in-process diagnostics and removes dependencies on backend to examine traces or metrics. See https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector/blob/main/extension/zpagesextension/README.md#zpages.

Next Steps

Once the Cisco AppDynamics Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector is deployed, it receives data from various data sources and forwards the data with annotations, performance optimizations, and authentications to the Cisco Cloud Observability backend. It then populates the Observe page with entity-centric pages (ECPs). You can now monitor the health and performance of your Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud.

This document contains references to third-party documentation. Splunk AppDynamics does not own any rights and assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such third-party documentation.

OpenTelemetry™ and Kubernetes® (as applicable) are trademarks of The Linux Foundation®.