netdata · vkalintiris · Oct 6, 2025 · Sep 24, 2025
@@ -110,6 +110,7 @@ https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/src/collectors/README.md,Collecti
 https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/src/collectors/REFERENCE.md,Collectors configuration,Published,Collecting Metrics,
 https://github.com/netdata/agent-service-discovery/edit/master/README.md,Service discovery,Published,Collecting Metrics,
 https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/src/collectors/statsd.plugin/README.md,StatsD,Published,Collecting Metrics,
+https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/src/crates/jf/otel-plugin/README.md,OpenTelemetry Metrics,Published,Collecting Metrics/OpenTelemetry,"Ingesting, storing and visualizing OpenTelemetry metrics",
 https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/docs/observability-centralization-points/metrics-centralization-points/README.md,Metrics Centralization Points,Published,Netdata Parents/Metrics Centralization Points,
 https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/docs/observability-centralization-points/metrics-centralization-points/configuration.md,Configuring Metrics Centralization Points,Published,Netdata Parents/Metrics Centralization Points,
 https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/docs/observability-centralization-points/metrics-centralization-points/sizing-netdata-parents.md,Sizing Netdata Parents,Published,Netdata Parents/Metrics Centralization Points,

@@ -19,9 +19,20 @@ use std::backtrace::Backtrace;
 
 use crate::value_guard::ValueGuard;
 
+fn read_host_file(filename: &str) -> Result<String> {
+    match std::fs::read_to_string(filename) {
+        Ok(contents) => Ok(contents),
+        Err(e) if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound => {
+            let filename = format!("/host/{}", filename);
+            Ok(std::fs::read_to_string(filename)?)
+        }
+        Err(e) => Err(e.into()),
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
 pub fn load_machine_id() -> Result<[u8; 16]> {
-    let content = std::fs::read_to_string("/etc/machine-id")?;
+    let content = read_host_file("/etc/machine-id")?;
     let decoded = hex::decode(content.trim()).map_err(|_| JournalError::UuidSerde)?;
     let bytes: [u8; 16] = decoded.try_into().map_err(|_| JournalError::UuidSerde)?;
     Ok(bytes)

@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+# OpenTelemetry Metrics (otel.plugin)
+
+`otel.plugin` is a [Netdata](https://github.com/netdata/netdata) external plugin,
+enabling users to ingest, store and visualize OpenTelemetry metrics in charts.
+
+## Configuration
+
+Edit the [otel.yml](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/src/crates/jf/otel-plugin/configs/otel.yml)
+configuration file using `edit-config` from the Netdata
+[config directory](/docs/netdata-agent/configuration/README.md#the-netdata-config-directory),
+which is typically located under `/etc/netdata`.
+
+```bash
+cd /etc/netdata # Replace this path with your Netdata config directory
+sudo ./edit-config otel.yml
+```
+
+### gRPC Endpoint
+
+By default `otel.plugin` listens for incoming OTLP-formatted metrics on
+`localhost:4317` via gRPC. Users can set up a secure TLS connection by
+updating the TLS configuration in the `endpoint` section:
+
+```yaml
+endpoint:
+  # gRPC endpoint to listen on for OpenTelemetry data
+  path: "127.0.0.1:4317"
+
+  # Path to TLS certificate file (enables TLS when provided)
+  tls_cert_path: null
+
+  # Path to TLS private key file (required when TLS certificate is provided)
+  tls_key_path: null
+
+  # Path to TLS CA certificate file for client authentication (optional)
+  tls_ca_cert_path: null
+```
+
+### Metrics
+
+The `metrics` section allows users to specify the directory containing
+configuration files for mapping OpenTelemetry metrics to Netdata chart
+instances, and the number of metric samples the `otel.plugin` will use for
+detecting their collection interval:
+
+```yaml
+metrics:
+  # Directory with configuration files for mapping OTEL metrics to Netdata charts
+  # (relative paths are resolved based on Netdata's user configuration directory)
+  chart_configs_dir: otel.d/v1/metrics/
+
+  # Number of samples to buffer for collection interval detection
+  buffer_samples: 10
+```
+
+## Mapping OpenTelemetry metrics to Netdata chart instances
+
+Without an explicit mapping, the `otel.plugin` defaults to creating distinct
+chart instances based on the attributes of each data point in a metric. Users
+can place their YAML chart configuration files under `otel.d/v1/metrics` to
+override, or fine-tune, the default mapping.
+
+For each instrumentation scope and metric name, the configuration defines
+the attributes that the `otel.plugin` will use when creating new chart
+instances and dimension names.
+
+For example, the following bit from the
+[otel.d/v1/metrics/hostmetrics.yml](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/src/crates/jf/otel-plugin/configs/otel.d/v1/metrics/hostmetrics-receiver.yml)
+ configuration file for the [hostmetrics](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/blob/main/receiver/hostmetricsreceiver/internal/scraper/networkscraper/documentation.md) receiver:
+```yaml
+select:
+  instrumentation_scope_name: hostmetricsreceiver.*networkscraper
+  metric_name: system.network.connections
+extract:
+    chart_instance_pattern: metric.attributes.protocol
+    dimension_name: metric.attributes.state
+```
+will apply to metrics whose instrumentation scope and metric names match the
+corresponding regular expressions specified in the values of the
+`instrumentation_scope_name` and `metric_name` keys. Similarly, the values of
+the `protocol` and `state` attributes of each data point in the matched metric
+will be used to create a new chart instance with the proper dimension names.
@@ -148,8 +148,8 @@ impl NetdataChart {
         let name = "";
         let title = &self.metric_description;
         let units = &self.metric_unit;
-        let family = &self.metric_name;
         let context = format!("otel.{}", &self.metric_name);
+        let family = context.clone();
         let chart_type = if self.is_histogram() {
             "heatmap"
         } else {