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Instrumentation

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Instrumentation is the process of adding code to your application to generate telemetry data—traces, metrics, and logs. This data provides visibility into how your application behaves in production.

How Instrumentation Works

graph LR
    A[Your Application] -->|SDK| B[Telemetry Generation]
    B -->|Exporter| C[IAPM Collector]
    C --> D[IAPM Platform]

When you instrument an application:

  1. Add the SDK - Include the instrumentation library in your application
  2. Configure exporters - Tell the SDK where to send telemetry data
  3. Deploy - Run your instrumented application
  4. Observe - View telemetry data in IAPM

Instrumentation Types

Automatic Instrumentation

Many frameworks and libraries can be instrumented automatically without code changes:

What's Captured Examples
HTTP requests Incoming/outgoing API calls
Database queries SQL, MongoDB, Redis operations
Message queues RabbitMQ, Kafka producers/consumers
Framework events ASP.NET, Express.js, Spring Boot

Benefits:

  • No code changes required
  • Quick to implement
  • Captures common operations automatically

Manual Instrumentation

Add custom instrumentation for business-specific operations:

// Example: Custom span for business logic
using var span = tracer.StartActiveSpan("ProcessOrder");
span.SetAttribute("order.id", orderId);
span.SetAttribute("order.total", orderTotal);
// ... your business logic

Benefits:

  • Capture business-specific context
  • Add custom attributes and events
  • Instrument proprietary code

OpenTelemetry Integration

IAPM uses OpenTelemetry as its instrumentation standard. OpenTelemetry provides:

  • Vendor-neutral APIs - No lock-in to specific platforms
  • Broad language support - .NET, Java, Python, Node.js, Go, and more
  • Rich ecosystem - Automatic instrumentation for popular frameworks
  • Active community - Continuous improvements and updates

Getting Started

  1. Choose your language - Find the OpenTelemetry SDK for your platform
  2. Add dependencies - Include the SDK and auto-instrumentation packages
  3. Configure the exporter - Point telemetry to your IAPM endpoint
  4. Verify data flow - Confirm telemetry appears in IAPM

For detailed setup instructions, see the OpenTelemetry documentation.

Next Steps

  • Learn about Collection - How telemetry data is gathered and transmitted
  • Understand Correlation - How related telemetry is connected
  • Explore OpenTelemetry - Deep dive into the framework