Configure connections to OpenTelemetry compatible platforms

The Grepr OpenTelemetry integration enables you to ingest logs into Grepr from a collector that supports the OpenTelemetry Protocol over HTTP, or OTLP/HTTP, process them with a Grepr pipeline, and then send the processed logs to any observability vendor that accepts OTLP/HTTP requests.

To send logs to a Grepr pipeline before forwarding the logs to an OTLP/HTTP endpoint, change your collector configuration to send the logs to a Grepr endpoint URL instead of your vendor’s OTLP/HTTP endpoint. The Grepr OpenTelemetry integration works with any collector that supports OTLP/HTTP, such as the OpenTelemetry Collector and Fluent Bit.

The Grepr endpoint URL requires a Grepr-generated token for authentication. When you create an OpenTelemetry integration, Grepr automatically generates this token. In the UI, the token is displayed in a dialog after you create the integration. You must copy this token and include it in your collector configuration. When you use the REST API to create the integration, the token is returned in the response.

You can use the Grepr UI or REST API to add an OpenTelemetry integration. To learn how to create an OpenTelemetry integration in the Grepr UI and configure collectors to send logs to Grepr, see Use an OpenTelemetry integration in a Grepr pipeline. To learn how to configure OpenTelemetry-compatible vendor integrations, see Use an OTLP/HTTP compatible vendor integration in a Grepr pipeline.

To use the REST API, see the OpenTelemetry Integration specification.

Requirements

Creating and configuring an OpenTelemetry integration requires the URL for the HTTP/HTTPS endpoint where your observability vendor accepts OpenTelemetry data.

Use an OpenTelemetry integration in a Grepr pipeline

Use the following steps to create an OpenTelemetry integration in the Grepr UI and use the integration as a source and sink in a pipeline.

Step 1: Create an OpenTelemetry integration

To create an OpenTelemetry integration in the Grepr UI:

1. Go to the Integrations page in the Grepr UI and click Add new next to Observability Vendors.

   

2. In the Add Observability Vendor dialog:

   • In the Type menu, select Open Telemetry.
   • In the Name field, enter a name for the integration.
   • In the Endpoint field, enter the URL for the HTTP/HTTPS endpoint.
   • Optional: To add any required headers, for example authentication headers such as Authorization: Bearer <token> or X-API-Key: <api-key>:
     • In the HTTP Headers section, click Add Header to open the Add New Header card.
     • To use a fixed value for the header, in the Source menu, select Static Value and enter the Header Name and Header Value.
     • To set the header value using an attribute from processed log events, in the Source menu, select From Attribute, enter the Header Name and Attribute Path.
     • To store the value securely and mask it in the UI, click the lock icon. Use this option for all sensitive values, such as API keys or tokens.
     • Click Save.

3. Click Create.

4. After clicking Create, the Grepr Token dialog appears with a Grepr-generated token. Click the Copy to Clipboard icon to copy the token. This token is required when you configure your collector to send logs to Grepr.

5. Click Confirm to close the dialog.

   Optional: Grant team access to the integration

   When you have teams in your Grepr organization, you can grant access to the integration to one or more of those teams. To configure team access when you create or edit an integration:

   1. In the Grant Team Access section, click the plus sign icon (+).

   2. Select the team or teams that should be granted access to the integration.

   3. Click Create.

      

   To learn more, see Manage teams in the Grepr platform and Permissions in the Grepr platform.

When you select From Attribute to set a header value, Grepr groups log events that share the same attribute value into the same outbound request, sets the header to that value, and forwards the events to your vendor’s endpoint. Events with different values for the attribute are sent in separate requests with the corresponding header values. Use this option when downstream routing or tenancy depends on a per-log value, such as a Kubernetes namespace or a tenant identifier.

If a log event does not have the configured attribute, or the attribute value fails Grepr’s validation, for example, because it contains control characters or exceeds the maximum length, Grepr delivers the event but omits the header from the request.

You can add both static and attribute-sourced headers to the same integration. Grepr merges them on each outbound request.

Step 2: Add a source to your pipeline

To add a source to your pipeline that uses the OpenTelemetry integration:

1. In the Grepr UI, go to the overview page for an existing pipeline or create a new pipeline from the homepage.
2. In the left-hand navigation menu on the pipeline overview page, click Sources.
3. In the Add source dialog, select the OpenTelemetry integration in the Source menu.
4. Click Submit.

Step 3: Configure log forwarding to Grepr

To send data to Grepr, you configure your collector or agent to send it to the ingestion URL for your Grepr integration, rather than to your observability vendor’s platform. To find the ingestion URL when using the Grepr UI to configure your pipeline, go to the details page for the pipeline, click Sources in the left pane, and copy the Ingest URL.

When you use the API, you can construct the ingestion URL using the following format:

Replace <integration-id> with the identifier of the vendor integration used by your pipeline and replace <org-id> with the identifier for your organization.

Although all sources created from the same integration share the same ingestion URL, you can use a single integration to create sources for multiple pipelines. The Grepr platform ensures events are routed to the correct pipelines.

Replace <grepr-token> with the token generated when you created the OpenTelemetry integration in Step 1.

To see configuration examples for sending logs to Grepr, select the tab for your preferred log collector:

exporters:
  otlphttp:
    endpoint: <ingestion-url>
 
service:
  pipelines:
    logs:
      receivers: [otlp]
      processors: [batch]
      exporters: [otlphttp]

exporters:
  otlphttp/grepr:
    endpoint: <ingestion-url>
 
  otlphttp/vendor:
    endpoint: <vendor-otlp-endpoint>
    headers:
      authorization: "Bearer <vendor-token>"
 
service:
  pipelines:
    logs:
      receivers: [otlp]
      processors: [batch]
      exporters: [otlphttp/grepr, otlphttp/vendor]

[OUTPUT]
  name                 opentelemetry
  match                *
  host                 <integration-id>-<organization-id>.ingest.grepr.ai
  port                 443
  logs_uri             /otlp/<grepr-token>/v1/logs
  tls                  On
  tls.verify           On

Use an OTLP/HTTP compatible vendor integration in a Grepr pipeline

The following tabs show the integration configurations required to connect Grepr to an observability vendor’s OTLP/HTTP endpoint. To connect to a vendor not listed here:

1. In your vendor’s documentation, find their OTLP/HTTP endpoint URL and any required authentication headers.
2. Create an OpenTelemetry integration in Grepr using your vendor’s endpoint URL and headers. For instructions, see Step 1: Create an OpenTelemetry integration.
3. Configure your collector to send logs to Grepr. For instructions, see Step 3: Configure log forwarding to Grepr.

Security considerations

Grepr validates all headers you configure on an OpenTelemetry integration for potential security issues, including CRLF injection, control characters, and other attacks. Otherwise, when configuring OpenTelemetry integrations:

• Always use secret headers for sensitive information like API keys, tokens, or passwords.
• Ensure endpoint URLs use HTTPS for secure data transmission.
• Avoid using reserved headers. Some HTTP headers are reserved and cannot be set for security reasons.