OpenTelemetry Transformation to non-OTLP Formats
Status: Stable
All OpenTelemetry concepts and data recorded using OpenTelemetry API can be directly and precisely represented using corresponding messages and fields of OTLP format. However, for other formats this is not always the case. Sometimes a format will not have a native way to represent a particular OpenTelemetry concept or a field of a concept.
This document defines the transformation between OpenTelemetry and formats other than OTLP, for OpenTelemetry fields and concepts that have no direct semantic equivalent in those other formats.
Note: when a format has a direct semantic equivalent for a particular field or concept then the recommendation in this document MUST be ignored.
See also additional specific transformation rules for Jaeger and Zipkin. The specific rules for Jaeger and Zipkin take precedence over the generic rules defined in this document.
Mappings
InstrumentationScope
OpenTelemetry InstrumentationScope’s fields MUST be reported as key-value
pairs associated with the Span, Metric Data Point or LogRecord using the following mapping:
| OpenTelemetry InstrumentationScope Field | non-OTLP Key | Notes |
|---|---|---|
InstrumentationScope.name | otel.scope.name | since 1.10.0 |
InstrumentationScope.version | otel.scope.version | since 1.10.0 |
The following deprecated aliases MUST also be reported with exact same values for backward compatibility reasons:
| non-OTLP Key | Alias for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
otel.library.name | otel.scope.name | deprecated since 1.10.0 |
otel.library.version | otel.scope.version | deprecated since 1.10.0 |
Span Status
Span Status MUST be reported as key-value pairs associated with the Span,
unless the Status is UNSET. In the latter case it MUST NOT be reported.
The following table defines the OpenTelemetry Status’s mapping to Span’s
key-value pairs:
| OpenTelemetry Status Field | non-OTLP Key | non-OTLP Value |
|---|---|---|
| Code | otel.status_code | Name of the code, either OK or ERROR. MUST NOT be set if the code is UNSET. |
| Description | otel.status_description | Description of the Status if it has a value otherwise not set. |
Dropped Attributes Count
OpenTelemetry dropped attributes count MUST be reported as a key-value
pair associated with the corresponding data entity (e.g. Span, Span Link, Span Event,
Metric data point, LogRecord, etc). The key name MUST be otel.dropped_attributes_count.
This key-value pair should only be recorded when it contains a non-zero value.
Dropped Events Count
OpenTelemetry Span’s dropped events count MUST be reported as a key-value pair
associated with the Span. The key name MUST be otel.dropped_events_count.
This key-value pair should only be recorded when it contains a non-zero value.
Dropped Links Count
OpenTelemetry Span’s dropped links count MUST be reported as a key-value pair
associated with the Span. The key name MUST be otel.dropped_links_count.
This key-value pair should only be recorded when it contains a non-zero value.
Instrumentation Scope Attributes
Exporters to formats that don’t have a concept that is equivalent to the Scope SHOULD record the attributes at the most suitable place in their corresponding format, typically at the Span, Metric or LogRecord equivalent.