configuring-opentelemetry-dotnet

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Configuring OpenTelemetry in .NET

在.NET中配置OpenTelemetry

When to Use

适用场景

  • Adding distributed tracing to an ASP.NET Core application
  • Setting up OpenTelemetry exporters (OTLP is the primary protocol; Jaeger accepts OTLP natively; Prometheus OTLP ingestion requires explicit opt-in)
  • Creating custom metrics or trace spans for business operations
  • Troubleshooting distributed trace context propagation across services
  • 为ASP.NET Core应用添加分布式追踪
  • 配置OpenTelemetry导出器(OTLP是核心协议;Jaeger原生支持OTLP;Prometheus OTLP摄入需要显式开启)
  • 为业务操作创建自定义指标或追踪跨度
  • 排查跨服务的分布式追踪上下文传播问题

When Not to Use

不适用场景

  • The user wants application-level logging only (use ILogger, Serilog)
  • The user is using Application Insights SDK directly (different API)
  • The user needs APM with a commercial vendor's proprietary SDK
  • 用户仅需要应用层日志(直接使用ILogger、Serilog即可)
  • 用户直接使用Application Insights SDK(API不同)
  • 用户需要商用厂商专属SDK提供的APM能力

Inputs

所需输入

InputRequiredDescription
ASP.NET Core projectYesThe application to instrument
Observability backendNoWhere to export: OTLP collector, Aspire dashboard, Jaeger (accepts OTLP natively)
输入必填描述
ASP.NET Core 项目待埋点的应用程序
可观测性后端导出目标:OTLP采集器、Aspire仪表盘、Jaeger(原生支持OTLP)

Workflow

操作流程

Step 1: Install the correct packages

步骤1:安装正确的依赖包

There are many OpenTelemetry NuGet packages. Install exactly these:
bash
undefined
OpenTelemetry的NuGet包数量很多,请严格安装以下包:
bash
undefined

Core SDK + ASP.NET Core instrumentation + logging integration

Core SDK + ASP.NET Core instrumentation + logging integration

dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http

Exporter

Exporter

dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol # OTLP exporter for traces, metrics, AND logs
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol # OTLP exporter for traces, metrics, AND logs

Optional — dev/local debugging only (do NOT include in production deployments)

Optional — dev/local debugging only (do NOT include in production deployments)

dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Console

dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Console


**Do NOT install `OpenTelemetry` alone** — you need `OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting` for proper DI integration.

**请勿单独安装`OpenTelemetry`包** —— 你需要安装`OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting`来实现正确的依赖注入集成。

Optional: additional auto-instrumentation packages

可选:额外的自动埋点包

Install only the packages that match the libraries your application uses:
bash
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient           # SQL Server queries
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.EntityFrameworkCore  # EF Core
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.GrpcNetClient       # gRPC calls
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Runtime             # GC, thread pool metrics
仅安装与你的应用使用的类库匹配的包:
bash
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient           # SQL Server queries
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.EntityFrameworkCore  # EF Core
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.GrpcNetClient       # gRPC calls
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Runtime             # GC, thread pool metrics

Step 2: Configure all signals in Program.cs

步骤2:在Program.cs中配置所有信号

csharp
using OpenTelemetry.Resources;
using OpenTelemetry.Trace;
using OpenTelemetry.Metrics;
using OpenTelemetry.Logs;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddOpenTelemetry()
    .ConfigureResource(resource => resource
        .AddService(serviceName: builder.Environment.ApplicationName))
    .WithTracing(tracing => tracing
        .AddAspNetCoreInstrumentation(options =>
        {
            // Filter out health check endpoints from traces
            options.Filter = httpContext =>
                !httpContext.Request.Path.StartsWithSegments("/healthz");
        })
        .AddHttpClientInstrumentation(options =>
        {
            options.RecordException = true;
        })
        // Optional: add SQL instrumentation if using SqlClient directly
        // .AddSqlClientInstrumentation(options =>
        // {
        //     options.SetDbStatementForText = true;
        //     options.RecordException = true;
        // })
        // Custom activity sources (must match ActivitySource names in your code)
        .AddSource("MyApp.Orders")
        .AddSource("MyApp.Payments")
        .AddSource("MyApp.Messaging"))
    .WithMetrics(metrics => metrics
        .AddAspNetCoreInstrumentation()
        .AddHttpClientInstrumentation()
        // Optional: .AddRuntimeInstrumentation() for GC and thread pool metrics
        //   (requires OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Runtime package)
        // Custom meters (must match Meter names in your code)
        .AddMeter("MyApp.Metrics"))
    .WithLogging(logging =>
    {
        logging.IncludeScopes = true;
        // logging.IncludeFormattedMessage = true;  // Enable if you need the formatted message string in log exports
    })
    // Single OTLP exporter for all signals — reads OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT
    // env var (defaults to http://localhost:4317). Override via environment variable
    // or appsettings.json configuration.
    .UseOtlpExporter();
csharp
using OpenTelemetry.Resources;
using OpenTelemetry.Trace;
using OpenTelemetry.Metrics;
using OpenTelemetry.Logs;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddOpenTelemetry()
    .ConfigureResource(resource => resource
        .AddService(serviceName: builder.Environment.ApplicationName))
    .WithTracing(tracing => tracing
        .AddAspNetCoreInstrumentation(options =>
        {
            // Filter out health check endpoints from traces
            options.Filter = httpContext =>
                !httpContext.Request.Path.StartsWithSegments("/healthz");
        })
        .AddHttpClientInstrumentation(options =>
        {
            options.RecordException = true;
        })
        // Optional: add SQL instrumentation if using SqlClient directly
        // .AddSqlClientInstrumentation(options =>
        // {
        //     options.SetDbStatementForText = true;
        //     options.RecordException = true;
        // })
        // Custom activity sources (must match ActivitySource names in your code)
        .AddSource("MyApp.Orders")
        .AddSource("MyApp.Payments")
        .AddSource("MyApp.Messaging"))
    .WithMetrics(metrics => metrics
        .AddAspNetCoreInstrumentation()
        .AddHttpClientInstrumentation()
        // Optional: .AddRuntimeInstrumentation() for GC and thread pool metrics
        //   (requires OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Runtime package)
        // Custom meters (must match Meter names in your code)
        .AddMeter("MyApp.Metrics"))
    .WithLogging(logging =>
    {
        logging.IncludeScopes = true;
        // logging.IncludeFormattedMessage = true;  // Enable if you need the formatted message string in log exports
    })
    // Single OTLP exporter for all signals — reads OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT
    // env var (defaults to http://localhost:4317). Override via environment variable
    // or appsettings.json configuration.
    .UseOtlpExporter();

Step 3: Understanding log–trace correlation

步骤3:理解日志与追踪的关联逻辑

The
.WithLogging()
call in Step 2 integrates ILogger with OpenTelemetry:
  • Each log entry automatically includes TraceId and SpanId for correlation with traces
  • The service resource from
    .ConfigureResource()
    propagates to logs automatically
  • UseOtlpExporter()
    applies to logs alongside traces and metrics
  • No additional packages or separate
    SetResourceBuilder
    call needed
步骤2中的
.WithLogging()
调用将ILogger与OpenTelemetry集成:
  • 每条日志条目会自动包含TraceId和SpanId,用于和追踪关联
  • 来自
    .ConfigureResource()
    的服务资源会自动同步到日志中
  • UseOtlpExporter()
    会同时应用于日志、追踪和指标
  • 不需要额外的包,也不需要单独调用
    SetResourceBuilder

Step 4: Create custom spans (Activities) for business operations

步骤4:为业务操作创建自定义跨度(Activities)

csharp
using System.Diagnostics;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;

public class OrderService
{
    // Create an ActivitySource matching what you registered in Step 2
    private static readonly ActivitySource ActivitySource = new("MyApp.Orders");
    private readonly ILogger<OrderService> _logger;

    public OrderService(ILogger<OrderService> logger) => _logger = logger;

    public async Task<Order> ProcessOrderAsync(CreateOrderRequest request)
    {
        // Start a new span
        using var activity = ActivitySource.StartActivity("ProcessOrder");

        // Add attributes (tags) to the span
        activity?.SetTag("order.customer_id", request.CustomerId);
        activity?.SetTag("order.item_count", request.Items.Count);

        try
        {
            // Child span for validation
            using (var validationActivity = ActivitySource.StartActivity("ValidateOrder"))
            {
                await ValidateOrderAsync(request);
                validationActivity?.SetTag("validation.result", "passed");
            }

            // Child span for payment
            using (var paymentActivity = ActivitySource.StartActivity("ProcessPayment",
                ActivityKind.Client))  // Client = outgoing call
            {
                paymentActivity?.SetTag("payment.method", request.PaymentMethod);
                await ProcessPaymentAsync(request);
            }

            var order = new Order { Id = Guid.NewGuid(), CustomerId = request.CustomerId, Status = "Completed" };

            activity?.SetTag("order.status", "completed");
            activity?.SetStatus(ActivityStatusCode.Ok);

            return order;
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            activity?.SetStatus(ActivityStatusCode.Error, ex.Message);
            // Log via ILogger — OpenTelemetry captures this with trace correlation.
            // Prefer logging over activity.RecordException() as OTel is deprecating
            // span events for exception recording in favor of log-based exceptions.
            _logger.LogError(ex, "Order processing failed for customer {CustomerId}", request.CustomerId);
            throw;
        }
    }
}
Critical:
ActivitySource
name must match
AddSource("...")
in configuration.
Unmatched sources are silently ignored — this is the #1 debugging issue.
csharp
using System.Diagnostics;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;

public class OrderService
{
    // Create an ActivitySource matching what you registered in Step 2
    private static readonly ActivitySource ActivitySource = new("MyApp.Orders");
    private readonly ILogger<OrderService> _logger;

    public OrderService(ILogger<OrderService> logger) => _logger = logger;

    public async Task<Order> ProcessOrderAsync(CreateOrderRequest request)
    {
        // Start a new span
        using var activity = ActivitySource.StartActivity("ProcessOrder");

        // Add attributes (tags) to the span
        activity?.SetTag("order.customer_id", request.CustomerId);
        activity?.SetTag("order.item_count", request.Items.Count);

        try
        {
            // Child span for validation
            using (var validationActivity = ActivitySource.StartActivity("ValidateOrder"))
            {
                await ValidateOrderAsync(request);
                validationActivity?.SetTag("validation.result", "passed");
            }

            // Child span for payment
            using (var paymentActivity = ActivitySource.StartActivity("ProcessPayment",
                ActivityKind.Client))  // Client = outgoing call
            {
                paymentActivity?.SetTag("payment.method", request.PaymentMethod);
                await ProcessPaymentAsync(request);
            }

            var order = new Order { Id = Guid.NewGuid(), CustomerId = request.CustomerId, Status = "Completed" };

            activity?.SetTag("order.status", "completed");
            activity?.SetStatus(ActivityStatusCode.Ok);

            return order;
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            activity?.SetStatus(ActivityStatusCode.Error, ex.Message);
            // Log via ILogger — OpenTelemetry captures this with trace correlation.
            // Prefer logging over activity.RecordException() as OTel is deprecating
            // span events for exception recording in favor of log-based exceptions.
            _logger.LogError(ex, "Order processing failed for customer {CustomerId}", request.CustomerId);
            throw;
        }
    }
}
关键注意点:
ActivitySource
的名称必须与配置中
AddSource("...")
的参数完全一致。
不匹配的来源会被静默忽略——这是最常见的调试问题。

Step 5: Create custom metrics

步骤5:创建自定义指标

Use
IMeterFactory
(injected via DI) to create meters — this ensures proper lifetime management and testability.
csharp
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Diagnostics.Metrics;

public class OrderMetrics
{
    private readonly Counter<long> _ordersProcessed;
    private readonly Histogram<double> _orderProcessingDuration;
    private readonly UpDownCounter<int> _activeOrders;

    public OrderMetrics(IMeterFactory meterFactory)
    {
        // Meter name must match AddMeter("...") in configuration
        var meter = meterFactory.Create("MyApp.Metrics");

        // Counter — use for things that only go up
        _ordersProcessed = meter.CreateCounter<long>(
            "orders.processed", "orders", "Total orders successfully processed");

        // Histogram — use for measuring distributions (latency, sizes)
        _orderProcessingDuration = meter.CreateHistogram<double>(
            "orders.processing_duration", "ms", "Time to process an order");

        // UpDownCounter — use for things that go up AND down
        _activeOrders = meter.CreateUpDownCounter<int>(
            "orders.active", "orders", "Currently processing orders");
    }

    public void RecordOrderProcessed(string region, double durationMs)
    {
        // Tags enable dimensional filtering (by region, status, etc.)
        var tags = new TagList
        {
            { "region", region },
            { "order.type", "standard" }
        };

        _ordersProcessed.Add(1, tags);
        _orderProcessingDuration.Record(durationMs, tags);
    }
}
Register
OrderMetrics
in DI:
csharp
builder.Services.AddSingleton<OrderMetrics>();
使用通过依赖注入获取的
IMeterFactory
来创建Meter——这可以保证正确的生命周期管理和可测试性。
csharp
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Diagnostics.Metrics;

public class OrderMetrics
{
    private readonly Counter<long> _ordersProcessed;
    private readonly Histogram<double> _orderProcessingDuration;
    private readonly UpDownCounter<int> _activeOrders;

    public OrderMetrics(IMeterFactory meterFactory)
    {
        // Meter name must match AddMeter("...") in configuration
        var meter = meterFactory.Create("MyApp.Metrics");

        // Counter — use for things that only go up
        _ordersProcessed = meter.CreateCounter<long>(
            "orders.processed", "orders", "Total orders successfully processed");

        // Histogram — use for measuring distributions (latency, sizes)
        _orderProcessingDuration = meter.CreateHistogram<double>(
            "orders.processing_duration", "ms", "Time to process an order");

        // UpDownCounter — use for things that go up AND down
        _activeOrders = meter.CreateUpDownCounter<int>(
            "orders.active", "orders", "Currently processing orders");
    }

    public void RecordOrderProcessed(string region, double durationMs)
    {
        // Tags enable dimensional filtering (by region, status, etc.)
        var tags = new TagList
        {
            { "region", region },
            { "order.type", "standard" }
        };

        _ordersProcessed.Add(1, tags);
        _orderProcessingDuration.Record(durationMs, tags);
    }
}
OrderMetrics
注册到依赖注入容器:
csharp
builder.Services.AddSingleton<OrderMetrics>();

Step 6: Configure context propagation for distributed scenarios

步骤6:为分布式场景配置上下文传播

Trace context propagation is automatic for HTTP calls when using
AddHttpClientInstrumentation()
. For non-HTTP scenarios:
csharp
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using OpenTelemetry.Context.Propagation;

// ActivitySource should be static — register via .AddSource("MyApp.Messaging") in Step 2
private static readonly ActivitySource MessageSource = new("MyApp.Messaging");

// Manual context propagation (e.g., across message queues)
// On the SENDING side:
var propagator = Propagators.DefaultTextMapPropagator;
var activityContext = Activity.Current?.Context ?? default;
var context = new PropagationContext(activityContext, Baggage.Current);
var carrier = new Dictionary<string, string>();

propagator.Inject(context, carrier, (dict, key, value) => dict[key] = value);
// Send carrier dictionary as message headers

// On the RECEIVING side:
var parentContext = propagator.Extract(default, carrier,
    (dict, key) => dict.TryGetValue(key, out var value) ? new[] { value } : Array.Empty<string>());

Baggage.Current = parentContext.Baggage;
using var activity = MessageSource.StartActivity("ProcessMessage",
    ActivityKind.Consumer,
    parentContext.ActivityContext);  // Links to parent trace!
当使用
AddHttpClientInstrumentation()
时,HTTP调用的追踪上下文传播是自动完成的。对于非HTTP场景:
csharp
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using OpenTelemetry.Context.Propagation;

// ActivitySource should be static — register via .AddSource("MyApp.Messaging") in Step 2
private static readonly ActivitySource MessageSource = new("MyApp.Messaging");

// Manual context propagation (e.g., across message queues)
// On the SENDING side:
var propagator = Propagators.DefaultTextMapPropagator;
var activityContext = Activity.Current?.Context ?? default;
var context = new PropagationContext(activityContext, Baggage.Current);
var carrier = new Dictionary<string, string>();

propagator.Inject(context, carrier, (dict, key, value) => dict[key] = value);
// Send carrier dictionary as message headers

// On the RECEIVING side:
var parentContext = propagator.Extract(default, carrier,
    (dict, key) => dict.TryGetValue(key, out var value) ? new[] { value } : Array.Empty<string>());

Baggage.Current = parentContext.Baggage;
using var activity = MessageSource.StartActivity("ProcessMessage",
    ActivityKind.Consumer,
    parentContext.ActivityContext);  // Links to parent trace!

Validation

验证项

  • Traces appear in the observability backend (Jaeger, Aspire dashboard, etc.)
  • HTTP requests automatically create spans with correct verb, URL, status code
  • Custom
    ActivitySource
    names match
    AddSource()
    registrations
  • Custom
    Meter
    names match
    AddMeter()
    registrations
  • Logs include TraceId and SpanId for correlation
  • Health check endpoints are filtered from traces
  • Exception details appear on error spans
  • 追踪数据出现在可观测性后端(Jaeger、Aspire仪表盘等)
  • HTTP请求会自动创建包含正确请求方法、URL、状态码的跨度
  • 自定义
    ActivitySource
    名称与
    AddSource()
    注册的名称匹配
  • 自定义
    Meter
    名称与
    AddMeter()
    注册的名称匹配
  • 日志包含TraceId和SpanId用于关联
  • 健康检查端点已从追踪中过滤
  • 错误跨度上显示异常详情

Common Pitfalls

常见问题

PitfallSolution
ActivitySource.StartActivity
returns null
Source name doesn't match any
AddSource()
— names must match exactly
Traces not appearing in exporterCheck OTLP endpoint: gRPC uses port 4317, HTTP uses 4318
Missing HTTP client spansEnsure
AddHttpClientInstrumentation()
is registered; it works for both
IHttpClientFactory
/DI and
new HttpClient()
(use
IHttpClientFactory
for lifetime management)
High cardinality tagsDon't use user IDs, request IDs, or UUIDs as metric tags — explodes storage
OTLP gRPC vs HTTP mismatchDefault is gRPC (port 4317); if collector only accepts HTTP, set
OtlpExportProtocol.HttpProtobuf
Meter
/
ActivitySource
lifecycle
ActivitySource
should be static; create
Meter
via
IMeterFactory
from DI (not
new Meter()
) for proper lifetime management and testability
问题解决方案
ActivitySource.StartActivity
返回null
来源名称与任意
AddSource()
的参数不匹配 —— 名称必须完全一致
追踪数据没有出现在导出目标中检查OTLP端点:gRPC使用4317端口,HTTP使用4318端口
缺少HTTP客户端跨度确保已经注册
AddHttpClientInstrumentation()
;它对
IHttpClientFactory
/依赖注入和
new HttpClient()
两种方式都生效(推荐使用
IHttpClientFactory
进行生命周期管理)
高基数标签不要将用户ID、请求ID或者UUID作为指标标签 —— 会导致存储量激增
OTLP gRPC与HTTP协议不匹配默认使用gRPC(4317端口);如果采集器仅接受HTTP,请设置
OtlpExportProtocol.HttpProtobuf
Meter
/
ActivitySource
生命周期问题
ActivitySource
应该设为静态;通过依赖注入提供的
IMeterFactory
创建
Meter
(不要直接
new Meter()
),以实现正确的生命周期管理和可测试性