Using the OpenTelemetry Datadog Receiver

SigNoz released a guide on using the OpenTelemetry Datadog Receiver to receive metrics from Datadog Agents without modifying applications, enabling gradual migration to OpenTelemetry. The receiver acts as a bridge solution, with recommendations to eventually adopt native OpenTelemetry instrumentation for better integration.

Overview The OpenTelemetry Datadog Receiver allows you to receive metrics from Datadog Agents without modifying your applications. It's especially handy when exploring Datadog alternatives https://signoz.io/blog/datadog-alternatives/ without reinstrumenting your apps. This is useful for: Gradual migration : Continue using Datadog Agent while migrating to OpenTelemetry DogStatsD metrics : Receive custom DogStatsD metrics without changing application code This approach is a bridge solution. For long-term use, we recommend migrating to native OpenTelemetry instrumentation for better integration and standardization. Prerequisites Before you begin, ensure you have: OpenTelemetry Collector https://signoz.io/docs/opentelemetry-collection-agents/get-started/ installed and running Datadog Agent installed if forwarding from existing agents - Access to modify configuration files and environment variables - Network connectivity between Datadog Agent and OpenTelemetry Collector Step 1: Configure the Datadog Receiver Add the Datadog receiver to your OpenTelemetry Collector configuration to accept Datadog Agent traffic. Add to your otel-collector-config.yaml: receivers: datadog: endpoint: 0.0.0.0:8125 read timeout: 60s This configures the receiver to: - Listen on all interfaces 0.0.0.0 on port 8125 default Datadog DogStatsD port - Wait up to 60 seconds for data before timing out Step 2: Configure the Exporter You can skip this step if you followed the steps in OpenTelemetry Collector Installation https://signoz.io/docs/opentelemetry-collection-agents/get-started/ installation to configure the OpenTelemetry Collector. Set up the OTLP exporter to send data to SigNoz: exporters: otlp: endpoint: ingest.<region .signoz.cloud:443 headers: signoz-ingestion-key: <your-ingestion-key tls: insecure: false Replace: <region : Your SigNoz Cloud region https://signoz.io/docs/ingestion/signoz-cloud/overview/ endpoint <your-ingestion-key : Your SigNoz ingestion key https://signoz.io/docs/ingestion/signoz-cloud/keys/ Step 3: Update the Pipelines Integrate the Datadog receiver into your pipelines: service: pipelines: metrics: receivers: datadog, otlp processors: batch exporters: otlp Step 4: Configure the Datadog Agent Configure your Datadog Agent to forward data to the OpenTelemetry Collector. Option A: Forward to Both SigNoz and Datadog If you want to send data to both SigNoz via OTel Collector and Datadog during migration: Using environment variable: DD ADDITIONAL ENDPOINTS='{"http://<OTEL COLLECTOR HOST :8125": "signoz" }' Or update datadog.yaml: additional endpoints: "http://<OTEL COLLECTOR HOST :8125": - "signoz" Replace <OTEL COLLECTOR HOST with the hostname or IP where your OTel Collector is running e.g., localhost , otel-collector.default.svc.cluster.local . Option B: Forward Only to SigNoz To send data exclusively to SigNoz stop sending to Datadog : Using environment variable: DD DD URL=http://<OTEL COLLECTOR HOST :8125 Or update datadog.yaml: dd url: http://<OTEL COLLECTOR HOST :8125 Step 5: Restart Services After making configuration changes: Restart the OpenTelemetry Collector Restart the Datadog Agent Validate Verify data is flowing through the Datadog receiver to SigNoz: Verify in SigNoz: - Navigate to Metrics to see DogStatsD metrics - Check that metrics match your Datadog data - Navigate to Compare with Datadog: - Verify the same metrics appear in both platforms Troubleshooting Troubleshooting troubleshooting Connection refused errors If the Datadog Agent can't connect to the OTel Collector: Check port binding : Verify the Collector is listening on port 8125: netstat -tlnp | grep 8125 Check firewall : Ensure port 8125 is open between Agent and Collector. Verify endpoint : Confirm the Agent is configured with the correct Collector address. No data appearing in SigNoz Check Collector logs : Look for errors in the OTel Collector logs. Verify pipeline configuration : Ensure the datadog receiver is listed in the appropriate pipeline s . Metrics not appearing Check metric type : The Datadog receiver may not support all metric types. Verify DogStatsD configuration : Ensure DogStatsD is properly configured in both Agent and Collector. Check metric names : Metrics may be renamed during translation to OTel format. Limitations Be aware of these limitations when using the Datadog receiver: Not all features supported : Some Datadog-specific features may not translate to OpenTelemetry Metric types : Some Datadog metric types may be converted differently Performance : Adding a hop DD Agent → OTel Collector → SigNoz adds latency Next Steps The Datadog receiver is a bridge solution. For long-term benefits, consider migrating to native OpenTelemetry: