Getting started with OpenTelemetry

Navigating application instrumentation can be daunting, even after adopting a widely used standard like OpenTelemetry. Setting up the entire pipeline—from instrumentation to visualization—often presents challenges. In this presentation, I will share my journey as a Go developer learning to collect and visualize telemetry data with OpenTelemetry, while also exploring some of the underlying mechanisms that make it work.

Although OpenTelemetry has become a popular open-source solution, implementing it effectively requires several key steps: instrumentation, data extraction, storage selection, and visualization. Deciding which solution to use at each step makes it challenging to produce a quick feedback loop. I will break down these steps, showing how getting started with OpenTelemetry can be straightforward, making use of the Grafana ecosystem for visualization.

Many developers, especially those who focus on coding, may find instrumentation and monitoring to be a secondary concern. When I first started, I found the process confusing, so I understand the need for clear, simple guidance. This talk aims to demystify getting started with OpenTelemetry, offering clear guidance to empower developers in taking ownership of their observability data.

By helping newcomers navigate their initial steps in instrumentation, we encourage wider adoption of OpenTelemetry. This growing user base can provide valuable feedback and perspectives that drive the evolution of the project. Ultimately, this talk aims to equip newcomers with the knowledge to practically implement OpenTelemetry, paving the way for a collaborative cloud native community.