Configuration for server-side observability

This topic explains how to configure the observability plugin for server-side SDKs.

Overview

This topic explains how to configure the observability plugin for server-side SDKs.

The observability plugin collects and sends observability data to LaunchDarkly, so you can review error monitoring, logs, traces, and more from within the LaunchDarkly UI.

To get started with the observability plugin, read the observability reference guide for your SDK. Use the docs site navigation on the left, or find your SDK under Observability SDKs.

Details about each SDK’s configuration are available in the SDK-specific sections below:

• Server-side SDKs

Server-side SDKs

This feature is available in the observability plugin for the following server-side SDKs:

• .NET (server-side)
• Go
• Node.js (server-side)
• Python
• Ruby

.NET (server-side)

Expand .NET (server-side) code sample

You can configure the observability plugin for the .NET (server-side) SDK through a mix of environment variables, OpenTelemetry configuration options, and plugin configuration options.

Use the ObservabilityPlugin.ObservabilityPluginBuilder to set the options. In many cases, you can use an OpenTelemetry-specific environment variable instead, if you prefer. For example, if you want to set a custom OTLP endpoint, you can either set OtlpEndpoint in your ObservabilityPlugin.ObservabilityPluginBuilder, or you can set the OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT environment variable.

Here’s how:

Plugin configuration with ASP.Net Core

      var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

      var config = Configuration.Builder("YOUR_SDK_KEY")
          .Plugins(new PluginConfigurationBuilder()
              .Add(ObservabilityPlugin.Builder(builder.Services)
                  .WithServiceName("example-service")
                  // we recommend setting service version to the latest deployed git SHA
                  .WithServiceVersion("example-sha")
                  .Build())).Build();

      // Building the LdClient with the Observability plugin. This line will add services to the web application.
      var client = new LdClient(config);

      // Client must be built before your web application.
      var app = builder.Build();

For a complete list of configuration options, read ObservabilityPlugin.ObservabilityPluginBuilder.

Go

Expand Go code sample

You can configure the observability plugin for the Go SDK through the plugin’s options.

Use the functions in the Option type to set the options.

Here’s how:

Plugin configuration options

      client, _ := ld.MakeCustomClient("YOUR_SDK_KEY",
        ld.Config{
          Plugins: []ldplugins.Plugin{
            ldobserve.NewObservabilityPlugin(
              ldobserve.WithServiceName("example-service"),
              // we recommend setting service version to the latest deployed git SHA
              ldobserve.WithServiceVersion("example-sha"),
            ),
          },
        }, 5*time.Second)

For a complete list of configuration options, read Option.

Node.js (server-side)

Expand Node.js (server-side) code sample

You can configure the observability plugin for the Node.js (server-side) SDK through a mix of environment variables, OpenTelemetry configuration options, and plugin configuration options.

Environment variables

The environment variables specify where to enable instrumentation:

• LAUNCHDARKLY_OTEL_NODE_ENABLE_FILESYSTEM_INSTRUMENTATION enables file system instrumentation. It defaults to false.

• LAUNCHDARKLY_OTEL_NODE_ENABLE_OUTGOING_HTTP_INSTRUMENTATION enables outgoing HTTP instrumentation. It defaults to true. It only affects outgoing HTTP requests instrumented by @opentelemetry/instrumentation-http.

Open

Telemetry configuration options

If you are already using OpenTelemetry configuration options for Node in your application, you can continue to use them.

When you use the observability plugin, the @opentelemetry/instrumentation-fs instrumentation behaves as follows:

• The instrumentation will only be enabled if LAUNCHDARKLY_OTEL_NODE_ENABLE_FILESYSTEM_INSTRUMENTATION is true.

• The instruction is unaffected by the OTEL_NODE_ENABLED_INSTRUMENTATIONS and OTEL_NODE_DISABLED_INSTRUMENTATIONS OpenTelemetry environment variables.

Plugin configuration options

To specify the observability plugin configuration options, use the NodeOptions interface to set the options.

Here’s how:

Plugin configuration options

      const client = init(
        'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
        {
          plugins: [
            new Observability({
              serviceName: 'example-service',
              // we recommend setting serviceVersion to the latest deployed git SHA
              serviceVersion: 'example-sha'
            })
          ]
        }
      )

For a complete list of configuration options, read NodeOptions.

Python

Expand Python code sample

You can configure the observability plugin for the Python SDK through a mix of environment variables, OpenTelemetry configuration options, and plugin configuration options.

Use the ObservabilityConfig class to set the options. In many cases, you can use an OpenTelemetry-specific environment variable instead, if you prefer. For example, if you want to set a custom OTLP endpoint, you can either set otlp_endpoint in your ObservabilityConfig, or you can set the OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT environment variable.

Here’s how:

Plugin configuration options

      observability_config = ObservabilityConfig(
        # alternatively, set the OTEL_SERVICE_NAME environment variable
        service_name = "example-service",
        # we recommend setting service_version to the latest deployed git SHA
        service_version = "example-sha"
      )

      plugin = ObservabilityPlugin(observability_config)

For a complete list of configuration options, read ObservabilityConfig.

Ruby

Expand Ruby code sample

You can configure options for the Ruby observability plugin when you initialize the SDK, or using environment variables.

Plugin configuration options

The plugin constructor accepts optional keyword arguments for configuration.

Here’s how:

Plugin options, Ruby SDK v8.0+

      plugin = LaunchDarklyObservability::Plugin.new(
        service_name: 'example-service',
        # we recommend setting service_version to the latest deployed git SHA
        service_version: 'example-sha'
      )

For a complete list of configuration options, read Plugin Options.

Environment variables

The environment variables specify where to enable instrumentation:

• LAUNCHDARKLY_SDK_KEY provides the LaunchDarkly SDK key. This key is automatically extracted from the client during initialization.

• OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT provides a custom OTLP endpoint.

• OTEL_SERVICE_NAME provides the service name, if not specified in plugin options.

The environment associated with your SDK key is automatically determined by the backend, so you don’t need to configure it separately.