Pod logs to vector using Opentelemetry Source

[Padmashankari]

We are currently using the kubernetes_logs source in Vector to collect pod logs, as all logs are being written to the filesystem. This setup works fine because it aligns well with the kubernetes_logs source.

However, due to certain requirements, we are planning to switch to using the opentelemetry source in Vector. We have configured our application to route logs to the OpenTelemetry gRPC endpoint as follows:

OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT: "http://<vector_svc_ep>:4317" # Vector service endpoint
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL: "grpc"

We updated the Vector configuration to use the opentelemetry source like this:

[sources.logs]
type = "opentelemetry"
grpc.address = "0.0.0.0:4317"

[transforms.filterlogs]
type = "filter"
inputs = ["logs"]

However, when we run vector validate test.toml, we get the following error:

x Input "logs" for filter "stdout" doesn't match any components.

The source ID (logs) matches the inputs field in the filter, so I’m not sure why this error is occurring.

Is it possible to directly send pod logs to the OpenTelemetry gRPC endpoint and process them in Vector without using an OpenTelemetry Collector? If so, how can we configure Vector to achieve this?

[pront]

Hi @Padmashankari, this is a common error when it comes to components with multiple ports. You will have to use logs.logs. See https://vector.dev/docs/reference/configuration/sources/opentelemetry/#logs

[Padmashankari]

Fixed it. Thanks @pront

[Padmashankari]

In vector, we have source 'opentelemetry' which supports otlp grpc and http.https://vector.dev/docs/reference/configuration/sources/opentelemetry/

send container logs to otlp port (grpc:4317 or http:4318)
setup otel-collector to get logs from port and send it to receiver endpoints (eg. vector)
use source type="opentelemetry" in vector config
This is the process we followed.
Need: Directly send pod logs to port or socket instead writing in file system, no need to set otel-collect, get logs in vector via otel port and process it.

Current setup:

From pod side:

> OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_ENDPOINT: "http://:4318/v1/logs"
> OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL: "http"

this sending logs to 4318 port (shows logs as:

2025-04-16T15:56:45.456333Z info model Full push, new service vector/vector.vector.svc.cluster.local
2025-04-16T15:56:45.994525Z info model Full push, service accounts changed, vector.vector.svc.cluster.local
2025-04-16T15:56:53.258159Z info ads Push debounce stable[4] 1 for config ServiceEntry/vector/vector.vector.svc.cluster.local: 100.709056ms since last change, 100.708992ms since last push, full=false

From vector side:
configured vector file as

[sources.my_source_id]
type = "opentelemetry"
grpc.address = "0.0.0.0:4317"
http.address = "0.0.0.0:4318"
[sink.my_sink_id]
inputs = ["my_source_id.logs"]
type = "console"
target = "stdout"
encoding.codec = "json"

And the port 4318 is exposed as cluster-IP.

Here vector pod is running without any errors

Problem: But the source is empty while using vector top. logs are not being able to receive from vector side.

Question:

Is it possible to send logs to vector without otel-collector?
If yes, does normal proxy log format will support from vector side, which protocol grpc or http is better.