Integration with Cassandra Metrics and Logs

This guide provides step-by-step instructions to collect and monitor Apache Cassandra metrics and logs using OpenTelemetry Collector Contrib and forward them to OpenObserve.

Overview

Apache Cassandra is a highly scalable, distributed NoSQL database designed for applications that demand high availability and low-latency read/write operations.

To effectively monitor Cassandra, we will set up OpenTelemetry (OTel) to collect both metrics and logs. OpenTelemetry’s JMX receiver helps gather JVM and Cassandra-specific metrics, while file-based log collection ensures log visibility. The collected logs and metrics will then be forwarded to Openobserve.

Steps to Integrate

Prerequisites

Running Apache Cassandra instance(s)
OpenObserve account (Cloud or Self-Hosted)

Step 1: Download OpenTelemetry JMX Metrics JAR

The JMX receiver is used to gather Cassandra and JVM metrics. Install it using the command:

wget https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java-contrib/releases/download/v1.32.0/opentelemetry-jmx-metrics.jar -O /opt/opentelemetry-java-contrib-jmx-metrics.jar

Step 2: Configure JMX Remote Access in Cassandra

Edit /etc/cassandra/cassandra-env.sh and add:

JVM_OPTS="$JVM_OPTS -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.port=9000"
JVM_OPTS="$JVM_OPTS -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.rmi.port=9000"
JVM_OPTS="$JVM_OPTS -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.authenticate=false"
JVM_OPTS="$JVM_OPTS -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl=false"

Restart Cassandra:
```
systemctl restart cassandra
```
Note: The file location may vary depending on your system.

Step 3: Configure the OpenTelemetry Collector

Create or update /etc/otel-collector-config.yaml:

receivers:
  jmx:
    jar_path: /opt/opentelemetry-java-contrib-jmx-metrics.jar
    endpoint: localhost:9000
    target_system: cassandra,jvm
    collection_interval: 60s

  filelog/std:
    include:
      - /var/log/cassandra/*.log #File location varies, example for macOS: /opt/homebrew/var/log/cassandra/*.log
    start_at: beginning

  otlp:
    protocols:
      grpc:
      http:

processors:
  resourcedetection:
    detectors: ["system"]
    system:
      hostname_sources: ["os"]
  batch:

exporters:
  otlphttp/openobserve:
    endpoint: https://<your-openobserve-endpoint>/api/default
    headers:
      Authorization: Basic <your_auth_token>
      stream-name: cassandra

service:
  pipelines:
    metrics:
      receivers: [jmx]
      processors: [resourcedetection, batch]
      exporters: [otlphttp/openobserve]

    logs:
      receivers: [filelog/std, otlp]
      processors: [batch]
      exporters: [otlphttp/openobserve]