Prometheus and OpenTelemetry - Better Together

Prometheus and OpenTelemetry (OTel) are key tools for monitoring complex distributed systems. While OTel focuses on instrumentation without offering backend storage, Prometheus provides a time-series data store and a web interface for visualizing metrics. The integration of OTel with Prometheus, particularly in Kubernetes environments, is explored. The OTel Collector’s Prometheus Receiver ingests Prometheus metrics, and the Target Allocator aids in Prometheus service discovery and ensures even distribution of targets among collectors. This setup removes the need for maintaining Prometheus as a data store and provides flexibility in monitoring Kubernetes systems using OTel tools.