Managing OpenTelemetry Remote Management Source Templates

Source templates provide a powerful mechanism to simplify and standardize data collection configurations across multiple collectors.

note

Source templates are not available for locally managed collectors.

Benefits of source templates

• Efficiency. Create a template once and apply it to multiple collectors.
• Consistency. Ensure uniform data collection across your environment.
• Scalability. Easily manage configurations for large numbers of collectors.

Common use cases

Source templates are useful for managing data collection in scenarios like:

• Monitoring application logs across multiple servers
• Collecting metrics from a fleet of containers
• Aggregating error logs from distributed services

Create a new source template

1. From the Classic UI, go to Manage Data > Collection > Source Template. Or, from the New UI, go to the Sumo Logic top menu and select Configuration > Collection > Source Template.
2. Click Create Source Template > Add Source Template and fill in the required details, such as name and configuration settings. When you're done, click Next.
   
3. On the Link Collectors page, you will have the option to link the collectors using the Collector Name or by adding Collector Tags to find the group of collectors.
   
4. Navigate to Preview Collector(s) to view details about the compatibility of the collectors and the collectors that will be linked to the newly created source template. If we have mapped the collectors using both the Collector Name and Collector Tags, you will get separate preview sections for the collectors identified by collector name and collector tags.
   
   
   note

   Incompatible version conflict will be found if your collectors cannot be linked to the source template due to version incompatibility or unsupported operating system. To move to the next step, make sure you update the collect version of the incompatible collector.
   

5. Click Next to complete source template creation. In the background, the system will apply the configuration to all the compatible linked collectors and starts collecting the required files.
6. Apply the source template to the linked collectors and manage or update it as needed.

Use our Log Search and dashboards to monitor and analyze your collected logs.

Example: Apache error logs

To illustrate the setup and configuration process, we'll use an example scenario where you'd need to monitor Apache error logs from 50 Linux servers.

First, you'll need to install the OpenTelemetry collectors on each of the 50 Linux servers and add a uniquely identifiable tag to indicate that they are running Apache.

1. Create source template. Name it Apache Error Logs and specify the log file path.
2. Link collectors. Under Collector Tags, tag your web servers with application = Apache and link these collectors to the source template.
3. Deploy. Apply the source template to start collecting logs from all linked collectors.
4. Monitor. Use Log Search, Metrics, and Dashboards to look at your collected error logs and gain insights from your Apache servers.

Example: Nginx access logs

To monitor Nginx access logs from a group of web servers:

1. Create source template. Name it Nginx Access Logs and specify the log file path.
2. Link collectors. Under Collector Tags, tag your web servers with application=nginx and link these collectors to the source template.
3. Deploy. Apply the source template to start collecting logs from all linked collectors.
4. Monitor. Use Log Search, Metrics, and Dashboards to monitor and analyze the collected Nginx access logs.

tip

For more details on source templates, see Installed Collector Sources.

Edit a source template

To edit a source template:

1. In the main Sumo Logic menu, select Manage Data > Collection > Source Template.
2. Select the source template that you need to edit, and click Edit. Or, click the kebab menu against the selected source template and click Edit from the dropdown.
3. Change the required configuration in the source template configuration page, and click Next.
4. If required, update the collectors on the Link Collectors page.
5. Click Next to complete editing the source template.

Upgrade a source template

You cannot upgrade a source template if there are any incompatible collector versions Make sure you update those collectors first.

1. From the Source Template page, select the source template you need to upgrade and click Upgrade.
2. Update the configuration for the new source template version.
   info

   To see what changes are included in the latest source template version, click Learn more in the warning.
   

3. Click Next to finish the upgrade.
4. Navigate to the Preview Collector(s) section, check which collectors are compatible or incompatible to the new version of the source template. Follow any one of the below steps:
   • Create a new source template and link the compatible collectors by collector name and collector tags.
   • Or, unlink the collectors added in the new source template to the existing source template.

Delete a source template

1. From the Source Template page, select the source template that you need to delete.
2. Click the Delete button (or use the kebab menu against the selected source template, click Delete from the dropdown).
3. Confirm the deletion. The source template will be removed from the Source Template page and unlinked from all collectors.