Lists and describes the fields that are used to configure trace export to external
observability platforms, including connection settings, authentication, payload configuration,
notifications, custom attributes, testing, and export activity.
Basic settings
| Fields |
Description |
| Name |
Unique identifier for the trace export configuration. |
| Enable trace export |
Controls whether trace data is exported. When disabled, no telemetry data is sent to the
destination endpoint. |
| Destination APM |
Target observability platform. By default, IBM Instana is selected. Select the
Other option to send traces to any OpenTelemetry-compatible APM. Replace the
region placeholder with the correct value. For example,
otlp-<region>-saas.instana.io:4317. |
| Transport protocol |
Protocol used to export trace data. Currently, only gRPC is supported. |
| Destination endpoint |
An OpenTelemetry endpoint. For example,
host:4317. |
Authentication
| Options |
Description |
| None |
No authentication is applied. Suitable for trusted environments. |
| Bearer token |
Sends a static token by using the Authorization header. |
| Custom headers |
Adds one or more key-value pairs as headers per request, such as API keys, tenant IDs, or
vendor-specific headers. |
Note: You can configure only one authentication method at a time.
Payload settings
| Field |
Description |
| Content type |
Specifies the format used to send trace data. Supported values are
application/x-protobuf (recommended) and application/json. |
Advanced export settings
| Field |
Description |
| Export interval (ms) |
Frequency at which trace data is exported. The value must be greater than 1000
milliseconds. |
| Batch size |
Number of spans sent per export request. The value must be greater than 1000 and less than
2000. |
Notifications
| Error handling |
Description |
| Send email and disable export |
If repeated export failures occur, trace export is automatically disabled within a maximum of
30 minutes. Warning and critical emails are sent. After the export is disabled, no trace data is
exported until it is re-enabled manually. |
| Send email only |
Continues exporting trace data during failures. Warning and critical emails are sent, but
export remains enabled. |
| Email |
Enter the email address to receive trace export notifications. |
Custom trace attributes
| Field |
Description |
| Header name |
Attribute key, for example, tid. |
| Header value |
Attribute value, for example, test776060. |
You can add multiple attributes by using the + option. Attributes are
included in all exported traces. You can remove attributes by using the delete option.
Test configuration
| Aspect |
Description |
| Purpose |
Validates the trace export configuration before it is saved. |
| Validation checks |
Verifies endpoint reachability, authentication validity, and protocol compatibility. |
| Outcome |
Indicates whether the configuration is valid or requires changes. |
Trace export activity
The Trace export activity page on the Statistics tab
provides visibility into historical trace export operations, including batch processing status,
success metrics, and detailed error information. You can use this page to monitor the overall health
of trace exports and to troubleshoot failures that occur when sending traces to external
observability platforms. Use the time range selection to view trace export activity for a specific
time window. All batch records displayed reflect the duration that you select.
| Column |
Description |
| Started on |
Timestamp when the export batch started. |
| Export batch ID |
Unique identifier for the export batch. |
| Received |
Total number of spans received in the batch. |
| Success |
Number of spans successfully exported. |
| Failures |
Number of spans that failed during export. |
| Error message |
Error encountered during export. Click Read more to view detailed
information. |