AWS Lambda

Overview

AWS Lambda is a serverless compute service that lets you run code without provisioning or managing servers. You can use AWS Lambda to run code in response to events such as changes in data or system state, or actions by users. You can integrate AWS Lambda with Dash0 to send telemetry data such as logs, metrics, and traces.

Use Cases

• Trace requests handled by your Lambda functions.
• Monitor the performance of your Lambda functions.
• Analyze the behavior of your Lambda functions in production.

Setup

Getting started

To collect telemetry data from an AWS Lambda function, you need to instrument your Lambda function with an OpenTelemetry SDK and configure it to send telemetry to Dash0.

The traces, logs and metrics generated by the OpenTelemetry SDK inside your function are routed to a local OpenTelemetry Collector, acting as an AWS Lambda External Extension, which then forwards it to Dash0. The local OpenTelemetry Collector also collects your function’s standard output (stdout) and standard error (stderr) and forwards them as logs.

For collecting the platform metrics from the Lambda runtime, like throttles and recursive invocations, use the CloudWatch metrics integration.

Prerequisites

To setup AWS Lambda monitoring you'll need the following:

1. Log in to your Dash0 account. You can sign up here

2. Retrieve the following information from your Dash0 account:

   • OTLP gRPC Endpoint for your Dash0 region (Dash0 link)
   • Auth token for the dataset (Dash0 link)

3. AWS requirements:

   • An existing AWS Lambda function
   • Appropriate IAM permissions to modify Lambda functions and layers
   • Knowledge of your Lambda function's runtime and architecture (x86_64 or arm64)

Configuration steps

The setup is based on the OpenTelemetry Lambda setup and varies depending on your Lambda function's programming language.

Step 1: Create the OpenTelemetry Collector Configuration

The OpenTelemetry Collector uses a configuration file to determine how telemetry data is received and sent to Dash0. You can store this configuration in three ways:

1. Lambda Layer (Recommended) - Easy to manage, reuse and update independently of your function code
2. Function Bundle - Included directly in your deployment package
3. S3 Bucket - Stored remotely and referenced via URI

Configuration File Content

Create a file named otel-collector-config.yaml with the following content:

Replace the placeholders with your actual Dash0 endpoint and credentials.

Creating a Configuration Layer (Recommended)

The collector configuration should be packaged as a Lambda layer:

1. Zip your otel-collector-config.yaml file so it is located at the root of the ZIP archive (not inside a directory)
2. Open the Lambda Layers console
3. Choose Create layer
4. Enter a name for your layer (e.g., otel-collector-config)
5. Upload your .zip file
6. Select the architecture for your layer (x86_64 or arm64)
7. Choose the compatible runtimes for your layer
8. Click Create

For detailed instructions, see the AWS documentation on creating layers.

Step 2: Add Required Layers to Your Lambda Function

Your Lambda function needs these three layers:

1. OpenTelemetry Instrumentation Layer - Auto-instruments your code (language-specific)
2. OpenTelemetry Collector Layer - Processes and exports telemetry data
3. Configuration Layer - Contains your collector configuration (created in Step 1)

Note: Layer order in the AWS console doesn't affect functionality. The instrumentation wrapper and collector extension are controlled by environment variables, not layer position.

Adding Layers via AWS Console

1. Go to the AWS Lambda Console
2. Select your Lambda function
3. In the "Layers" section, click Add a layer
4. Select Specify an ARN and paste the appropriate ARN from the table below
5. Click Verify to ensure the layer is compatible with your region, language, and architecture
6. Click Add to add the layer to your Lambda function
7. Repeat this process for all three required layers

Layer ARNs and Versions

You must edit these values: Replace <region> with your AWS region and <version> with the latest version number.

Runtime	Instrumentation Layer ARN	Latest Version	Wrapper Path
Node.js	arn:aws:lambda:<region>:184161586896:layer:opentelemetry-nodejs-<version>:1		/opt/otel-handler
Python	arn:aws:lambda:<region>:184161586896:layer:opentelemetry-python-<version>:1		/opt/otel-instrument
Java Agent	arn:aws:lambda:<region>:184161586896:layer:opentelemetry-javaagent-<version>:1		/opt/otel-handler
Java Wrapper	arn:aws:lambda:<region>:184161586896:layer:opentelemetry-javawrapper-<version>:1		/opt/otel-handler
Ruby	arn:aws:lambda:<region>:184161586896:layer:opentelemetry-ruby-dev-<version>:1		/opt/otel-handler

OpenTelemetry Collector Layer:

• ARN: arn:aws:lambda:<region>:184161586896:layer:opentelemetry-collector-<amd64|arm64>-<version>:1
• Latest Version:

Common mistake: Using the wrong architecture. Make sure your collector layer matches your Lambda function's architecture (amd64 for x86_64, arm64 for ARM).

Step 3: Configure Environment Variables

1. In your Lambda function's Configuration tab, click Environment variables
2. Add the following environment variables:

Required Environment Variables

You must edit these values: Use the wrapper path from the table above.

Variable	Value	Description
AWS_LAMBDA_EXEC_WRAPPER	See table above	Path to the OpenTelemetry wrapper for your runtime
OPENTELEMETRY_COLLECTOR_CONFIG_URI	See options below	Location of your collector configuration file

Configuration URI Options

Choose the appropriate URI based on how you stored your configuration file:

• Lambda Layer (Recommended): /opt/otel-collector-config.yaml
• Function Bundle: /var/task/otel-collector-config.yaml
• S3 Bucket: s3://<bucket_name>.s3.<region>.amazonaws.com/otel-collector-config.yaml

Note: For S3, ensure your Lambda function has permissions to read the bucket and use the full S3 URI including the s3:// prefix.

3. Click Save to apply the environment variables

Step 4: Verify Your Setup

After completing the setup:

1. Test your Lambda function to ensure it still works correctly
2. Check CloudWatch Logs for any OpenTelemetry-related errors
3. Verify telemetry data appears in your Dash0 dashboard

Logs

The OpenTelemetry collector automatically collects Lambda function logs and sends them to Dash0.

Important: To correlate logs with traces, use a logger that supports OpenTelemetry. Your logs should include tracing information as part of their structured output.

Metrics

Application metrics emitted using the OpenTelemetry SDK are automatically captured by the collector and exported to Dash0.

For Lambda runtime metrics (invocation count, duration, error rates, etc.), use the CloudWatch metrics integration.

Authentication token handling

The Dash0 authentication token can be stored directly in the OpenTelemetry Collector configuration file.

This configuration file is typically packaged as a Lambda layer or loaded from S3 and is only accessible to the Lambda function via IAM permissions. In this setup, storing the token in the configuration file is considered acceptable and keeps the configuration centrally managed.

For environments with stricter security requirements, you may choose to store the token in a Lambda environment variable or retrieve it from AWS Secrets Manager or Parameter Store. These approaches require additional setup and permissions and may introduce minor cold start overhead.