Gateway vs agent collectors serve different roles — conflating them creates outages and blind spots.
OpenTelemetry (OTEL)
Design an OpenTelemetry reference pipeline your teams can implement
OTel without architecture becomes a patchwork of collectors and attributes. Platform teams need a target pipeline — where agents live, how sampling works, and which backends receive which signals.
Reference pipeline Sampling design Security patterns Backend alignment
Why this matters
Why this matters
Undocumented pipelines recreate vendor lock-in through tribal knowledge — the opposite of why OTel was chosen.
Tail sampling and head sampling decisions affect cost and incident usefulness.
Exporter sprawl without standards makes backend migration harder, not easier.
What you get
Clear outputs you can use
Scoped OTel architecture and reference pipeline design: instrumentation layers, collector topology, sampling and security patterns, and exporter alignment to agreed backends.
- ✓ Reference pipeline architecture and narrative for agreed scope
- ✓ Collector deployment model (K8s, VM, gateway) with HA and secrets guidance
- ✓ Standards pack outline for resource attributes and approval workflow
Why teams talk to GKC
Calm, practical, and grounded in the environment you already have
Vendor-neutral — backends follow signal requirements, not the reverse
Designed to pair with Bindplane fleet ops or self-managed collectors
Bounded deliverable — implementation waves scoped separately
What happens next
A straightforward first step
We keep the first step straightforward so you can understand fit, scope, and likely value before deciding what to do next.
1
Capture signal requirements
We document critical services, compliance constraints, and backend destinations per signal type.
2
Design pipeline and controls
Architecture covers SDK/agent placement, processors, sampling, tail sampling gateways, and exporter paths.
3
Review and sequence delivery
You receive documentation with a backlog for instrumentation, hardening, or Bindplane rollout.
Questions teams often have
Common questions
We have a CNCF reference architecture PDF. Isn’t that enough?
Generic references do not reflect your backends, networks, or team ownership. This design is for your estate.
Does this choose Splunk vs Grafana for us?
We document coexistence and routing options. Backend commitment follows your requirements — we do not force a rip-and-replace.
Can architecture wait until after instrumentation?
Small pilots can precede architecture, but wide rollout without a reference pipeline usually creates rework. We will recommend order honestly.
Related services
If this is close, these may be relevant too
OpenTelemetry (OTEL)
OpenTelemetry Maturity Assessment
A bounded assessment of your OTel instrumentation, collector topology, and backend alignment — with a prioritised adoption and remediation plan.
Bindplane
Bindplane Architecture & Fleet Design
Scoped Bindplane architecture and fleet design: agent/collector topology, HA and secrets patterns, environment model, RBAC, and integration with CI/CD or GitOps as scoped.
Splunk Platform
Data Onboarding & Sourcetype Design Accelerator
Accelerated onboarding for agreed priority sources: sourcetype design, parsing, field extraction, CIM alignment, and validation evidence your platform team can maintain.
Next step
Start with a practical conversation
We can talk through the environment, what is making this feel urgent or uncertain, and whether this service is the right fit. If another starting point makes more sense, we will say so.