Set Timestamps#
The log lines ingested from scenario 1 and scenario 2 contain no timestamps.
The collector and Dynatrace will make a best-effort guesses at the correct timestamp, but it is always best to set the timestamps explicitly.
To do this we will tell the collector to set two fields: timestamp and observed timestamp to the current timestamp (ie. Now).
scenario3.yaml shows the OpenTelemetry collector configuration to achieve this.
Look Again#
Look again at the collector debug output from scenario 2. You should see that the timestamp is actually set to 1970.
LogRecord #1
ObservedTimestamp: 2025-03-27 06:04:05.298857978 +0000 UTC
Timestamp: 1970-01-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC
SeverityText:
SeverityNumber: Unspecified(0)
Body: Str(My second dummy log line...)
Attributes:
-> log.file.name: Str(file.log)
-> log.file.path: Str(/workspaces/demo-opentelemetry-patterns/file.log)
Stop Previous Collector#
If you haven't done so already, stop the previous collector process by pressing Ctrl + C.
Start Collector#
Run the following command to start the collector:
/workspaces/$RepositoryName/dynatrace-otel-collector --config=/workspaces/$RepositoryName/scenario3.yaml
Generate Log Data#
Open file.log file and add this line then save the file.
My third dummy log line...
Verify Debug Data in Collector Output#
View the collector terminal window and verify that the timestamp and observed timestamp fields are now correctly set to the current time and date:
...
ObservedTimestamp: 2025-03-27 06:28:50.507084067 +0000 UTC
Timestamp: 2025-03-27 06:28:50.507083807 +0000 UTC
SeverityText:
SeverityNumber: Unspecified(0)
Body: Str(My third dummy log line...)
...
View Data in Dynatrace#
Click the Run button again on the DQL tile. You should see the new data.
Reminder, the DQL statement is:
fetch logs
| filter contains(content, "dummy log line")
Congratulations! The log lines now have the correct timestamps.