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InfluxDB

InfluxDB 2.x exposes Prometheus-format metrics at /metrics on port 8086 by default — no additional configuration required. The OpenTelemetry Collector scrapes this endpoint using the Prometheus receiver, collecting 60+ metrics including HTTP request rates, write throughput, query duration, storage cardinality, task execution status, and Go runtime statistics. This guide configures the receiver and ships metrics to base14 Scout.

note

The OTel Collector's influxdbreceiver is for receiving InfluxDB line protocol writes (push model) — it is NOT for monitoring InfluxDB health. This guide uses the Prometheus receiver to scrape InfluxDB's built-in /metrics endpoint.

Prerequisites​

RequirementMinimumRecommended
InfluxDB2.02.7+
OTel Collector Contrib0.90.0latest
base14 ScoutAny—

Before starting:

  • InfluxDB HTTP API port (8086) must be accessible from the host running the Collector
  • InfluxDB initial setup must be complete (org, bucket, admin user)
  • OTel Collector installed — see Docker Compose Setup

What You'll Monitor​

  • Go Runtime: goroutines, memory alloc, GC pause, heap objects
  • HTTP: request count, request duration
  • Storage: retention check duration, writer points, writer errors, writer timeouts
  • Writes: points written, dropped points, write errors
  • Tasks: executor active runs, scheduler execution calls, schedule failures
  • Internal: bucket/org/user/token counts, BoltDB read/write operations

Full metric list: run curl -s http://localhost:8086/metrics against your InfluxDB instance.

Access Setup​

The /metrics endpoint is enabled by default in InfluxDB 2.x — no configuration changes are needed. The endpoint does not require authentication.

Verify the endpoint is working:

Verify access
# Check InfluxDB is running
curl -s http://localhost:8086/health

# Verify Prometheus metrics endpoint
curl -s http://localhost:8086/metrics | head -20

Configuration​

config/otel-collector.yaml
receivers:
  prometheus:
    config:
      scrape_configs:
        - job_name: influxdb
          scrape_interval: 30s
          static_configs:
            - targets:
                - ${env:INFLUXDB_HOST}:8086

processors:
  resource:
    attributes:
      - key: environment
        value: ${env:ENVIRONMENT}
        action: upsert
      - key: service.name
        value: ${env:SERVICE_NAME}
        action: upsert

  batch:
    timeout: 10s
    send_batch_size: 1024

# Export to base14 Scout
exporters:
  otlphttp/b14:
    endpoint: ${env:OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT}
    tls:
      insecure_skip_verify: true

service:
  pipelines:
    metrics:
      receivers: [prometheus]
      processors: [resource, batch]
      exporters: [otlphttp/b14]

Environment Variables​

.env
INFLUXDB_HOST=localhost
ENVIRONMENT=your_environment
SERVICE_NAME=your_service_name
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://<your-tenant>.base14.io

Verify the Setup​

Start the Collector and check for metrics within 60 seconds:

# Check Collector logs for successful scrape
docker logs otel-collector 2>&1 | grep -i "influx"

# Verify InfluxDB is healthy
curl -s http://localhost:8086/health

# Check metrics endpoint directly
curl -s http://localhost:8086/metrics | grep influxdb_

Troubleshooting​

Connection refused on port 8086​

Cause: Collector cannot reach InfluxDB at the configured address.

Fix:

  1. Verify InfluxDB is running: docker ps | grep influxdb or systemctl status influxd
  2. Confirm the HTTP bind address in InfluxDB config
  3. Check firewall rules if the Collector runs on a separate host

Metrics endpoint returns 404​

Cause: InfluxDB has not completed initial setup, or the instance is running InfluxDB 1.x with a different metrics configuration.

Fix:

  1. Complete the initial setup via the UI at http://localhost:8086 or via environment variables (DOCKER_INFLUXDB_INIT_MODE=setup)
  2. For InfluxDB 1.x, verify /metrics is enabled in the configuration

No metrics appearing in Scout​

Cause: Metrics are collected but not exported.

Fix:

  1. Check Collector logs for export errors: docker logs otel-collector
  2. Verify OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT is set correctly
  3. Confirm the pipeline includes both the receiver and exporter

FAQ​

What about the OTel InfluxDB receiver?

The influxdbreceiver in the OTel Collector Contrib is for receiving InfluxDB line protocol writes — it acts as an InfluxDB-compatible write endpoint, not a metrics scraper. To monitor InfluxDB itself, use the Prometheus receiver as shown in this guide.

Does this work with InfluxDB 1.x?

InfluxDB 1.x also exposes a /metrics endpoint, but the internal metrics differ from 2.x. The Prometheus receiver will scrape them correctly — the metric names will reflect 1.x internals (e.g., influxdb_shard_* instead of storage_*).

Does this work with InfluxDB running in Kubernetes?

Yes. Set targets to the InfluxDB service DNS (e.g., influxdb.default.svc.cluster.local:8086). The Collector can run as a sidecar or DaemonSet.

How do I monitor multiple InfluxDB instances?

Add all instances to the scrape targets:

receivers:
  prometheus:
    config:
      scrape_configs:
        - job_name: influxdb
          static_configs:
            - targets:
                - influxdb-1:8086
                - influxdb-2:8086

Each instance is identified by its instance label.

What's Next?​

  • Create Dashboards: Explore pre-built dashboards or build your own. See Create Your First Dashboard
  • Monitor More Components: Add monitoring for PostgreSQL, MySQL, and other components
  • Fine-tune Collection: Use metric_relabel_configs to filter to just write, query, and storage metrics for production alerting
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