Monitor Apache HTTP Server with OpenTelemetry

Osuite monitors the Apache HTTP Server through the OpenTelemetry Collector’s apache receiver, which scrapes the mod_status machine-readable page and exports worker, connection, and request metrics over OTLP. They share resource attributes with your services, so worker saturation lines up with the traffic that caused it.

Note

The apache receiver ships in the Collector contrib distribution. Use otelcol-contrib (or any build that includes it), not the core otelcol binary.

Setup

Prerequisites

• Apache built with mod_status (included in the standard packages).
• The server-status handler enabled with the ?auto machine-readable output.

Enable the module and the status handler in httpd.conf, then restart:

LoadModule status_module modules/mod_status.so
ExtendedStatus On

<Location "/server-status">
    SetHandler server-status
    Require ip 127.0.0.1
</Location>

Confirm the endpoint responds with the machine-readable format:

curl "http://localhost/server-status?auto"

Caution

When the Collector runs on a different host, container, or pod, replace Require ip 127.0.0.1 with the Collector’s source address or subnet — otherwise the scrape is denied.

Configure the Collector

1. Add the apache receiver, the otlp/osuite exporter, and a metrics pipeline. The endpoint must keep the ?auto query so Apache returns the machine-readable page. Pick the tab that matches where your Collector runs.

   Bare host

   receivers:
     apache:
       endpoint: "http://localhost:80/server-status?auto"
       collection_interval: 30s
   
   processors:
     batch:
     resourcedetection:
   
   exporters:
     otlp/osuite:
       endpoint: ingest.<region>.osuite.io:443
       headers:
         x-osuite-ingest-token: <your-ingest-token>
   
   service:
     pipelines:
       metrics:
         receivers: [apache]
         processors: [batch, resourcedetection]
         exporters: [otlp/osuite]

   Docker

   receivers:
     apache:
       endpoint: "http://httpd:80/server-status?auto"
       collection_interval: 30s
   
   processors:
     batch:
     resourcedetection:
   
   exporters:
     otlp/osuite:
       endpoint: ingest.<region>.osuite.io:443
       headers:
         x-osuite-ingest-token: <your-ingest-token>
   
   service:
     pipelines:
       metrics:
         receivers: [apache]
         processors: [batch, resourcedetection]
         exporters: [otlp/osuite]

   Kubernetes

   receivers:
     apache:
       endpoint: "http://apache.default.svc.cluster.local:80/server-status?auto"
       collection_interval: 30s
   
   processors:
     batch:
     resourcedetection:
   
   exporters:
     otlp/osuite:
       endpoint: ingest.<region>.osuite.io:443
       headers:
         x-osuite-ingest-token: <your-ingest-token>
   
   service:
     pipelines:
       metrics:
         receivers: [apache]
         processors: [batch, resourcedetection]
         exporters: [otlp/osuite]

2. Start the Collector. On Docker and Kubernetes, the Collector and Apache must share a network so the endpoint resolves.

Validate

What you should see

Metrics named apache.* appear in Dashboards → Explore metrics within a minute, tagged with the host or pod the Collector runs on.

Data collected

Metric	Description	Unit
apache.current_connections	Active connections	{connections}
apache.requests	Requests serviced	{requests}
apache.traffic	Total traffic served	By
apache.scoreboard	Worker count by state	{workers}
apache.uptime	Server uptime	s
apache.cpu.load	Current CPU load	%
apache.cpu.time	Cumulative CPU time by category	{jiff}
apache.load.1	One-minute load average	%
apache.load.5	Five-minute load average	%
apache.request.time	Cumulative request-handling time	ms

ExtendedStatus On is required for the CPU, load, and request-time metrics; without it Apache omits those fields.

Dashboards and alerts

Once metrics arrive, build an Apache dashboard in the dashboard builder from the series above. Alerts in Osuite are PromQL-based — see Alerts. Useful starting conditions: worker exhaustion (busy share of apache.scoreboard), a request-rate drop to zero (apache.requests), and rising apache.request.time.

Troubleshooting

• 404 on /server-status — confirm mod_status is loaded and the <Location> handler is configured.
• Missing CPU or load metrics — confirm ExtendedStatus On is set and the endpoint keeps the ?auto query string.

No data in Osuite after a few minutes? Work through these checks.

• Endpoint — confirm the exporter targets exactly ingest.<region>.osuite.io:443 for your region, over TLS.
• Token — confirm the ingest header carries a valid <your-ingest-token> and has not been rotated.
• Pipeline — confirm the signal you expect (traces, logs, or metrics) is wired into an active pipeline with the otlp/osuite exporter attached.
• Export errors — check the application or Collector logs for OTLP export failures (auth, DNS, TLS, connection refused).
• Network — confirm the host has outbound access to the ingest endpoint on port 443.
• Timing — allow up to a minute for the first data to appear before assuming a failure.

Still stuck? Ask the Investigation Agent or contact support.