Quick Start

1. Install the Cardinal Kubernetes Operator

The Cardinal Kubernetes Operator simplifies the deployment and management of Cardinal OpenTelemetry Collectors on Kubernetes. It only needs to be installed once per Kubernetes cluster, and can manage multiple Collectors on that cluster.

Prerequisites

• Helm (opens in a new tab) v3 or later
• Kubernetes cluster with permissions to install CRDs, ClusterRoles, and ClusterRoleBindings

Install the Operator

helm install chq-operator oci://public.ecr.aws/cardinalhq.io/cardinalhq-operator \
  --namespace chq-operator \
  --create-namespace

This command installs the Operator, its necessary roles, and the CRD for Collector resources in your cluster.

2. Deploy a Collector

Now, let's deploy your first Cardinal OpenTelemetry Collector.

1. Sign-in to Cardinal, (opens in a new tab) and select the Pipelines tab in the left sidebar.
2. Click the Add a Collector... button.
3. Give your Collector a descriptive name, and click the Add Collector button.
4. Follow Steps 1-2 on the screen to create a Kubernetes Secret for your Cardinal API key, and apply the manifest to deploy your new Collector.

3. Configure a Collector Pipeline

Your new Collector is now deployed with a default minimal configuration.

Follow Step 3 on the screen to add your first Source to the Collector Pipeline. Then, add any additional Sources and Destinations to build out your Pipeline.

4. Send Data to the Collector

Refer to the documentation for each of your Sources for information on how to configure your existing instrumentation libraries or agents to send data to the Collector.