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OTEL-002: memory_limiter must be included in every pipeline

Severity: deny (blocking)

Rule Details​

Declaring memory_limiter under processors only defines it — it does nothing until a pipeline actually includes it in its processors: list. A pipeline that skips memory_limiter has no back-pressure, so it keeps accepting data even when the Collector is already over its memory budget.

This rule fires when the memory_limiter processor is declared but at least one pipeline in service.pipelines does not include it.

Options​

This rule has no options.

Examples​

Incorrect
processors:
  memory_limiter:
    check_interval: 5s
    limit_percentage: 80
  batch:
    timeout: 1s

service:
  pipelines:
    traces:
      receivers: [otlp]
      processors: [batch]            # missing memory_limiter
      exporters: [otlp/backend]
Correct
service:
  pipelines:
    traces:
      receivers: [otlp]
      processors: [memory_limiter, batch]
      exporters: [otlp/backend]
    metrics:
      receivers: [otlp]
      processors: [memory_limiter, batch]
      exporters: [otlp/backend]
    logs:
      receivers: [otlp]
      processors: [memory_limiter, batch]
      exporters: [otlp/backend]

When Not To Use It​

There is no meaningful exception. If you are running multiple pipelines, every one of them should push back under memory pressure — otherwise the pipelines that skip the limiter will keep consuming and starve the ones that honor it.

  • OTEL-001 — memory_limiter processor must be configured
  • OTEL-014 — memory_limiter should be first processor
  • OTEL-022 — unused processor

Version​

Available since augur v0.1.0.

Further Reading​

Resources​