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OTEL-073: memory_limiter ballast_size_mib (deprecated, use GOMEMLIMIT)

Severity: warn (advisory)

Rule Details​

The ballast_size_mib knob on memory_limiter was a Go GC workaround for a problem that Go 1.19+ solved with the GOMEMLIMIT environment variable. Using ballast_size_mib now runs the workaround and the new solution side by side, which makes GC behavior harder to reason about. Remove the field from the processor config and set GOMEMLIMIT on the process.

This rule fires when a memory_limiter processor has ballast_size_mib set.

Options​

This rule has no options.

Examples​

Avoid
processors:
  memory_limiter:
    check_interval: 5s
    limit_percentage: 80
    ballast_size_mib: 256          # deprecated
Prefer
# remove ballast_size_mib and set GOMEMLIMIT on the process:
#   env:
#     GOMEMLIMIT: 1GiB
processors:
  memory_limiter:
    check_interval: 5s
    limit_percentage: 80
    spike_limit_percentage: 25

When Not To Use It​

Collectors running on Go versions older than 1.19 where GOMEMLIMIT is not available. In that case, upgrade Go.

  • OTEL-001 — memory_limiter processor must be configured
  • OTEL-061 — memory_ballast extension deprecated

Version​

Available since augur v0.1.0.

Further Reading​

Resources​