Overview
Monitor Apache HTTP Server in SigNoz with the OpenTelemetry Collector. You collect two signals:
- Metrics: worker state, request throughput, traffic, and server load through the Collector
apachereceiver, which scrapes themod_statusendpoint. - Logs: access and error logs through the Collector file log receiver, parsed into structured fields you can query and aggregate.
Prerequisites
Ensure you have:
- An Apache HTTP Server running version 2.4.13 or newer (required by the
apachereceiver) - An OpenTelemetry Collector that can reach the Apache status endpoint and read the Apache log files
- An instance of SigNoz (either Cloud or Self-Hosted)
Collect Apache telemetry
The apache receiver scrapes the mod_status endpoint and maps the server statistics to OpenTelemetry metrics.
Step 1: Enable the Apache status endpoint
Enable mod_status and expose the status handler. On Debian and Ubuntu, enable the module:
sudo a2enmod status
Add the status handler to your Apache config (for example a file under conf-available/, or the relevant virtual host):
<Location "/server-status">
SetHandler server-status
Require local
</Location>
# Report per-request metrics such as CPU time and request duration.
ExtendedStatus On
Require local allows scrapes from the same host only. If the Collector runs on a different host, container, or pod, replace it with Require ip <collector-ip>. Reload Apache to apply the change (sudo systemctl reload apache2), then confirm the endpoint responds:
curl "http://localhost/server-status?auto"
For Docker and Kubernetes, apply the same directives to the Apache image or config you ship.
Step 2: Create the Collector config file
Create a file named apache-metrics-collection-config.yaml with the following content:
receivers:
apache:
endpoint: "${env:APACHE_STATUS_ENDPOINT}"
collection_interval: 30s
processors:
# sets service.name so Apache metrics are easy to filter in SigNoz
resource/apache:
attributes:
- key: service.name
value: apache
action: upsert
batch:
send_batch_size: 10000
send_batch_max_size: 11000
timeout: 10s
exporters:
# On Collector v0.144.0 and newer, use "otlp_http" to avoid a deprecation warning.
otlphttp/apache:
endpoint: "${env:OTLP_DESTINATION_ENDPOINT}"
headers:
"signoz-ingestion-key": "${env:SIGNOZ_INGESTION_KEY}"
service:
pipelines:
metrics/apache:
receivers: [apache]
processors: [resource/apache, batch]
exporters: [otlphttp/apache]
Step 3: Deploy the Collector
Set the environment variables the config reads:
# Apache mod_status endpoint reachable from the collector
export APACHE_STATUS_ENDPOINT="http://localhost:80/server-status?auto"
# region specific SigNoz cloud ingestion endpoint
export OTLP_DESTINATION_ENDPOINT="https://ingest.<region>.signoz.cloud:443"
# your SigNoz ingestion key
export SIGNOZ_INGESTION_KEY="<your-ingestion-key>"
Start the Collector with the config file:
otelcol-contrib --config apache-metrics-collection-config.yaml
Verify these values:
<region>: Your SigNoz Cloud region<your-ingestion-key>: Your SigNoz ingestion key
Add the Collector as a service in your docker-compose.yml, mounting the config file. Point the status endpoint at the Apache service name so the Collector reaches it over the Compose network:
otelcol:
image: otel/opentelemetry-collector-contrib:0.157.0
container_name: otelcol
volumes:
- ./apache-metrics-collection-config.yaml:/etc/otelcol/config.yaml:ro
environment:
- "APACHE_STATUS_ENDPOINT=http://apache:80/server-status?auto"
- "OTLP_DESTINATION_ENDPOINT=https://ingest.<region>.signoz.cloud:443"
- "SIGNOZ_INGESTION_KEY=<your-ingestion-key>"
command: ["--config", "/etc/otelcol/config.yaml"]
apache is the Apache service name in your docker-compose.yml. Start the Collector:
docker compose up -d otelcol
Verify these values:
<region>: Your SigNoz Cloud region<your-ingestion-key>: Your SigNoz ingestion key
If you run the SigNoz k8s-infra Helm chart, add the apache receiver through a values override instead of the standalone config file from Step 2. Point the endpoint at the Apache Service DNS:
otelDeployment:
config:
receivers:
apache:
endpoint: "http://<apache-service>.<namespace>.svc.cluster.local/server-status?auto"
collection_interval: 30s
processors:
resource/apache:
attributes:
- key: service.name
value: apache
action: upsert
service:
pipelines:
metrics/apache:
receivers: [apache]
processors: [resource/apache]
exporters: [otlp]
Apply it with Helm:
helm upgrade <release-name> signoz/k8s-infra -n <collector-namespace> --values override-values.yaml
Replace <apache-service>, <namespace>, <release-name>, and <collector-namespace> with your values. The chart's built-in otlp exporter already ships data to SigNoz, so you don't add one here.
The Collector file log receiver tails the Apache access and error logs and parses each line into structured fields.
Step 1: Create the Collector config file
Create a file named apache-logs-collection-config.yaml with the following content:
receivers:
# On Collector v0.149.0 and newer, use "file_log" to avoid a deprecation warning.
filelog/apache-access:
include: ["${env:APACHE_ACCESS_LOG_FILE}"]
operators:
# Parse the default Apache Combined Log Format:
# %h %l %u %t "%r" %>s %b "%{Referer}i" "%{User-Agent}i"
# 127.0.0.1 - frank [10/Oct/2000:13:55:36 -0700] "GET /index.html HTTP/1.1" 200 2326 "http://example.com/" "Mozilla/5.0"
# See https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/logs.html#combined
- type: regex_parser
regex: '^(?P<remote_addr>\S+) (?P<remote_logname>\S+) (?P<remote_user>\S+) \[(?P<ts>[^\]]+)\] "(?P<request_method>\S+) (?P<request_path>.+?) (?P<request_protocol>HTTP/[0-9.]+)" (?P<status>\d{3}) (?P<response_bytes>\d+|-) "(?P<http_referrer>[^"]*)" "(?P<http_user_agent>[^"]*)"$'
timestamp:
parse_from: attributes.ts
layout: "02/Jan/2006:15:04:05 -0700"
layout_type: gotime
severity:
parse_from: attributes.status
overwrite_text: true
mapping:
info:
- "2xx"
- "3xx"
warn: "4xx"
error: "5xx"
- type: remove
if: attributes.ts != nil
field: attributes.ts
- type: add
field: attributes.source
value: apache
# On Collector v0.149.0 and newer, use "file_log" to avoid a deprecation warning.
filelog/apache-error:
include: ["${env:APACHE_ERROR_LOG_FILE}"]
operators:
# Parse the default Apache 2.4 error log format:
# [Fri Sep 09 10:42:29.902022 2011] [core:error] [pid 35708:tid 4328636416] [client 72.15.99.187] AH00124: message
# The [client ...] field is omitted on startup and notice lines, so it is optional here.
# See https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mod/core.html#errorlogformat
- type: regex_parser
regex: '^\[(?P<ts>[^\]]+)\] \[(?P<module>[^:\]]+):(?P<log_level>[^\]]+)\] \[pid (?P<pid>\d+)(?::tid (?P<tid>\d+))?\](?: \[client (?P<client>[^\]]+)\])? (?P<message>.*)$'
timestamp:
parse_from: attributes.ts
layout: "Mon Jan 02 15:04:05.000000 2006"
layout_type: gotime
severity:
parse_from: attributes.log_level
overwrite_text: true
mapping:
fatal:
- emerg
- alert
- crit
error: error
warn: warn
info:
- notice
- info
debug: debug
- type: remove
if: attributes.ts != nil
field: attributes.ts
- type: move
if: attributes.message != nil
from: attributes.message
to: body
- type: add
field: attributes.source
value: apache
processors:
# sets service.name so Apache logs are easy to filter in SigNoz
resource/apache:
attributes:
- key: service.name
value: apache
action: upsert
batch:
send_batch_size: 10000
send_batch_max_size: 11000
timeout: 10s
exporters:
# On Collector v0.144.0 and newer, use "otlp_http" to avoid a deprecation warning.
otlphttp/apache:
endpoint: "${env:OTLP_DESTINATION_ENDPOINT}"
headers:
"signoz-ingestion-key": "${env:SIGNOZ_INGESTION_KEY}"
service:
pipelines:
logs/apache:
receivers: [filelog/apache-access, filelog/apache-error]
processors: [resource/apache, batch]
exporters: [otlphttp/apache]
The parsers assume the default Combined Log Format for access logs and the default Apache 2.4 error log format. If you use a custom LogFormat or ErrorLogFormat, adjust the regex in the matching receiver.
Step 2: Deploy the Collector
Set the environment variables the config reads:
# path of the Apache access log, must be readable by the otel collector
# Debian/Ubuntu: /var/log/apache2/access.log RHEL/CentOS/Fedora: /var/log/httpd/access_log
export APACHE_ACCESS_LOG_FILE="/var/log/apache2/access.log"
# path of the Apache error log, must be readable by the otel collector
# Debian/Ubuntu: /var/log/apache2/error.log RHEL/CentOS/Fedora: /var/log/httpd/error_log
export APACHE_ERROR_LOG_FILE="/var/log/apache2/error.log"
# region specific SigNoz cloud ingestion endpoint
export OTLP_DESTINATION_ENDPOINT="https://ingest.<region>.signoz.cloud:443"
# your SigNoz ingestion key
export SIGNOZ_INGESTION_KEY="<your-ingestion-key>"
Start the Collector with the config file:
otelcol-contrib --config apache-logs-collection-config.yaml
Verify these values:
<region>: Your SigNoz Cloud region<your-ingestion-key>: Your SigNoz ingestion key
The Collector container reads the Apache log files, so both containers must share the log directory. The official httpd image sends logs to stdout and stderr by default, so first configure Apache to write its access and error logs to files on a shared volume:
CustomLog /var/log/apache/access.log combined
ErrorLog /var/log/apache/error.log
Mount that same volume into both the Apache and Collector services, then add the Collector to your docker-compose.yml:
otelcol:
image: otel/opentelemetry-collector-contrib:0.157.0
container_name: otelcol
volumes:
- ./apache-logs-collection-config.yaml:/etc/otelcol/config.yaml:ro
- apache-logs:/var/log/apache:ro
environment:
- "APACHE_ACCESS_LOG_FILE=/var/log/apache/access.log"
- "APACHE_ERROR_LOG_FILE=/var/log/apache/error.log"
- "OTLP_DESTINATION_ENDPOINT=https://ingest.<region>.signoz.cloud:443"
- "SIGNOZ_INGESTION_KEY=<your-ingestion-key>"
command: ["--config", "/etc/otelcol/config.yaml"]
apache-logs is a shared volume that your Apache service also mounts at its log directory. Start the Collector:
docker compose up -d otelcol
Verify these values:
<region>: Your SigNoz Cloud region<your-ingestion-key>: Your SigNoz ingestion key
The official Apache image writes access logs to stdout and error logs to stderr. If you run the SigNoz k8s-infra Helm chart, it already collects pod stdout and stderr, so Apache logs reach SigNoz without a file log receiver.
To parse those lines into the fields shown above, add a Logs Pipeline in SigNoz using the same regex as the config in Step 1.
If your Apache pods write logs to files instead, run the Collector as a sidecar in the Apache pod, share the log directory through an emptyDir volume, and use the config file from Step 1 with APACHE_ACCESS_LOG_FILE and APACHE_ERROR_LOG_FILE pointing at the mounted path.
Validate
After you start the Collector, confirm each signal arrives in SigNoz.
- Metrics: Open Metrics Explorer and search for metrics that start with
apache.(for exampleapache.requestsandapache.traffic). - Logs: Open the Logs explorer and add filter service.name = apache.
Troubleshooting
No metrics arrive
- Confirm
curl "http://localhost/server-status?auto"returns the machine-readable status page. If it returns HTML or a 404,mod_statusis not enabled or the/server-statushandler is not configured. - If the Collector runs on a different host, container, or pod, confirm
Require ip <collector-ip>allows it and thatAPACHE_STATUS_ENDPOINTpoints to a reachable address. - Metrics such as CPU time and request duration only appear when
ExtendedStatus Onis set.
No logs arrive
- Confirm the Collector user can read the log files. Apache log directories are often restricted to
rootand theadmgroup. - Recheck
APACHE_ACCESS_LOG_FILEandAPACHE_ERROR_LOG_FILEagainst your distribution paths (/var/log/apache2/on Debian/Ubuntu,/var/log/httpd/on RHEL/CentOS/Fedora). - In Docker or Kubernetes, confirm the Collector mounts the same log volume Apache writes to.
Log fields are not parsed
- The parsers assume the default Combined access format and the Apache 2.4 error format. A custom
LogFormatorErrorLogFormatbreaks the regex. Update the regex in the matching receiver to fit your format.
No data at all
- Recheck the
OTLP_DESTINATION_ENDPOINTregion against your SigNoz region. A wrong region drops data with no error. - Copy the
signoz-ingestion-keyvalue fresh from SigNoz settings.
Limitations
- Metrics require
mod_status. Theapachereceiver reads the/server-status?autoendpoint. Without it, no metrics are collected. - Default log formats assumed. The parsers target the default Combined access format and the Apache 2.4 error format. Custom formats need regex changes.
- Access log severity is derived from HTTP status.
2xxand3xxmap to info,4xxto warn, and5xxto error.
Next Steps
- Visualize metrics with the built-in Apache Web Server dashboard.
- Set up log-based alerts to catch spikes in
5xxresponses or error-log entries. - Parse and transform logs further with Logs Pipelines.
Get Help
If you need help with the steps in this topic, please reach out to us on SigNoz Community Slack. If you are a SigNoz Cloud user, please use in product chat support located at the bottom right corner of your SigNoz instance or contact us at cloud-support@signoz.io.
