Migrate Metrics from New Relic

Overview

This guide walks you through migrating metrics from New Relic to SigNoz. You will:

1. Check your New Relic metrics sources
2. Choose the right migration path for each metric source
3. Set up collection in SigNoz
4. Validate that all metrics are flowing correctly

You cannot import historical metrics from New Relic. This guide focuses on redirecting your metric streams to SigNoz going forward.

Key Differences: New Relic vs SigNoz

Before migrating, understand how metric collection differs between the two platforms:

SigNoz uses open standards (OpenTelemetry, Prometheus) for collection, so your migration involves replacing New Relic agents with OpenTelemetry instrumentation or collectors.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

• A SigNoz account (Cloud) or a running SigNoz instance (Self-Hosted)
• Access to your New Relic account to review current metric sources
• Access to your application code or infrastructure configuration
• Administrative access to deploy the OpenTelemetry Collector (if needed)

Step 1: Assess Your Current Metrics

Before migrating, create an inventory of what you're collecting in New Relic. This ensures nothing gets lost.

Export Your Metrics List from New Relic

Run this NRQL query in New Relic's Query Builder to list all metric names:

SELECT uniques(metricName) FROM Metric SINCE 7 days ago LIMIT MAX

For a breakdown by source, run:

SELECT count(*) 
FROM Metric 
SINCE 7 days ago 
FACET metricName, instrumentation.provider 
LIMIT MAX

Categorize Your Metrics

Group your metrics by source type. Check which of these you're using:

Save this inventory. You'll use it to validate your migration is complete.

Step 2: Set Up the OpenTelemetry Collector

Most migration paths require the OpenTelemetry Collector. Set it up first:

1. Install the OpenTelemetry Collector in your environment.

2. Configure the OTLP exporter to send metrics to SigNoz Cloud

Step 3: Migrate Each Metric Source

Work through each source type from your inventory.

From OpenTelemetry SDK

If you're already using OpenTelemetry SDKs with New Relic's OTLP endpoint, redirect to SigNoz:

Before (New Relic):

OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://otlp.nr-data.net
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS=api-key=<NEW_RELIC_LICENSE_KEY>

After (SigNoz Cloud):

OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://ingest.<region>.signoz.cloud:443
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS=signoz-ingestion-key=<SIGNOZ_INGESTION_KEY>

For detailed configuration, see Migrate from OpenTelemetry to SigNoz.

From Prometheus Exporters

If you have Prometheus exporters (node_exporter, application metrics via /metrics endpoints), use the Prometheus Receiver:

1. Add the Prometheus receiver to your collector config:

receivers:
  prometheus:
    config:
      scrape_configs:
        - job_name: 'your-app'
          scrape_interval: 60s
          static_configs:
            - targets: ['localhost:8080']  # Your metrics endpoint

2. Enable it in the metrics pipeline:

service:
  pipelines:
    metrics:
      receivers: [prometheus]
      exporters: [otlp]

See Prometheus Metrics in SigNoz for advanced configuration.

From New Relic APM Agents

Replace New Relic language agents with OpenTelemetry instrumentation.

Migration by language:

General steps:

1. Remove the New Relic agent/SDK from your application.
2. Add OpenTelemetry instrumentation following the language-specific guide above.
3. Configure the SDK to export to SigNoz (directly or via Collector).
4. Deploy and verify metrics appear in SigNoz.

From New Relic Infrastructure

Replace New Relic Infrastructure agent with the OpenTelemetry Collector's Host Metrics Receiver:

1. Add the hostmetrics receiver to your collector config:

receivers:
  hostmetrics:
    collection_interval: 60s
    scrapers:
      cpu:
      memory:
      disk:
      filesystem:
      load:
      network:
      process:
        include:
          match_type: regexp
          names: ['.*']

2. Enable it in the metrics pipeline:

service:
  pipelines:
    metrics:
      receivers: [hostmetrics]
      exporters: [otlp]

See Send Metrics to SigNoz for more receiver options including Docker, Kubernetes, and process metrics.

From Cloud Integrations

SigNoz provides native integrations for major cloud providers:

These integrations collect the same cloud service metrics you were getting through New Relic.

From Synthetics

New Relic Synthetics provides scripted browser and API tests. SigNoz offers HTTP endpoint monitoring for availability and latency.

To migrate basic health checks:

1. List your New Relic synthetic monitors
2. Create equivalent HTTP monitors in SigNoz following the Monitor HTTP Endpoints guide
3. Set up alerts for failures and slow responses

Validate

Compare your SigNoz metrics against your original inventory to ensure migration is complete.

Check Metrics Are Arriving

1. In SigNoz, navigate to Metrics in the left sidebar.
2. Use the List View to browse available metrics.
3. Click a metric name to see its attributes and values.

Next Steps

Once your metrics are flowing to SigNoz:

• Migrate your dashboards to visualize metrics in SigNoz
• Set up alerts based on your metrics
• Migrate traces for end-to-end observability
• Migrate logs to complete your observability stack