---
title: "otelcol.receiver.vcenter | Grafana Agent documentation"
description: "Learn about otelcol.receiver.vcenter"
---

# otelcol.receiver.vcenter

> **EXPERIMENTAL**: This is an [experimental](/docs/agent/v0.43/stability/#experimental) component. Experimental components are subject to frequent breaking changes, and may be removed with no equivalent replacement.

`otelcol.receiver.vcenter` accepts metrics from a vCenter or ESXi host running VMware vSphere APIs and forwards it to other `otelcol.*` components.

> **NOTE**: `otelcol.receiver.vcenter` is a wrapper over the upstream OpenTelemetry Collector `vcenter` receiver from the `otelcol-contrib` distribution. Bug reports or feature requests will be redirected to the upstream repository, if necessary.

Multiple `otelcol.receiver.vcenter` components can be specified by giving them different labels.

The full list of metrics that can be collected can be found in [vcenter receiver documentation](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/blob/v0.96.0/receiver/vcenterreceiver/documentation.md).

## Prerequisites

This receiver has been built to support ESXi and vCenter versions:

- 8
- 7.0
- 6.7

A “Read Only” user assigned to a vSphere with permissions to the vCenter server, cluster and all subsequent resources being monitored must be specified in order for the receiver to retrieve information about them.

## Usage

Alloy ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy

```alloy
otelcol.receiver.vcenter "LABEL" {
  endpoint = "VCENTER_ENDPOINT"
  username = "VCENTER_USERNAME"
  password = "VCENTER_PASSWORD"

  output {
    metrics = [...]
  }
}
```

## Arguments

`otelcol.receiver.vcenter` supports the following arguments:

Expand table

| Name                  | Type       | Description                                                               | Default | Required |
|-----------------------|------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------|----------|
| `endpoint`            | `string`   | Endpoint to a vCenter Server or ESXi host which has the SDK path enabled. |         | yes      |
| `username`            | `string`   | Username to use for authentication.                                       |         | yes      |
| `password`            | `string`   | Password to use for authentication.                                       |         | yes      |
| `collection_interval` | `duration` | Defines how often to collect metrics.                                     | `"1m"`  | no       |
| `initial_delay`       | `duration` | Defines how long this receiver waits before starting.                     | `"1s"`  | no       |
| `timeout`             | `duration` | Defines the timeout for the underlying HTTP client.                       | `"0s"`  | no       |

`endpoint` has the format `<protocol>://<hostname>`. For example, `https://vcsa.hostname.localnet`.

## Blocks

The following blocks are supported inside the definition of `otelcol.receiver.vcenter`:

Expand table

| Hierarchy            | Block                                              | Description                                                                | Required |
|----------------------|----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------|
| tls                  | [tls](#tls-block)                                  | Configures TLS for the HTTP client.                                        | no       |
| metrics              | [metrics](#metrics-block)                          | Configures which metrics will be sent to downstream components.            | no       |
| resource\_attributes | [resource\_attributes](#resource_attributes-block) | Configures resource attributes for metrics sent to downstream components.  | no       |
| debug\_metrics       | [debug\_metrics](#debug_metrics-block)             | Configures the metrics that this component generates to monitor its state. | no       |
| output               | [output](#output-block)                            | Configures where to send received telemetry data.                          | yes      |

### tls block

The `tls` block configures TLS settings used for a server. If the `tls` block isn’t provided, TLS won’t be used for connections to the server.

The following arguments are supported:

Expand table

| Name                           | Type           | Description                                                                                  | Default     | Required |
|--------------------------------|----------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------|----------|
| `ca_file`                      | `string`       | Path to the CA file.                                                                         |             | no       |
| `ca_pem`                       | `string`       | CA PEM-encoded text to validate the server with.                                             |             | no       |
| `cert_file`                    | `string`       | Path to the TLS certificate.                                                                 |             | no       |
| `cert_pem`                     | `string`       | Certificate PEM-encoded text for client authentication.                                      |             | no       |
| `insecure_skip_verify`         | `boolean`      | Ignores insecure server TLS certificates.                                                    |             | no       |
| `include_system_ca_certs_pool` | `boolean`      | Whether to load the system certificate authorities pool alongside the certificate authority. | `false`     | no       |
| `insecure`                     | `boolean`      | Disables TLS when connecting to the configured server.                                       |             | no       |
| `key_file`                     | `string`       | Path to the TLS certificate key.                                                             |             | no       |
| `key_pem`                      | `secret`       | Key PEM-encoded text for client authentication.                                              |             | no       |
| `max_version`                  | `string`       | Maximum acceptable TLS version for connections.                                              | `"TLS 1.3"` | no       |
| `min_version`                  | `string`       | Minimum acceptable TLS version for connections.                                              | `"TLS 1.2"` | no       |
| `cipher_suites`                | `list(string)` | A list of TLS cipher suites that the TLS transport can use.                                  | `[]`        | no       |
| `reload_interval`              | `duration`     | The duration after which the certificate is reloaded.                                        | `"0s"`      | no       |
| `server_name`                  | `string`       | Verifies the hostname of server certificates when set.                                       |             | no       |

If the server doesn’t support TLS, you must set the `insecure` argument to `true`.

To disable `tls` for connections to the server, set the `insecure` argument to `true`.

If `reload_interval` is set to `"0s"`, the certificate never reloaded.

The following pairs of arguments are mutually exclusive and can’t both be set simultaneously:

- `ca_pem` and `ca_file`
- `cert_pem` and `cert_file`
- `key_pem` and `key_file`

If `cipher_suites` is left blank, a safe default list is used. See the [Go TLS documentation](https://go.dev/src/crypto/tls/cipher_suites.go) for a list of supported cipher suites.

### metrics block

Expand table

| Name                                  | Type                    | Description                                               | Default | Required |
|---------------------------------------|-------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|---------|----------|
| `vcenter.cluster.cpu.effective`       | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.cluster.cpu.effective` metric.       | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.cluster.cpu.usage`           | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.cluster.cpu.usage` metric.           | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.cluster.host.count`          | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.cluster.host.count` metric.          | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.cluster.memory.effective`    | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.cluster.memory.effective` metric.    | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.cluster.memory.limit`        | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.cluster.memory.limit` metric.        | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.cluster.memory.used`         | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.cluster.memory.used` metric.         | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.cluster.vm.count`            | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.cluster.vm.count` metric.            | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.datastore.disk.usage`        | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.datastore.disk.usage` metric.        | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.datastore.disk.utilization`  | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.datastore.disk.utilization` metric.  | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.host.cpu.usage`              | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.host.cpu.usage` metric.              | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.host.cpu.utilization`        | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.host.cpu.utilization` metric.        | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.host.disk.latency.avg`       | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.host.disk.latency.avg` metric.       | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.host.disk.latency.max`       | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.host.disk.latency.max` metric.       | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.host.disk.throughput`        | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.host.disk.throughput` metric.        | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.host.memory.usage`           | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.host.memory.usage` metric.           | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.host.memory.utilization`     | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.host.memory.utilization` metric.     | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.host.network.packet.count`   | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.host.network.packet.count` metric.   | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.host.network.packet.errors`  | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.host.network.packet.errors` metric.  | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.host.network.throughput`     | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.host.network.throughput` metric.     | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.host.network.usage`          | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.host.network.usage` metric.          | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.resource_pool.cpu.shares`    | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.resource_pool.cpu.shares` metric.    | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.resource_pool.cpu.usage`     | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.resource_pool.cpu.usage` metric.     | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.resource_pool.memory.shares` | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.resource_pool.memory.shares` metric. | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.resource_pool.memory.usage`  | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.resource_pool.memory.usage` metric.  | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.cpu.usage`                | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.cpu.usage` metric.                | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.cpu.utilization`          | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.cpu.utilization` metric.          | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.disk.latency.avg`         | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.disk.latency.avg` metric.         | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.disk.latency.max`         | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.disk.latency.max` metric.         | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.disk.throughput`          | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.disk.throughput` metric.          | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.disk.usage`               | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.disk.usage` metric.               | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.disk.utilization`         | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.disk.utilization` metric.         | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.memory.ballooned`         | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.memory.ballooned` metric.         | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.memory.swapped`           | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.memory.swapped` metric.           | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.memory.swapped_ssd`       | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.memory.swapped_ssd` metric.       | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.memory.usage`             | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.memory.usage` metric.             | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.memory.utilization`       | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.memory.utilization` metric.       | `false` | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.network.packet.count`     | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.network.packet.count` metric.     | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.network.throughput`       | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.network.throughput` metric.       | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.network.usage`            | [metric](#metric-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.network.usage` metric.            | `true`  | no       |

#### metric block

Expand table

| Name      | Type      | Description                   | Default | Required |
|-----------|-----------|-------------------------------|---------|----------|
| `enabled` | `boolean` | Whether to enable the metric. | `true`  | no       |

### resource\_attributes block

Expand table

| Name                                   | Type                                             | Description                                                            | Default | Required |
|----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------|----------|
| `vcenter.cluster.name`                 | [resource\_attribute](#resource_attribute-block) | Enables the `vcenter.cluster.name` resource attribute.                 | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.datastore.name`               | [resource\_attribute](#resource_attribute-block) | Enables the `vcenter.cluster.resource_pool` resource attribute.        | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.host.name`                    | [resource\_attribute](#resource_attribute-block) | Enables the `vcenter.host.name` resource attribute.                    | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.resource_pool.inventory_path` | [resource\_attribute](#resource_attribute-block) | Enables the `vcenter.resource_pool.inventory_path` resource attribute. | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.resource_pool.name`           | [resource\_attribute](#resource_attribute-block) | Enables the `vcenter.resource_pool.name` resource attribute.           | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.id`                        | [resource\_attribute](#resource_attribute-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.id` resource attribute.                        | `true`  | no       |
| `vcenter.vm.name`                      | [resource\_attribute](#resource_attribute-block) | Enables the `vcenter.vm.name` resource attribute.                      | `true`  | no       |

#### resource\_attribute block

Expand table

| Name      | Type      | Description                               | Default | Required |
|-----------|-----------|-------------------------------------------|---------|----------|
| `enabled` | `boolean` | Whether to enable the resource attribute. | `true`  | no       |

### debug\_metrics block

The `debug_metrics` block configures the metrics that this component generates to monitor its state.

The following arguments are supported:

Expand table

| Name                               | Type      | Description                                          | Default | Required |
|------------------------------------|-----------|------------------------------------------------------|---------|----------|
| `disable_high_cardinality_metrics` | `boolean` | Whether to disable certain high cardinality metrics. | `true`  | no       |

`disable_high_cardinality_metrics` is the Grafana Agent equivalent to the `telemetry.disableHighCardinalityMetrics` feature gate in the OpenTelemetry Collector. It removes attributes that could cause high cardinality metrics. For example, attributes with IP addresses and port numbers in metrics about HTTP and gRPC connections are removed.

### output block

The `output` block configures a set of components to forward resulting telemetry data to.

The following arguments are supported:

Expand table

| Name      | Type                     | Description                           | Default | Required |
|-----------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------|----------|
| `logs`    | `list(otelcol.Consumer)` | List of consumers to send logs to.    | `[]`    | no       |
| `metrics` | `list(otelcol.Consumer)` | List of consumers to send metrics to. | `[]`    | no       |
| `traces`  | `list(otelcol.Consumer)` | List of consumers to send traces to.  | `[]`    | no       |

You must specify the `output` block, but all its arguments are optional. By default, telemetry data is dropped. Configure the `metrics`, `logs`, and `traces` arguments accordingly to send telemetry data to other components.

## Exported fields

`otelcol.receiver.vcenter` does not export any fields.

## Component health

`otelcol.receiver.vcenter` is only reported as unhealthy if given an invalid configuration.

## Debug information

`otelcol.receiver.vcenter` does not expose any component-specific debug information.

## Example

This example forwards received telemetry data through a batch processor before finally sending it to an OTLP-capable endpoint:

Alloy ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy

```alloy
otelcol.receiver.vcenter "default" {
  endpoint = "http://localhost:15672"
  username = "otelu"
  password = "password"

  output {
    metrics = [otelcol.processor.batch.default.input]
  }
}

otelcol.processor.batch "default" {
  output {
    metrics = [otelcol.exporter.otlp.default.input]
  }
}

otelcol.exporter.otlp "default" {
  client {
    endpoint = env("OTLP_ENDPOINT")
  }
}
```

## Compatible components

`otelcol.receiver.vcenter` can accept arguments from the following components:

- Components that export [OpenTelemetry `otelcol.Consumer`](../../compatibility/#opentelemetry-otelcolconsumer-exporters)

> Note
> 
> Connecting some components may not be sensible or components may require further configuration to make the connection work correctly. Refer to the linked documentation for more details.