Track dependencies with OpenCensus Python

A dependency is an external component that is called by your application. Dependency data is collected using OpenCensus Python and its various integrations. The data is then sent to Application Insights under Azure Monitor as dependencies telemetry.

First, instrument your Python application with latest OpenCensus Python SDK.

In-process dependencies

OpenCensus Python SDK for Azure Monitor allows you to send "in-process" dependency telemetry (information and logic that occurs within your application). In-process dependencies will have the type field as INPROC in analytics.

from opencensus.ext.azure.trace_exporter import AzureExporter
from opencensus.trace.samplers import ProbabilitySampler
from opencensus.trace.tracer import Tracer

tracer = Tracer(exporter=AzureExporter(connection_string="InstrumentationKey=<your-ikey-here>"), sampler=ProbabilitySampler(1.0))

with tracer.span(name='foo'): # <-- A dependency telemetry item will be sent for this span "foo"
    print('Hello, World!')

Dependencies with "requests" integration

Track your outgoing requests with the OpenCensus requests integration.

Download and install opencensus-ext-requests from PyPI and add it to the trace integrations. Requests sent using the Python requests library will be tracked.

import requests
from opencensus.ext.azure.trace_exporter import AzureExporter
from opencensus.trace import config_integration
from opencensus.trace.samplers import ProbabilitySampler
from opencensus.trace.tracer import Tracer

config_integration.trace_integrations(['requests'])  # <-- this line enables the requests integration

tracer = Tracer(exporter=AzureExporter(connection_string="InstrumentationKey=<your-ikey-here>"), sampler=ProbabilitySampler(1.0))

with tracer.span(name='parent'):
    response = requests.get(url='https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit') # <-- this request will be tracked

Dependencies with "httplib" integration

Track your outgoing requests with OpenCensus httplib integration.

Download and install opencensus-ext-httplib from PyPI and add it to the trace integrations. Requests sent using http.client for Python3 or httplib for Python2 will be tracked.

import http.client as httplib
from opencensus.ext.azure.trace_exporter import AzureExporter
from opencensus.trace import config_integration
from opencensus.trace.samplers import ProbabilitySampler
from opencensus.trace.tracer import Tracer

config_integration.trace_integrations(['httplib'])
conn = httplib.HTTPConnection("www.python.org")

tracer = Tracer(
    exporter=AzureExporter(),
    sampler=ProbabilitySampler(1.0)
)

conn.request("GET", "http://www.python.org", "", {})
response = conn.getresponse()
conn.close()

Dependencies with "django" integration

Track your outgoing Django requests with the OpenCensus django integration.

Download and install opencensus-ext-django from PyPI and add the following line to the MIDDLEWARE section in the Django settings.py file.

MIDDLEWARE = [
    ...
    'opencensus.ext.django.middleware.OpencensusMiddleware',
]

Additional configuration can be provided, read customizations for a complete reference.

OPENCENSUS = {
    'TRACE': {
        'SAMPLER': 'opencensus.trace.samplers.ProbabilitySampler(rate=1)',
        'EXPORTER': '''opencensus.ext.azure.trace_exporter.AzureExporter(
            connection_string="InstrumentationKey=<your-ikey-here>"
        )''',
    }
}

You can find a Django sample application that uses dependencies in the Azure Monitor OpenCensus Python samples repository located here.

Dependencies with "mysql" integration

Track your MYSQL dependencies with the OpenCensus mysql integration. This integration supports the mysql-connector library.

Download and install opencensus-ext-mysql from PyPI and add the following lines to your code.

from opencensus.trace import config_integration

config_integration.trace_integrations(['mysql'])

Dependencies with "pymysql" integration

Track your PyMySQL dependencies with the OpenCensus pymysql integration.

Download and install opencensus-ext-pymysql from PyPI and add the following lines to your code.

from opencensus.trace import config_integration

config_integration.trace_integrations(['pymysql'])

Dependencies with "postgresql" integration

Track your PostgreSQL dependencies with the OpenCensus postgresql integration. This integration supports the psycopg2 library.

Download and install opencensus-ext-postgresql from PyPI and add the following lines to your code.

from opencensus.trace import config_integration

config_integration.trace_integrations(['postgresql'])

Dependencies with "pymongo" integration

Track your MongoDB dependencies with the OpenCensus pymongo integration. This integration supports the pymongo library.

Download and install opencensus-ext-pymongo from PyPI and add the following lines to your code.

from opencensus.trace import config_integration

config_integration.trace_integrations(['pymongo'])

Dependencies with "sqlalchemy" integration

Track your dependencies using SQLAlchemy using OpenCensus sqlalchemy integration. This integration tracks the usage of the sqlalchemy package, regardless of the underlying database.

from opencensus.trace import config_integration

config_integration.trace_integrations(['sqlalchemy'])

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