﻿---
title: EDOT compatibility and support nomenclature
description: Explanation of compatibility and support states (Incompatible, Compatible, Supported) for EDOT components.
url: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/2510/reference/opentelemetry/compatibility/nomenclature
products:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless
  - Elastic Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector
  - Elastic Distribution of OpenTelemetry SDK
  - Elastic Observability
applies_to:
  - Serverless Observability projects: Generally available
  - Elastic Stack: Generally available in 9.0+
---

# EDOT compatibility and support nomenclature
OpenTelemetry (OTel) is a modular, extensible framework designed to integrate with a wide range of technologies. Its architecture enables interoperability across many components, extensions, and tools, giving users flexibility to shape their observability pipelines.
Elastic Distributions for OpenTelemetry (EDOT) are built from contrib OTel components and are technically compatible with a broad set of community components. Users can also send data to Elastic using other contrib OTel components or distributions like the contrib Collector and OTel SDKs, which are technically compatible with Elastic’s ingestion APIs.
*Supported through Elastic* refers to components and configurations that Elastic has explicitly tested, validated, and committed to maintaining under our [Support Policies](https://www.elastic.co/support). This includes regular updates, issue triaging, and guidance from Elastic’s support and engineering teams. Components outside of this supported set may still work, but Elastic does not provide guaranteed support or troubleshooting assistance for them.
In the following sections we differentiate the following compatibility and support states:

| **State**         | **Description**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
|-------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| **Incompatible**  | Component, use case, or ingestion path is technically not compatible. Functionality is likely to be significantly impacted.                                                                                                                                                                             |
| **Compatible**    | Component, use case, or ingestion path is technically compatible. Functionality is not expected to be impaired. Minor deviations might occur. Component, use case, or ingestion path is not officially supported by Elastic. Elastic does not provide guaranteed support or troubleshooting assistance. |
| **Not supported** | Component, use case, or ingestion path may be technically compatible, but Elastic doesn't provide official support. The functionality is not tested. Use at your own risk.                                                                                                                              |
| **Supported**     | Component, use case, or ingestion path is technically compatible and Elastic provides official support. The functionality is explicitly tested. Limitations are documented.                                                                                                                             |


## Categorization of Collector components

The EDOT Collector includes two types of components with different compatibility and support scope: Core and Extended.

### Core components

Core components are used by default in Elastic's onboarding flows and are essential for common use cases. They are fully supported under your Service Level Agreement (SLA).

### Extended components

Extended components are a curated set of optional components that enhance functionality and are technically compatible. These are not part of Elastic's core product journeys and are not covered by SLAs. You're free to use them, but Elastic provides limited support.

### Breaking changes

Because the EDOT Collector is built on contrib OpenTelemetry, breaking contrib changes might impact both Extended and Core components. For example, breaking changes in semantic conventions or configuration options. Elastic highlights and manages these through docs and support channels.
<tip>
  For the best support experience, rely on Core components and use Extended Components only when required.
</tip>