---
title: Deploy the EDOT gateway on Kubernetes
description: Deploy an EDOT Collector gateway on Kubernetes to receive telemetry from a contrib OpenTelemetry Collector and forward it to Elasticsearch.
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/7061/solutions/observability/get-started/opentelemetry/use-cases/upstream-collector/kubernetes
products:
  - Elastic Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector
  - Elastic Observability
applies_to:
  - Elastic Stack: Generally available since 9.2
---

# Deploy the EDOT gateway on Kubernetes
This page extends [Send data from a contrib OpenTelemetry Collector](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/7061/solutions/observability/get-started/opentelemetry/use-cases/upstream-collector) with Kubernetes-specific deployment steps. If you haven't read that page, start there for context on the architecture and components.
In Kubernetes, you deploy the EDOT gateway as a `Deployment` and expose it as a `Service` so contrib Collectors can reach it using cluster DNS.
The EDOT Collector image for standalone use is `docker.elastic.co/elastic-agent/elastic-otel-collector`. Unlike the full Elastic Agent image, this image's entrypoint unconditionally starts in `otel` mode — no extra environment variables are required.

## Prerequisites

- A running Kubernetes cluster
- `kubectl` configured to access the cluster
- A running self-managed Elasticsearch cluster reachable from the Kubernetes cluster

<stepper>
  <step title="Create a secret for credentials">
    ```bash
    kubectl create secret generic elastic-secret-otel \
      --from-literal=elastic_endpoint='https://your-elasticsearch:9200' \
      --from-literal=elastic_api_key='your-encoded-api-key'
    ```
  </step>

  <step title="Deploy the EDOT gateway">
    Apply the following manifest. The `ConfigMap` holds the gateway configuration, the `Deployment` runs the EDOT Collector, and the `Service` exposes port 4317 for contrib Collectors inside the cluster.
    ```yaml
    apiVersion: v1
    kind: ConfigMap
    metadata:
      name: edot-gateway-config
    data:
      gateway.yaml: |
        receivers:
          otlp:
            protocols:
              grpc:
                endpoint: 0.0.0.0:4317
              http:
                endpoint: 0.0.0.0:4318
        connectors:
          elasticapm: {}
        processors:
          batch:
            send_batch_size: 1000
            timeout: 1s
            send_batch_max_size: 1500
          batch/metrics:
            send_batch_max_size: 0
            timeout: 1s
          elasticapm: {}
        exporters:
          elasticsearch/otel:
            endpoints:
              - ${env:ELASTIC_ENDPOINT}
            api_key: ${env:ELASTIC_API_KEY}
            mapping:
              mode: otel
        service:
          pipelines:
            traces:
              receivers: [otlp]
              processors: [batch, elasticapm]
              exporters: [elasticapm, elasticsearch/otel]
            metrics:
              receivers: [otlp]
              processors: [batch/metrics]
              exporters: [elasticsearch/otel]
            metrics/aggregated-otel-metrics:
              receivers: [elasticapm]
              processors: []
              exporters: [elasticsearch/otel]
            logs:
              receivers: [otlp]
              processors: [batch]
              exporters: [elasticsearch/otel]
    ---
    apiVersion: apps/v1
    kind: Deployment
    metadata:
      name: edot-gateway
      labels:
        app: edot-gateway
    spec:
      replicas: 2
      selector:
        matchLabels:
          app: edot-gateway
      template:
        metadata:
          labels:
            app: edot-gateway
        spec:
          containers:
            - name: edot-gateway
              image: docker.elastic.co/elastic-agent/elastic-otel-collector:{{version.edot_collector}}
              args: ["--config", "/etc/edot/gateway.yaml"]
              env:
                - name: ELASTIC_ENDPOINT
                  valueFrom:
                    secretKeyRef:
                      name: elastic-secret-otel
                      key: elastic_endpoint
                - name: ELASTIC_API_KEY
                  valueFrom:
                    secretKeyRef:
                      name: elastic-secret-otel
                      key: elastic_api_key
              ports:
                - containerPort: 4317 
                - containerPort: 4318 
              volumeMounts:
                - name: config
                  mountPath: /etc/edot
          volumes:
            - name: config
              configMap:
                name: edot-gateway-config
    ---
    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Service
    metadata:
      name: edot-gateway
    spec:
      selector:
        app: edot-gateway
      ports:
        - name: otlp-grpc
          port: 4317
          targetPort: 4317
        - name: otlp-http
          port: 4318
          targetPort: 4318
    ```
  </step>

  <step title="Configure the contrib Collector">
    Point the contrib Collector's OTLP exporter at the gateway `Service`:
    ```yaml
    exporters:
      otlp:
        endpoint: "edot-gateway:4317"
        tls:
          insecure: true 
    ```
  </step>

  <step title="Verify data in {{kib}}">
    After the gateway pods are running and your contrib Collectors point to the `edot-gateway` Service, confirm that data flows in:
    1. Check your services in **Observability** → **APM**.
    2. Check the `traces-generic.otel-default`, `logs-generic.otel-default`, and `metrics-generic.otel-default` data streams in **Discover**.
    If no data appears, refer to [No logs, metrics, or traces visible in Kibana](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/7061/troubleshoot/ingest/opentelemetry/no-data-in-kibana).
  </step>
</stepper>

<note>
  For comprehensive Kubernetes observability (including host metrics, pod logs, Kubernetes events, and cluster metrics), use the `opentelemetry-kube-stack` Helm chart with the Elastic values instead. Refer to [Kubernetes observability](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/7061/solutions/observability/get-started/opentelemetry/use-cases/kubernetes) for more information.
</note>