Pebble

Overview

Pebble is a key-value storage engine that provides efficient data buffering for the Bindplane OTel Collector. It offers good performance with minimal configuration and is the recommended default for most production deployments.

Under the hood, Pebble Persistent Queue Storage is the Bindplane pebble extension.

Configuration

The following parameters control Pebble storage behavior:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
Persistent Queue Directory	string	${OIQ_OTEL_COLLECTOR_HOME}/storage	Directory where Pebble stores data files
Synchronize Persistent Queue to Disk	bool	true	Whether to sync writes immediately to disk for durability
Cache Size	int	8 MB	Size in bytes of the block cache. When 0, uses Pebble's default cache behavior of 8 MB. Larger values improve read performance at the cost of memory usage.

When to Use Pebble

Use Pebble for:

• Single collector deployments

• Standard gateway deployments (2-3 collectors)

• Edge collectors and agent deployments

• When configuration simplicity is preferred

When to Switch to Badger

Consider upgrading to Badger if:

• Scaling to 5+ gateway collectors

• Per-collector throughput becomes a bottleneck

• Horizontal scaling efficiency is important

See Badger for large-scale deployment guidance.

Monitoring

Monitor these indicators after configuring Pebble:

Disk Usage

• Growth is normal and proportional to data volume

• Pebble handles cleanup automatically

• Ensure sufficient disk space remains available

Processing Latency

• Should be consistent without significant spikes

• If degrading, check if at capacity for current data volume

Memory Usage

• Should remain stable and predictable

• If growing unexpectedly, adjust Cache Size if configured

Troubleshooting

Performance degradation:

• Check if data volume exceeds current capacity

• Monitor CPU and disk I/O utilization

• Consider Badger if scaling to 5+ collectors

High disk usage:

• Normal with high-throughput deployments

• Verify adequate disk space remains available

Next Steps

1. If switching too or from Pebble, follow the Switching Queues guide to avoid data loss.

2. Monitor per-collector throughput, memory usage, and disk space.

For help choosing your persistent queue storage, see the Persistent Queue guide.