Open Agent Management Protocol

The Open Agent Management Protocol, or OpAMP, is a specification from the CNCF OpenTelemetry project designed to help manage distributed fleets of OpenTelemetry Collectors. However, its value extends well beyond collector configuration and lifecycle management.

As observability estates grow, teams need better ways to monitor, configure, and control distributed agents without relying on manual intervention, bespoke scripts, or invasive changes to existing deployments. OpAMP provides a standardised foundation for this kind of control plane.

In this session, we will explain what OpAMP is, what it is not, and why it deserves more attention. We will look at the context in which it emerged, the capabilities it provides, and how it can be used beyond its original OpenTelemetry Collector focus.

We will also explore how OpAMP can enable ChatOps-style workflows, allowing operational teams to interact with multiple collector implementations through a consistent protocol. This creates opportunities for richer automation and, where appropriate, AI-assisted operational support.

The session will conclude with a walkthrough and demo of a working implementation that uses OpAMP to monitor and manage different collector implementations, demonstrating how these ideas can be applied without introducing invasive change.

Takeways:

• Awareness of OpAMP and its potential
• Insight into ChatOps and its goals
• Knowledge of something that can serve as a foundation your implementation