Edge Delta Parse Timestamp Processor

The Edge Delta parse timestamp processor parses the timestamps from another field.

4 minute read

Overview

There will be a slight difference between the timestamp in a data item body, which is the event time vs the root timestamp field, which is the moment the Edge Delta agent ingested it. See Manage Log Timestamps. You can choose to overwrite the timestamp field using the timestamp in the body, taking into account various timestamp formats. You may need to parse the body first to isolate the timestamp in an attribute.

For detailed instructions on how to use multiprocessors, see Use Multiprocessors.

Configuration

In this example, the timestamp 1745307901318 has been changed to 1745307900489, which is 2025-04-22T07:45:00.489664Z.

YAML version:

- name: Multi Processor
  type: sequence
  processors:
  - type: ottl_transform
    metadata: '{"id":"atZl1qvLfkBt-aILGqio_","type":"parse-json","name":"Parse JSON"}'
    statements: |-
      merge_maps(attributes, ParseJSON(body), "upsert") where IsMap(attributes)
      set(attributes, ParseJSON(body)) where not IsMap(attributes)      
  - type: ottl_transform
    metadata: '{"id":"8ywWLkADWPtLOJ2cnpBEU","type":"parse-timestamp","name":"Parse
      Timestamp"}'
    statements: set(timestamp, UnixMilli(Time(attributes["timestamp"], "2006-01-02T15:04:05Z07:00")))

Options

Select a telemetry type

You can specify, log, metric, trace or all. It is specified using the interface, which generates a YAML list item for you under the data_types parameter. This defines the data item types against which the processor must operate. If data_types is not specified, the default value is all. It is optional.

It is defined in YAML as follows:

- name: multiprocessor
  type: sequence
  processors:
  - type: <processor type>
    data_types:
    - log

condition

The condition parameter contains a conditional phrase of an OTTL statement. It restricts operation of the processor to only data items where the condition is met. Those data items that do not match the condition are passed without processing. You configure it in the interface and an OTTL condition is generated. It is optional. You can select one of the following operators:

Operator	Name	Description	Example
`==`	Equal to	Returns `true` if both values are exactly the same	`attributes["status"] == "OK"`
`!=`	Not equal to	Returns `true` if the values are not the same	`attributes["level"] != "debug"`
`>`	Greater than	Returns `true` if the left value is greater than the right	`attributes["duration_ms"] > 1000`
`>=`	Greater than or equal	Returns `true` if the left value is greater than or equal to the right	`attributes["score"] >= 90`
`<`	Less than	Returns `true` if the left value is less than the right	`attributes["load"] < 0.75`
`<=`	Less than or equal	Returns `true` if the left value is less than or equal to the right	`attributes["retries"] <= 3`
`matches`	Regex match	Returns `true` if the string matches a regular expression	`isMatch(attributes["name"], ".*\\.name$"`

It is defined in YAML as follows:

- name: _multiprocessor
  type: sequence
  processors:
  - type: <processor type>
    condition: attributes["request"]["path"] == "/json/view"

Parse from

Specify the field containing the timestamp.

Format

Specify the format that the timestamp is currently in. The options show examples so you can match the format. If your format is not listed you can use a golang time configuration. To do this, select Custom as the format. Then enter the following golang reference date in the Custom format field, but format it according to your input timestamp: Mon Jan 2 15:04:05 -0700 MST 2006:

1 represents the month (January)
2 represents the day of the month
3 represents the hour in 12-hour format (3 PM)
4 represents the minute
5 represents the second
6 represents the year (2006)
-0700 represents the time zone offset
MST represents the time zone abbreviation

For example, if your format is Time_2013|10|15~05_52_12, you enter Time_2006|01|02~15_04_05 in the Custom format field. The unique values in the reference datetime enable the processor to map the input format.

Final

The final parameter specifies whether successfully processed data items should continue to subsequent processors within the same multiprocessor node. Data items that fail to be processed by the processor will be passed to the next processor in the node regardless of this setting. You select the slider in the tool which specifies it for you in the YAML as a Boolean. The default is false and it is optional.

It is defined in YAML as follows:

- name: multiprocessor
  type: sequence
  processors:
    - type: <processor type>
    final: true

Keep original telemetry item

This option defines whether to delete the original unmodified data item after it is processed. For example, you can keep the original log as well as any metrics generated by an extract metric processor. If you select this option your data volume will increase.