Collector as a gateway

The last scenario we'll cover is how to deploy the collector as a standalone service, also known as a gateway. In this mode, the collector can provide a horizontally scalable service to do additional processing on the telemetry before sending it to a backend. Horizontal scaling means that if the service comes under too much pressure, we can launch additional instances of it, which, in this case, is the collector, to manage the increasing load. Additionally, the standalone service can provide a central location for the configuring, sampling, and scrubbing of the telemetry. From a security standpoint, it might also be preferable to have a single service sending traffic outside of your network. This is because it simplifies the rules that need to be configured and reduces the risk and blast radius of vulnerabilities.

Important Note

If your backend is deployed within your network, it's possible that a standalone service for the collector will be overkill...