From Pinpoint to DataBuff

Pinpoint uses a proprietary Java Agent—you cannot retarget ingest like SkyWalking. Migration means removing the Pinpoint Agent, switching to the OpenTelemetry Java Agent (or SkyWalking Agent), and sending telemetry to DataBuff Ingest. For capability differences, see DataBuff vs Pinpoint.

Migration model

Before:  App + Pinpoint Agent  ──▶  Pinpoint Collector
After:   App + OTel Java Agent  ──OTLP──▶  DataBuff Ingest (:4317 / :4318)
     or App + SkyWalking Agent  ──gRPC:11800──▶  DataBuff Ingest

Core action: swap the probe and point it at DataBuff. Prefer the OTel Java Agent for a unified multi-language stack; SkyWalking Agent to DataBuff 11800 is an option for Java-only fleets with minimal protocol change.

Roll out canary → verify → expand.

Prerequisites

• DataBuff deployed
• Ingest OTLP (4317 / 4318) or SkyWalking gRPC (11800) reachable
• Note the original pinpoint.applicationName and Agent flags for mapping to OTEL_SERVICE_NAME or agent.service_name
• Validate in staging that the Pinpoint Agent is fully removed to avoid dual-agent conflicts

Ingestion details: OpenTelemetry OTLP ingestion, SkyWalking Ingestion.

Steps

1. Ingest endpoint

Option	Agent	Point to
OTel (recommended)	OpenTelemetry Java Agent	<ingest-host>:4318 (HTTP) or :4317 (gRPC)
Alternative	SkyWalking Java Agent	<ingest-host>:11800

2. Remove Pinpoint Agent

Drop Pinpoint from JVM flags, for example:

# Remove lines like
-javaagent:/path/to/pinpoint-bootstrap.jar
-Dpinpoint.applicationName=my-service
-Dpinpoint.agentId=my-instance

Also remove pinpoint.config or related env/volume mounts.

3. Connect to DataBuff (OTel example)

java -javaagent:/path/to/opentelemetry-javaagent.jar \
  -Dotel.service.name=my-service \
  -Dotel.exporter.otlp.endpoint=http://<databuff-ingest-host>:4318 \
  -Dotel.exporter.otlp.protocol=http/protobuf \
  -jar my-app.jar

Or via environment variables:

export OTEL_SERVICE_NAME="my-service"
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT="http://<databuff-ingest-host>:4318"
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL="http/protobuf"

SkyWalking alternative (Java-only, same port family as Pinpoint-style gRPC ingest):

agent.backend_service=<databuff-ingest-host>:11800
agent.service_name=my-service

K8s: update JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS or the Agent init image in the Deployment and roll pods.

4. Rollout

1. Migrate one or two non-critical Java services
2. Verify in DataBuff Web (below)
3. Expand by domain
4. Decommission Pinpoint Collector / Web when stable

Acceptance and rollback

Check	Expected
Services	Listed under Application Performance with the chosen service name
Traces	New requests show traces (OTel auto-instrumentation—not Pinpoint method-level Call Tree)
Instances	Multiple replicas visible in the instance list
Alerting	Re-create rules in DataBuff (Pinpoint alerts do not migrate)

Rollback: restore Pinpoint Agent flags and Collector address and restart. Keep before/after configs in the change ticket.

Not auto-migrated: Pinpoint historical traces, Inspector data, and alert rules; accept OTel default instrumentation depth vs Pinpoint method trees.

See also

• DataBuff vs Pinpoint
• OpenTelemetry OTLP ingestion
• SkyWalking Ingestion
• Docker Installation