avuru obs vs. Apache SkyWalking
Apache SkyWalking is a mature, top-level Apache APM with a decade of history, 10+ language agents and an eBPF profiler (Rover). It validates the same architecture avuru follows — user-space agents in production, eBPF as a supplement. The difference is the storage engine and the operational surface: SkyWalking stores telemetry in its own BanyanDB; avuru puts every signal in one ClickHouse you query in plain SQL.
At a glance
| Apache SkyWalking | avuru obs | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary scope | Traces, metrics, logs, profiling, alarms | Traces, logs, metrics, profiling |
| Instrumentation | Language agents (Java-first, 10+) + eBPF Rover | eBPF auto-discovery (OBI) + optional OTLP |
| Storage | BanyanDB (purpose-built) or ES/others | Single ClickHouse for all signals |
| Query | OAL / BanyanDB query, UI-driven | Plain SQL over ClickHouse |
| Ingest | Native protocol + OTLP receiver | Native OTLP (:4318/:4317) |
| Deploy | OAP backend + storage + UI | One Helm chart |
| License | Apache-2.0 (ASF) | AGPL-3.0 |
Why teams look at avuru obs
- A store you already know. BanyanDB is purpose-built and capable, but it's one more bespoke system to learn, size and back up. avuru uses ClickHouse — ubiquitous, SQL-native, and probably already in your stack.
- One engine, one query language. Traces, logs, metrics and profiles live in the same ClickHouse and answer to the same SQL, instead of OAL plus a storage-specific query path.
- Zero-code map. avuru's
sensorderives the service map from OBI's eBPF spans — no per-language agent rollout just to get the topology.
How to migrate
SkyWalking's OAP can receive OTLP, and so can avuru — so if you already emit OpenTelemetry, pointing it at avuru is a one-line change:
- Install avuru obs alongside SkyWalking.
- Send your OTLP stream (or repoint the OTel Collector) at the avuru
gatewayon:4318/:4317. Keep SkyWalking receiving too, to dual-write while you validate. - Confirm parity, then decommission the SkyWalking pipeline.
See the OTLP bridge guide.
When SkyWalking is the better fit
- You depend on its breadth of language agents or service-mesh telemetry (Envoy ALS), and its large, mature community.
- You already operate BanyanDB happily and want its native APM model.
- You want a permissive Apache-2.0 license rather than avuru's copyleft AGPL-3.0.
:::tip Try it side by side Install in 30 seconds and dual-export one service — you'll see the eBPF map in avuru next to your SkyWalking topology. :::