# Semantic conventions for HTTP client and server metrics emitted by .NET

LLMS index: [llms.txt](/llms.txt)

---

**Status**: [Stable][DocumentStatus]

This article defines semantic conventions for HTTP metrics emitted by .NET components and runtime.


## HTTP client

All Http client metrics are reported by the `System.Net.Http` meter.

### Metric: `http.client.request.duration`

Client request duration measures the time it takes to receive response headers and doesn't include time to read the response body.

This metric follows the common [http.client.request.duration](../http/http-metrics.md#metric-httpclientrequestduration) definition.

Notes:

- Meter name is `System.Net.Http`
- Metric added in .NET 8.0
- When the `error.type` attribute is reported, it contains one of [HTTP Request errors](https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/system.net.http.httprequesterror) in snake_case, a full exception type, or a string representation of received status code.
- `network.protocol.name` is not reported and should always be assumed to match `http`.
- `server.port` is not reported when it matches a default one for provided scheme (`443` for `https` and `80` for `http`)
- `url.scheme` is always reported.

### Metric: `http.client.open_connections`

<!-- Tables in this document are not auto-generated and are intentionally frozen in time. From the .NET perspective this metric and its attributes are stable till the next major version. They are still experimental in the OpenTelemetry. -->
| Name | Instrument Type | Unit (UCUM) | Description |
| ---- | --------------- | ----------- | ----------- |
| `http.client.open_connections` | UpDownCounter | `{connection}` | Number of outbound HTTP connections that are currently active or idle on the client. [1] |

**[1]:** Meter name: `System.Net.Http`; Added in: .NET 8.0

| Attribute | Type | Description | Examples | Requirement Level |
| --------- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [`http.connection.state`](../registry/attributes/http.md) | string | State of the HTTP connection in the HTTP connection pool. | `active`; `idle` | Required |
| [`network.peer.address`](../registry/attributes/network.md) | string | Remote IP address of the socket connection. | `10.1.2.80` | Recommended |
| [`network.protocol.version`](../registry/attributes/network.md) | string | The negotiated version of the protocol associated with connection in the connection pool. [1] | `1.1`; `2`; `3` | Recommended |
| [`server.address`](../registry/attributes/server.md) | string | Host identifier of the ["URI origin"](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-uri-origin) HTTP request is sent to. [2] | `example.com`; `10.1.2.80`; `/tmp/my.sock` | Required |
| [`server.port`](../registry/attributes/server.md) | int | Port identifier of the ["URI origin"](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-uri-origin) HTTP request is sent to. [3] | `80`; `8080`; `443` | Conditionally Required: [4] |
| [`url.scheme`](../registry/attributes/url.md) | string | The [URI scheme](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3986#section-3.1) component identifying the used protocol. | `http`; `https`; `ftp` | Recommended |

**[1]:** HTTP 1.0 and 1.1 requests share connections in the connection pool and are both reported as version `1.1`. So, the `network.protocol.version` value reported on connection metrics is different than the one reported on request-level metrics or spans for HTTP 1.0 requests.

**[2]:** If an HTTP client request is explicitly made to an IP address, e.g. `http://x.x.x.x:8080`, then `server.address` SHOULD be the IP address `x.x.x.x`. A DNS lookup SHOULD NOT be used.

**[3]:** When observed from the client side, and when communicating through an intermediary, `server.port` SHOULD represent the server port behind any intermediaries, for example proxies, if it's available.

**[4]:** If not the default (`80` for `http` scheme, `443` for `https`).

`http.connection.state` MUST be one of the following:

| Value | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `active` | active state. |
| `idle` | idle state. |

### Metric: `http.client.connection.duration`

This metric SHOULD be specified with [`ExplicitBucketBoundaries` advisory parameter](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/blob/v1.54.0/specification/metrics/api.md#instrument-advisory-parameters) of `[ 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 30, 60, 120, 300 ]`.

<!-- Tables in this document are not auto-generated and are intentionally frozen in time. From the .NET perspective this metric and its attributes are stable till the next major version. They are still experimental in the OpenTelemetry. -->
| Name | Instrument Type | Unit (UCUM) | Description |
| -------- | --------------- | ----------- | -------------- |
| `http.client.connection.duration` | Histogram | `s` | The duration of the successfully established outbound HTTP connections. [1] |

**[1]:** Meter name: `System.Net.Http`; Added in: .NET 8.0

| Attribute | Type | Description | Examples | Requirement Level |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [`network.peer.address`](../registry/attributes/network.md) | string | Peer address of the network connection - IP address or Unix domain socket name. | `10.1.2.80`; `/tmp/my.sock` | Recommended |
| [`network.protocol.version`](../registry/attributes/network.md) | string | The negotiated version of the protocol associated with connection in the connection pool. [1] | `1.1`; `2`; `3` | Recommended |
| [`server.address`](../registry/attributes/server.md) | string | Host identifier of the ["URI origin"](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-uri-origin) HTTP request is sent to. [2] | `example.com`; `10.1.2.80`; `/tmp/my.sock` | Required |
| [`server.port`](../registry/attributes/server.md) | int | Port identifier of the ["URI origin"](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-uri-origin) HTTP request is sent to. [3] | `80`; `8080`; `443` | Conditionally Required: [4] |
| [`url.scheme`](../registry/attributes/url.md) | string | The [URI scheme](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3986#section-3.1) component identifying the used protocol. | `http`; `https`; `ftp` | Recommended |

**[1]:** HTTP 1.0 and 1.1 requests share connections in the connection pool and are both reported as version `1.1`. So, the `network.protocol.version` value reported on connection metrics is different than the one reported on request-level metrics or spans for HTTP 1.0 requests.

**[2]:** If an HTTP client request is explicitly made to an IP address, e.g. `http://x.x.x.x:8080`, then `server.address` SHOULD be the IP address `x.x.x.x`. A DNS lookup SHOULD NOT be used.

**[3]:** When observed from the client side, and when communicating through an intermediary, `server.port` SHOULD represent the server port behind any intermediaries, for example proxies, if it's available.

**[4]:** If not the default (`80` for `http` scheme, `443` for `https`).

### Metric: `http.client.request.time_in_queue`

this metric SHOULD be specified with [`ExplicitBucketBoundaries` advisory parameter](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/blob/v1.54.0/specification/metrics/api.md#instrument-advisory-parameters) of `[ 0.005, 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 ]`.

<!-- Tables in this document are not auto-generated and are intentionally frozen in time. From the .NET perspective this metric and its attributes are stable till the next major version. They are still experimental in the OpenTelemetry. -->
| Name | Instrument Type | Unit (UCUM) | Description |
| ---- | --------------- | ----------- | ----------- |
| `http.client.request.time_in_queue` | Histogram | `s` | The amount of time requests spent on a queue waiting for an available connection. [1] |

**[1]:** Meter name: `System.Net.Http`; Added in: .NET 8.0

| Attribute | Type | Description | Examples | Requirement Level |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [`http.request.method`](../registry/attributes/http.md) | string | HTTP request method. [1] | `GET`; `POST`; `HEAD` | Recommended |
| [`network.protocol.version`](../registry/attributes/network.md) | string | The negotiated version of the protocol associated with connection in the connection pool. [2] | `1.1`; `2`; `3` | Recommended |
| [`server.address`](../registry/attributes/server.md) | string | Host identifier of the ["URI origin"](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-uri-origin) HTTP request is sent to. [3] | `example.com`; `10.1.2.80`; `/tmp/my.sock` | Required |
| [`server.port`](../registry/attributes/server.md) | int | Port identifier of the ["URI origin"](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-uri-origin) HTTP request is sent to. [4] | `80`; `8080`; `443` | Conditionally Required: [5] |
| [`url.scheme`](../registry/attributes/url.md) | string | The [URI scheme](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3986#section-3.1) component identifying the used protocol. | `http`; `https`; `ftp` | Recommended |

**[1]:** HTTP request method value is one of the "known" methods listed in [RFC9110](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-methods) and the PATCH method defined in [RFC5789](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5789.html).
If the HTTP request method isn't known, it sets the `http.request.method` attribute to `_OTHER`. It's not possible at the moment to override the list of known HTTP methods.

**[2]:** HTTP 1.0 and 1.1 requests share connections in the connection pool and are both reported as version `1.1`. So, the `network.protocol.version` value reported on connection metrics is different than the one reported on request-level metrics or spans for HTTP 1.0 requests.

**[3]:** If an HTTP client request is explicitly made to an IP address, e.g. `http://x.x.x.x:8080`, then `server.address` SHOULD be the IP address `x.x.x.x`. A DNS lookup SHOULD NOT be used.

**[4]:** When observed from the client side, and when communicating through an intermediary, `server.port` SHOULD represent the server port behind any intermediaries, for example proxies, if it's available.

**[5]:** If not the default (`80` for `http` scheme, `443` for `https`).

`http.request.method` has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used, otherwise a custom value MAY be used.

| Value | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `CONNECT` | CONNECT method. |
| `DELETE` | DELETE method. |
| `GET` | GET method. |
| `HEAD` | HEAD method. |
| `OPTIONS` | OPTIONS method. |
| `PATCH` | PATCH method. |
| `POST` | POST method. |
| `PUT` | PUT method. |
| `TRACE` | TRACE method. |
| `_OTHER` | Any HTTP method that the instrumentation has no prior knowledge of. |

### Metric: `http.client.active_requests`

<!-- Tables in this document are not auto-generated and are intentionally frozen in time. From the .NET perspective this metric and its attributes are stable till the next major version. They are still experimental in the OpenTelemetry. -->
| Name | Instrument Type | Unit (UCUM) | Description |
| -------- | --------------- | ----------- | -------------- |
| `http.client.active_requests` | UpDownCounter | `{request}` | Number of active HTTP requests. [1] |

**[1]:** Meter name: `System.Net.Http`; Added in: .NET 8.0

| Attribute | Type | Description | Examples | Requirement Level |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [`http.request.method`](../registry/attributes/http.md) | string | HTTP request method. [1] | `GET`; `POST`; `HEAD` | Recommended |
| [`server.address`](../registry/attributes/server.md) | string | Host identifier of the ["URI origin"](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-uri-origin) HTTP request is sent to. [2] | `example.com`; `10.1.2.80`; `/tmp/my.sock` | Required |
| [`server.port`](../registry/attributes/server.md) | int | Port identifier of the ["URI origin"](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-uri-origin) HTTP request is sent to. [3] | `80`; `8080`; `443` | Conditionally Required: [4] |
| [`url.scheme`](../registry/attributes/url.md) | string | The [URI scheme](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3986#section-3.1) component identifying the used protocol. | `http`; `https`; `ftp` | Recommended |

**[1]:** HTTP request method value is one of the "known" methods listed in [RFC9110](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-methods) and the PATCH method defined in [RFC5789](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5789.html).
If the HTTP request method isn't known, it sets the `http.request.method` attribute to `_OTHER`. It's not possible at the moment to override the list of known HTTP methods.

**[2]:** If an HTTP client request is explicitly made to an IP address, e.g. `http://x.x.x.x:8080`, then `server.address` SHOULD be the IP address `x.x.x.x`. A DNS lookup SHOULD NOT be used.

**[3]:** When observed from the client side, and when communicating through an intermediary, `server.port` SHOULD represent the server port behind any intermediaries, for example proxies, if it's available.

**[4]:** If not the default (`80` for `http` scheme, `443` for `https`).

`http.request.method` has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used, otherwise a custom value MAY be used.

| Value | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `CONNECT` | CONNECT method. |
| `DELETE` | DELETE method. |
| `GET` | GET method. |
| `HEAD` | HEAD method. |
| `OPTIONS` | OPTIONS method. |
| `PATCH` | PATCH method. |
| `POST` | POST method. |
| `PUT` | PUT method. |
| `TRACE` | TRACE method. |
| `_OTHER` | Any HTTP method that the instrumentation has no prior knowledge of. |

## HTTP server

All HTTP server metrics are reported by the `Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting` meter.

### Metric: `http.server.request.duration`

Measures time to last byte. This metric follows the common [http.server.request.duration](../http/http-metrics.md#metric-httpserverrequestduration) definition.

Notes:

- Meter name is `Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting`
- Metric added in ASP.NET Core 8.0
- Opt-in `server.address` and `server.port` attributes are not reported
- Additional attributes:

  - The `aspnetcore.request.is_unhandled` boolean attribute is reported when the request was **not** handled by the application pipeline. It's skipped otherwise.

### Metric: `http.server.active_requests`

Measures the number of HTTP requests that are currently active on the server. This metric follows the common [http.server.active_requests](../http/http-metrics.md#metric-httpserveractive_requests) definition.

Notes:

- Meter name is `Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting`
- Opt-in `server.address` and `server.port` attributes are not reported
- Metric added in ASP.NET Core 8.0

[DocumentStatus]: /docs/specs/otel/document-status