What serialization method does Dynatrace use for data?

Dynatrace utilizes Protocol Buffers for data serialization, which is an efficient method developed by Google to serialize structured data. The key advantage of using Protocol Buffers lies in their performance and compact binary format, making them ideal for high-volume telemetry data, which is a significant part of Dynatrace's monitoring capabilities.

This method supports multiple languages and can easily evolve over time by allowing backward and forward compatibility, meaning structures can be updated without breaking existing services. As a result, Protocol Buffers provide a reliable and efficient means for Dynatrace to transmit large amounts of monitoring and performance data across distributed systems while maintaining a small data footprint.

In contrast, the other methods—XML, JSON, and CSV—have their use cases but do not offer the same level of efficiency and performance needed for the robust and high-speed data handling that Dynatrace requires. For instance, XML and JSON are generally more human-readable but tend to be larger and slower to parse, while CSV is limited in handling complex data structures.