CoreDNS integration metrics

The official Datadog integration for monitoring CoreDNS. It collects 119 metrics.

Definitions as of 2026-04-15

Official summary

CoreDNS collects DNS metrics in Kubernetes.

Metric types

count (occurrences in the interval): 83
gauge (value at a point in time): 36

Metrics

Descriptions are the official definitions, unedited.

Metric	Type	Unit
`coredns.acl.allowed_requests`[OpenMetrics V1] Counter of DNS requests being allowed.	count	request
`coredns.acl.allowed_requests.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Counter of DNS requests being allowed.	count	request
`coredns.acl.blocked_requests`[OpenMetrics V1] Counter of DNS requests being blocked.	count	request
`coredns.acl.blocked_requests.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Counter of DNS requests being blocked.	count	request
`coredns.autopath.success_count`[OpenMetrics V1] Counter of requests that did autopath.	count	request
`coredns.autopath.success_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Counter of requests that did autopath.	count	request
`coredns.build_info`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] A metric with a constant '1' value labeled by version, revision, and goversion from which CoreDNS was built.	gauge	-
`coredns.cache_drops_count`[OpenMetrics V1] Counter of responses excluded from the cache due to request/response question name mismatch.	count	response
`coredns.cache_drops_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Counter of responses excluded from the cache due to request/response question name mismatch.	count	response
`coredns.cache_hits_count`[OpenMetrics V1] Counter of cache hits by cache type	count	hit
`coredns.cache_hits_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Counter of cache hits by cache type	count	hit
`coredns.cache_misses_count`[OpenMetrics V1] Counter of cache misses.	count	miss
`coredns.cache_misses_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Counter of cache misses.	count	miss
`coredns.cache_prefetch_count`[OpenMetrics V1] The number of time the cache has prefetched a cached item.	count	-
`coredns.cache_prefetch_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] The number of time the cache has prefetched a cached item.	count	-
`coredns.cache_request_count`[OpenMetrics V1] Counter of cache requests.	count	request
`coredns.cache_request_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Counter of cache requests.	count	request
`coredns.cache_size.count`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2]	gauge	entry
`coredns.cache_stale_count`[OpenMetrics V1] Counter of requests served from stale cache entries.	count	request
`coredns.cache_stale_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Counter of requests served from stale cache entries.	count	request
`coredns.dnssec.cache_hits`[OpenMetrics V1] Counter of cache hits.	count	hit
`coredns.dnssec.cache_hits.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Counter of cache hits.	count	hit
`coredns.dnssec.cache_misses`[OpenMetrics V1] Counter of cache misses.	count	miss
`coredns.dnssec.cache_misses.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Counter of cache misses.	count	miss
`coredns.dnssec.cache_size`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Total elements in the cache, type is signature.	gauge	-
`coredns.forward_healthcheck_broken_count`[OpenMetrics V1] counter of when all upstreams are unhealthy	count	entry
`coredns.forward_healthcheck_broken_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] counter of when all upstreams are unhealthy	count	entry
`coredns.forward_healthcheck_failure_count`[OpenMetrics V1] number of failed health checks per upstream	count	entry
`coredns.forward_healthcheck_failure_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] number of failed health checks per upstream	count	entry
`coredns.forward_max_concurrent_rejects`[OpenMetrics V1] Counter of the number of queries rejected because the concurrent queries were at maximum.	count	query
`coredns.forward_max_concurrent_rejects.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Counter of the number of queries rejected because the concurrent queries were at maximum.	count	query
`coredns.forward_request_count`[OpenMetrics V1] query count per upstream	count	request
`coredns.forward_request_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] query count per upstream	count	request
`coredns.forward_request_duration.seconds.bucket`[OpenMetrics V2] duration per upstream interaction	count	second
`coredns.forward_request_duration.seconds.count`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] duration per upstream interaction	count	second
`coredns.forward_request_duration.seconds.sum`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] duration per upstream interaction	count	second
`coredns.forward_response_rcode_count`[OpenMetrics V1] count of RCODEs per upstream	count	response
`coredns.forward_response_rcode_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] count of RCODEs per upstream	count	response
`coredns.forward_sockets_open`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] number of sockets open per upstream	gauge	connection
`coredns.go.gc_duration_seconds.count`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Count of the GC invocation durations.	count	second
`coredns.go.gc_duration_seconds.quantile`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Quantiles of the GC invocation durations.	gauge	second
`coredns.go.gc_duration_seconds.sum`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Sum of the GC invocation durations.	count	second
`coredns.go.goroutines`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of goroutines that currently exist.	gauge	thread
`coredns.go.info`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Information about the Go environment.	gauge	-
`coredns.go.memstats.alloc_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of bytes allocated and still in use.	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.alloc_bytes_total`[OpenMetrics V1] Total number of bytes allocated even if freed.	count	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.buck_hash_sys_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of bytes used by the profiling bucket hash table.	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.frees_total`[OpenMetrics V1] Total number of frees.	count	-
`coredns.go.memstats.frees_total.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Total number of frees.	count	-
`coredns.go.memstats.gc_cpu_fraction`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] CPU taken up by GC	gauge	percent
`coredns.go.memstats.gc_sys_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of bytes used for garbage collection system metadata.	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.heap_alloc_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Bytes allocated to the heap	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.heap_idle_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of idle bytes in the heap	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.heap_inuse_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of Bytes in the heap	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.heap_objects`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of objects in the heap	gauge	object
`coredns.go.memstats.heap_released_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of bytes released to the system in the last gc	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.heap_released_bytes.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Count of bytes released to the system in the last gc	count	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.heap_sys_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of bytes used by the heap	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.last_gc_time_seconds`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Length of last GC	gauge	second
`coredns.go.memstats.lookups_total`[OpenMetrics V1] Number of lookups	count	operation
`coredns.go.memstats.lookups_total.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Number of lookups	count	operation
`coredns.go.memstats.mallocs_total`[OpenMetrics V1] Number of mallocs	count	operation
`coredns.go.memstats.mallocs_total.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Number of mallocs	count	operation
`coredns.go.memstats.mcache_inuse_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of bytes in use by mcache structures.	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.mcache_sys_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of bytes used for mcache structures obtained from system.	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.mspan_inuse_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of bytes in use by mspan structures.	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.mspan_sys_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of bytes used for mspan structures obtained from system.	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.next_gc_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of heap bytes when next garbage collection will take place	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.other_sys_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of bytes used for other system allocations	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.stack_inuse_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of bytes in use by the stack allocator	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.stack_sys_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of bytes obtained from system for stack allocator	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.memstats.sys_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of bytes obtained from system	gauge	byte
`coredns.go.threads`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of OS threads created.	gauge	thread
`coredns.grpc.request_count`[OpenMetrics V1] Query count per upstream.	count	-
`coredns.grpc.request_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Query count per upstream.	count	-
`coredns.grpc.response_rcode_count`[OpenMetrics V1] Count of RCODEs per upstream. and we are randomly (this always uses the random policy) spraying to an upstream.	count	-
`coredns.grpc.response_rcode_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Count of RCODEs per upstream. and we are randomly (this always uses the random policy) spraying to an upstream.	count	-
`coredns.health_request_duration.bucket`[OpenMetrics V2] Sample for the histogram of the time (in seconds) each request took.	count	-
`coredns.health_request_duration.count`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Count for the histogram of the time (in seconds) each request took.	count	-
`coredns.health_request_duration.sum`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Sum for the histogram of the time (in seconds) each request took.	count	-
`coredns.hosts.entries_count`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] The combined number of entries in hosts and Corefile.	gauge	-
`coredns.hosts.reload_timestamp`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] The timestamp of the last reload of hosts file.	gauge	second
`coredns.panic_count.count`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2]	count	entry
`coredns.plugin_enabled`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] A metric that indicates whether a plugin is enabled on per server and zone basis.	gauge	-
`coredns.process.cpu_seconds_total`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Total user and system CPU time spent in seconds.	count	second
`coredns.process.cpu_seconds_total.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Count of user and system CPU time spent in seconds.	count	second
`coredns.process.max_fds`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Maximum number of open file descriptors.	gauge	file
`coredns.process.open_fds`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Number of open file descriptors.	gauge	file
`coredns.process.resident_memory_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Resident memory size in bytes.	gauge	byte
`coredns.process.start_time_seconds`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Start time of the process since unix epoch in seconds.	gauge	second
`coredns.process.virtual_memory_bytes`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] Virtual memory size in bytes.	gauge	byte
`coredns.proxy_request_count`[OpenMetrics V1] query count per upstream.	count	request
`coredns.proxy_request_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] query count per upstream.	count	request
`coredns.proxy_request_duration.seconds.bucket`[OpenMetrics V2] sample of duration per upstream interaction	count	second
`coredns.proxy_request_duration.seconds.count`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] duration per upstream interaction	count	second
`coredns.proxy_request_duration.seconds.sum`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] duration per upstream interaction	count	second
`coredns.reload.failed_count`[OpenMetrics V1] Counts the number of failed reload attempts.	count	-
`coredns.reload.failed_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] Counts the number of failed reload attempts.	count	-
`coredns.request_count`[OpenMetrics V1] total query count.	count	request
`coredns.request_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] total query count.	count	request
`coredns.request_duration.seconds.bucket`[OpenMetrics V2] sample duration to process each query	count	second
`coredns.request_duration.seconds.count`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] duration to process each query	count	second
`coredns.request_duration.seconds.sum`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] duration to process each query	count	second
`coredns.request_size.bytes.bucket`[OpenMetrics V2] sample size of the request in bytes	count	byte
`coredns.request_size.bytes.count`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] size of the request in bytes	count	byte
`coredns.request_size.bytes.sum`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] size of the request in bytes	count	byte
`coredns.request_type_count`[OpenMetrics V1] counter of queries per zone and type	count	-
`coredns.request_type_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] counter of queries per zone and type	count	-
`coredns.response_code_count`[OpenMetrics V1] number of responses per zone and rcode	count	-
`coredns.response_code_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] number of responses per zone and rcode	count	-
`coredns.response_size.bytes.bucket`[OpenMetrics V2] sample size of the request in bytes	count	byte
`coredns.response_size.bytes.count`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] size of the request in bytes	count	byte
`coredns.response_size.bytes.sum`[OpenMetrics V1 and V2] size of the request in bytes	count	byte
`coredns.template.failures_count`[OpenMetrics V1] The number of times the Go templating failed.	count	error
`coredns.template.failures_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] The number of times the Go templating failed.	count	error
`coredns.template.matches_count`[OpenMetrics V1] The total number of matched requests by regex.	count	-
`coredns.template.matches_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] The total number of matched requests by regex.	count	-
`coredns.template.rr_failures_count`[OpenMetrics V1] The number of times the templated resource record was invalid and could not be parsed.	count	error
`coredns.template.rr_failures_count.count`[OpenMetrics V2] The number of times the templated resource record was invalid and could not be parsed.	count	error

Official documentation

Official documentation for the CoreDNS integration

Metric names and descriptions are the official Datadog integration definitions (Copyright Datadog, Inc., BSD-3-Clause), reproduced unedited. The full license terms are on the About page.

Official summary

Metric types

Metrics

Official documentation

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