When should DogStatsD be preferred over UDP?

DogStatsD should be preferred over UDP when high performance is needed for high traffic scenarios. This is because DogStatsD is designed specifically as a metrics collection service that operates over the Datadog Agent and leverages the capabilities of the Agent to aggregate and efficiently process metrics. This aggregation allows for reduced network overhead and better performance when handling a large volume of events or metrics.

When using UDP, while it is a lightweight and low-latency transport protocol, it does not guarantee delivery of packets, making it less suitable for scenarios where performance and reliability are critical. DogStatsD, on the other hand, ensures metrics are handled more reliably by the Datadog Agent, which can intelligently manage the sending of data to the backend, retrying as needed and batching up metrics to optimize performance in high traffic conditions.

The other options do not align as closely with the functionalities offered by DogStatsD. Automatic error reporting, establishing connections using IP addresses, and compatibility with legacy systems are not primary reasons for opting for DogStatsD over UDP; instead, maintaining high performance and reliability in metric collection during high traffic situations is a central advantage.