How eBPF Enriches OTel–A Postgres index rebuild strangling everything around it

eBPF and OpenTelemetry can jointly improve database observability by combining always-on, no-code telemetry with application-level context. The example describes a non-concurrent PostgreSQL index rebuild on a large events table that blocked index-backed readers, causing widespread latency increases without errors or an obvious explanation in individual traces. By providing an agent with a slow span and a plain-language question, the system analyzed traces, metrics, workloads, and eBPF-generated database spans to identify the blocking REINDEX operation, recommend using REINDEX CONCURRENTLY, surface an unrelated missing-table error storm, and suggest investigating table partitioning. The post argues that eBPF captures database activity even from uninstrumented services and ad hoc jobs, while OpenTelemetry adds business and application semantics, enabling agents to investigate recurring incidents using saved skills rather than requiring manually built dashboards.

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