Rewriting Riemann output plugin (#1900)

* rename to riemann_legacy Signed-off-by: Fabio Berchtold <fabio.berchtold@swisscom.com> * initial draft for Riemann output plugin rewrite Signed-off-by: Fabio Berchtold <fabio.berchtold@swisscom.com> * add unit tests Signed-off-by: Fabio Berchtold <fabio.berchtold@swisscom.com> * add option to send string metrics as states Signed-off-by: Fabio Berchtold <fabio.berchtold@swisscom.com> * add integration tests Signed-off-by: Fabio Berchtold <fabio.berchtold@swisscom.com> * add plugin README.md Signed-off-by: Fabio Berchtold <fabio.berchtold@swisscom.com> * bump riemann library * clarify settings description Signed-off-by: Fabio Berchtold <fabio.berchtold@swisscom.com> * update Readme.md with updated description Signed-off-by: Fabio Berchtold <fabio.berchtold@swisscom.com> * add Riemann event examples Signed-off-by: Fabio Berchtold <fabio.berchtold@swisscom.com> * use full URL for Riemann server address Signed-off-by: Fabio Berchtold <fabio.berchtold@swisscom.com> closes #1878
2017-01-27 23:54:59 +01:00 · 2017-01-27 23:54:59 +01:00 · 3fa37a9212
parent c9e87a39f8
commit 3fa37a9212
10 changed files with 615 additions and 69 deletions
--- a/2
+++ b/2
@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 github.com/Shopify/sarama 8aadb476e66ca998f2f6bb3c993e9a2daa3666b9
 github.com/Sirupsen/logrus 219c8cb75c258c552e999735be6df753ffc7afdc
 github.com/aerospike/aerospike-client-go 7f3a312c3b2a60ac083ec6da296091c52c795c63
-github.com/amir/raidman 53c1b967405155bfc8758557863bf2e14f814687
+github.com/amir/raidman c74861fe6a7bb8ede0a010ce4485bdbb4fc4c985
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go 13a12060f716145019378a10e2806c174356b857
 github.com/beorn7/perks 3ac7bf7a47d159a033b107610db8a1b6575507a4
 github.com/cenkalti/backoff 4dc77674aceaabba2c7e3da25d4c823edfb73f99
--- a/4
+++ b/4
@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ docker-run:
 	docker run --name redis -p "6379:6379" -d redis
 	docker run --name nsq -p "4150:4150" -d nsqio/nsq /nsqd
 	docker run --name mqtt -p "1883:1883" -d ncarlier/mqtt
-	docker run --name riemann -p "5555:5555" -d blalor/riemann
+	docker run --name riemann -p "5555:5555" -d stealthly/docker-riemann
 	docker run --name nats -p "4222:4222" -d nats

 # Run docker containers necessary for CircleCI unit tests
@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ docker-run-circle:
 		-d spotify/kafka
 	docker run --name nsq -p "4150:4150" -d nsqio/nsq /nsqd
 	docker run --name mqtt -p "1883:1883" -d ncarlier/mqtt
-	docker run --name riemann -p "5555:5555" -d blalor/riemann
+	docker run --name riemann -p "5555:5555" -d stealthly/docker-riemann
 	docker run --name nats -p "4222:4222" -d nats

 # Kill all docker containers, ignore errors
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@ -219,6 +219,7 @@ Telegraf can also collect metrics via the following service plugins:
 * [opentsdb](./plugins/outputs/opentsdb)
 * [prometheus](./plugins/outputs/prometheus_client)
 * [riemann](./plugins/outputs/riemann)
+* [riemann_legacy](./plugins/outputs/riemann_legacy)

 ## Contributing

--- a/etc/telegraf.conf
+++ b/etc/telegraf.conf
@ -443,8 +443,39 @@
 #   # expiration_interval = "60s"


-# # Configuration for the Riemann server to send metrics to
+# # Configuration for Riemann server to send metrics to
 # [[outputs.riemann]]
+#   ## The full TCP or UDP URL of the Riemann server
+#   url = "tcp://localhost:5555"
+#
+#   ## Riemann event TTL, floating-point time in seconds.
+#   ## Defines how long that an event is considered valid for in Riemann
+#   # ttl = 30.0
+#
+#   ## Separator to use between measurement and field name in Riemann service name
+#   ## This does not have any effect if 'measurement_as_attribute' is set to 'true'
+#   separator = "/"
+#
+#   ## Set measurement name as Riemann attribute 'measurement', instead of prepending it to the Riemann service name
+#   # measurement_as_attribute = false
+#
+#   ## Send string metrics as Riemann event states.
+#   ## Unless enabled all string metrics will be ignored
+#   # string_as_state = false
+#
+#   ## A list of tag keys whose values get sent as Riemann tags.
+#   ## If empty, all Telegraf tag values will be sent as tags
+#   # tag_keys = ["telegraf","custom_tag"]
+#
+#   ## Additional Riemann tags to send.
+#   # tags = ["telegraf-output"]
+#
+#   ## Description for Riemann event
+#   # description_text = "metrics collected from telegraf"
+
+
+# # Configuration for the legacy Riemann plugin
+# [[outputs.riemann_legacy]]
 #   ## URL of server
 #   url = "localhost:5555"
 #   ## transport protocol to use either tcp or udp
--- a/plugins/outputs/all/all.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/all/all.go
@ -20,4 +20,5 @@ import (
 	_ "github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/outputs/opentsdb"
 	_ "github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/outputs/prometheus_client"
 	_ "github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/outputs/riemann"
+	_ "github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/outputs/riemann_legacy"
 )
--- a/plugins/outputs/riemann/README.md
+++ b/plugins/outputs/riemann/README.md
@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+# Riemann Output Plugin
+
+This plugin writes to [Riemann](http://riemann.io/) via TCP or UDP.
+
+### Configuration:
+
+```toml
+# Configuration for Riemann to send metrics to
+[[outputs.riemann]]
+  ## The full TCP or UDP URL of the Riemann server
+  url = "tcp://localhost:5555"
+
+  ## Riemann event TTL, floating-point time in seconds.
+  ## Defines how long that an event is considered valid for in Riemann
+  # ttl = 30.0
+
+  ## Separator to use between measurement and field name in Riemann service name
+  ## This does not have any effect if 'measurement_as_attribute' is set to 'true'
+  separator = "/"
+
+  ## Set measurement name as Riemann attribute 'measurement', instead of prepending it to the Riemann service name
+  # measurement_as_attribute = false
+
+  ## Send string metrics as Riemann event states.
+  ## Unless enabled all string metrics will be ignored
+  # string_as_state = false
+
+  ## A list of tag keys whose values get sent as Riemann tags.
+  ## If empty, all Telegraf tag values will be sent as tags
+  # tag_keys = ["telegraf","custom_tag"]
+
+  ## Additional Riemann tags to send.
+  # tags = ["telegraf-output"]
+
+  ## Description for Riemann event
+  # description_text = "metrics collected from telegraf"
+```
+
+### Required parameters:
+
+* `url`: The full TCP or UDP URL of the Riemann server to send events to.
+
+### Optional parameters:
+
+* `ttl`: Riemann event TTL, floating-point time in seconds. Defines how long that an event is considered valid for in Riemann.
+* `separator`: Separator to use between measurement and field name in Riemann service name.
+* `measurement_as_attribute`: Set measurement name as a Riemann attribute, instead of prepending it to the Riemann service name.
+* `string_as_state`: Send string metrics as Riemann event states. If this is not enabled then all string metrics will be ignored.
+* `tag_keys`: A list of tag keys whose values get sent as Riemann tags. If empty, all Telegraf tag values will be sent as tags.
+* `tags`: Additional Riemann tags that will be sent.
+* `description_text`: Description text for Riemann event.
+
+### Example Events:
+
+Riemann event emitted by Telegraf with default configuration:
+```
+#riemann.codec.Event{
+:host "postgresql-1e612b44-e92f-4d27-9f30-5e2f53947870", :state nil, :description nil, :ttl 30.0,
+:service "disk/used_percent", :metric 73.16736001949994, :path "/boot", :fstype "ext4", :time 1475605021}
+```
+
+Telegraf emitting the same Riemann event with `measurement_as_attribute` set to `true`:
+```
+#riemann.codec.Event{ ...
+:measurement "disk", :service "used_percent", :metric 73.16736001949994,
+... :time 1475605021}
+```
+
+Telegraf emitting the same Riemann event with additional Riemann tags defined:
+```
+#riemann.codec.Event{
+:host "postgresql-1e612b44-e92f-4d27-9f30-5e2f53947870", :state nil, :description nil, :ttl 30.0,
+:service "disk/used_percent", :metric 73.16736001949994, :path "/boot", :fstype "ext4", :time 1475605021,
+:tags ["telegraf" "postgres_cluster"]}
+```
+
+Telegraf emitting a Riemann event with a status text and `string_as_state` set to `true`, and a `description_text` defined:
+```
+#riemann.codec.Event{
+:host "postgresql-1e612b44-e92f-4d27-9f30-5e2f53947870", :state "Running", :ttl 30.0,
+:description "PostgreSQL master node is up and running",
+:service "status", :time 1475605021}
+```
--- a/plugins/outputs/riemann/riemann.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/riemann/riemann.go
@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package riemann
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
+	"net/url"
 	"os"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
@ -12,44 +13,70 @@ import (
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/outputs"
 )

-const deprecationMsg = "I! WARNING: this Riemann output plugin will be deprecated in a future release, see https://github.com/influxdata/telegraf/issues/1878 for more details & discussion."
-
 type Riemann struct {
-	URL       string
-	Transport string
-	Separator string
+	URL                    string
+	TTL                    float32
+	Separator              string
+	MeasurementAsAttribute bool
+	StringAsState          bool
+	TagKeys                []string
+	Tags                   []string
+	DescriptionText        string

 	client *raidman.Client
 }

 var sampleConfig = `
-  ## URL of server
-  url = "localhost:5555"
-  ## transport protocol to use either tcp or udp
-  transport = "tcp"
-  ## separator to use between input name and field name in Riemann service name
-  separator = " "
+  ## The full TCP or UDP URL of the Riemann server
+  url = "tcp://localhost:5555"
+
+  ## Riemann event TTL, floating-point time in seconds.
+  ## Defines how long that an event is considered valid for in Riemann
+  # ttl = 30.0
+
+  ## Separator to use between measurement and field name in Riemann service name
+  ## This does not have any effect if 'measurement_as_attribute' is set to 'true'
+  separator = "/"
+
+  ## Set measurement name as Riemann attribute 'measurement', instead of prepending it to the Riemann service name
+  # measurement_as_attribute = false
+
+  ## Send string metrics as Riemann event states.
+  ## Unless enabled all string metrics will be ignored
+  # string_as_state = false
+
+  ## A list of tag keys whose values get sent as Riemann tags.
+  ## If empty, all Telegraf tag values will be sent as tags
+  # tag_keys = ["telegraf","custom_tag"]
+
+  ## Additional Riemann tags to send.
+  # tags = ["telegraf-output"]
+
+  ## Description for Riemann event
+  # description_text = "metrics collected from telegraf"
 `

 func (r *Riemann) Connect() error {
-	log.Printf(deprecationMsg)
-	c, err := raidman.Dial(r.Transport, r.URL)
+	parsed_url, err := url.Parse(r.URL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}

+	client, err := raidman.Dial(parsed_url.Scheme, parsed_url.Host)
 	if err != nil {
 		r.client = nil
 		return err
 	}

-	r.client = c
+	r.client = client
 	return nil
 }

 func (r *Riemann) Close() error {
-	if r.client == nil {
-		return nil
+	if r.client != nil {
+		r.client.Close()
+		r.client = nil
 	}
-	r.client.Close()
-	r.client = nil
 	return nil
 }

@ -62,91 +89,125 @@ func (r *Riemann) Description() string {
 }

 func (r *Riemann) Write(metrics []telegraf.Metric) error {
-	log.Printf(deprecationMsg)
 	if len(metrics) == 0 {
 		return nil
 	}

 	if r.client == nil {
-		err := r.Connect()
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("FAILED to (re)connect to Riemann. Error: %s\n", err)
+		if err := r.Connect(); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("Failed to (re)connect to Riemann: %s", err.Error())
 		}
 	}

+	// build list of Riemann events to send
 	var events []*raidman.Event
-	for _, p := range metrics {
-		evs := buildEvents(p, r.Separator)
+	for _, m := range metrics {
+		evs := r.buildRiemannEvents(m)
 		for _, ev := range evs {
 			events = append(events, ev)
 		}
 	}

-	var senderr = r.client.SendMulti(events)
-	if senderr != nil {
-		r.Close() // always retuns nil
-		return fmt.Errorf("FAILED to send riemann message (will try to reconnect). Error: %s\n",
-			senderr)
+	if err := r.client.SendMulti(events); err != nil {
+		r.Close()
+		return fmt.Errorf("Failed to send riemann message: %s", err)
 	}
-
 	return nil
 }

-func buildEvents(p telegraf.Metric, s string) []*raidman.Event {
+func (r *Riemann) buildRiemannEvents(m telegraf.Metric) []*raidman.Event {
 	events := []*raidman.Event{}
-	for fieldName, value := range p.Fields() {
-		host, ok := p.Tags()["host"]
+	for fieldName, value := range m.Fields() {
+		// get host for Riemann event
+		host, ok := m.Tags()["host"]
 		if !ok {
-			hostname, err := os.Hostname()
-			if err != nil {
-				host = "unknown"
-			} else {
+			if hostname, err := os.Hostname(); err == nil {
 				host = hostname
+			} else {
+				host = "unknown"
 			}
 		}

 		event := &raidman.Event{
-			Host:    host,
-			Service: serviceName(s, p.Name(), p.Tags(), fieldName),
+			Host:        host,
+			Ttl:         r.TTL,
+			Description: r.DescriptionText,
+			Time:        m.Time().Unix(),
+
+			Attributes: r.attributes(m.Name(), m.Tags()),
+			Service:    r.service(m.Name(), fieldName),
+			Tags:       r.tags(m.Tags()),
 		}

 		switch value.(type) {
 		case string:
+			// only send string metrics if explicitly enabled, skip otherwise
+			if !r.StringAsState {
+				log.Printf("D! Riemann event states disabled, skipping metric value [%s]\n", value)
+				continue
+			}
 			event.State = value.(string)
-		default:
+		case int, int64, uint64, float32, float64:
 			event.Metric = value
+		default:
+			log.Printf("D! Riemann does not support metric value [%s]\n", value)
+			continue
 		}

 		events = append(events, event)
 	}
-
 	return events
 }

-func serviceName(s string, n string, t map[string]string, f string) string {
-	serviceStrings := []string{}
-	serviceStrings = append(serviceStrings, n)
-
-	// we'll skip the 'host' tag
-	tagStrings := []string{}
-	tagNames := []string{}
-
-	for tagName := range t {
-		tagNames = append(tagNames, tagName)
+func (r *Riemann) attributes(name string, tags map[string]string) map[string]string {
+	if r.MeasurementAsAttribute {
+		tags["measurement"] = name
 	}
-	sort.Strings(tagNames)

-	for _, tagName := range tagNames {
-		if tagName != "host" {
-			tagStrings = append(tagStrings, t[tagName])
+	delete(tags, "host") // exclude 'host' tag
+	return tags
+}
+
+func (r *Riemann) service(name string, field string) string {
+	var serviceStrings []string
+
+	// if measurement is not enabled as an attribute then prepend it to service name
+	if !r.MeasurementAsAttribute {
+		serviceStrings = append(serviceStrings, name)
+	}
+	serviceStrings = append(serviceStrings, field)
+
+	return strings.Join(serviceStrings, r.Separator)
+}
+
+func (r *Riemann) tags(tags map[string]string) []string {
+	// always add specified Riemann tags
+	values := r.Tags
+
+	// if tag_keys are specified, add those and return tag list
+	if len(r.TagKeys) > 0 {
+		for _, tagName := range r.TagKeys {
+			value, ok := tags[tagName]
+			if ok {
+				values = append(values, value)
+			}
+		}
+		return values
+	}
+
+	// otherwise add all values from telegraf tag key/value pairs
+	var keys []string
+	for key := range tags {
+		keys = append(keys, key)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(keys)
+
+	for _, key := range keys {
+		if key != "host" { // exclude 'host' tag
+			values = append(values, tags[key])
 		}
 	}
-	var tagString string = strings.Join(tagStrings, s)
-	if tagString != "" {
-		serviceStrings = append(serviceStrings, tagString)
-	}
-	serviceStrings = append(serviceStrings, f)
-	return strings.Join(serviceStrings, s)
+	return values
 }

 func init() {
--- a/plugins/outputs/riemann/riemann_test.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/riemann/riemann_test.go
@ -1,22 +1,180 @@
 package riemann

 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"testing"
+	"time"

+	"github.com/amir/raidman"
+	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf"
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/testutil"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )

+func TestAttributes(t *testing.T) {
+	tags := map[string]string{"tag1": "value1", "tag2": "value2"}
+
+	r := &Riemann{}
+	require.Equal(t,
+		map[string]string{"tag1": "value1", "tag2": "value2"},
+		r.attributes("test", tags))
+
+	// enable measurement as attribute, should now be included
+	r.MeasurementAsAttribute = true
+	require.Equal(t,
+		map[string]string{"tag1": "value1", "tag2": "value2", "measurement": "test"},
+		r.attributes("test", tags))
+}
+
+func TestService(t *testing.T) {
+	r := &Riemann{
+		Separator: "/",
+	}
+	require.Equal(t, "test/value", r.service("test", "value"))
+
+	// enable measurement as attribute, should not be part of service name anymore
+	r.MeasurementAsAttribute = true
+	require.Equal(t, "value", r.service("test", "value"))
+}
+
+func TestTags(t *testing.T) {
+	tags := map[string]string{"tag1": "value1", "tag2": "value2"}
+
+	// all tag values plus additional tag should be present
+	r := &Riemann{
+		Tags: []string{"test"},
+	}
+	require.Equal(t,
+		[]string{"test", "value1", "value2"},
+		r.tags(tags))
+
+	// only tag2 value plus additional tag should be present
+	r.TagKeys = []string{"tag2"}
+	require.Equal(t,
+		[]string{"test", "value2"},
+		r.tags(tags))
+
+	// only tag1 value should be present
+	r.Tags = nil
+	r.TagKeys = []string{"tag1"}
+	require.Equal(t,
+		[]string{"value1"},
+		r.tags(tags))
+}
+
+func TestMetricEvents(t *testing.T) {
+	r := &Riemann{
+		TTL:                    20.0,
+		Separator:              "/",
+		MeasurementAsAttribute: false,
+		DescriptionText:        "metrics from telegraf",
+		Tags:                   []string{"telegraf"},
+	}
+
+	// build a single event
+	metric, _ := telegraf.NewMetric(
+		"test1",
+		map[string]string{"tag1": "value1", "host": "abc123"},
+		map[string]interface{}{"value": 5.6},
+		time.Date(2009, time.November, 10, 23, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
+	)
+
+	events := r.buildRiemannEvents(metric)
+	require.Len(t, events, 1)
+
+	// is event as expected?
+	expectedEvent := &raidman.Event{
+		Ttl:         20.0,
+		Time:        1257894000,
+		Tags:        []string{"telegraf", "value1"},
+		Host:        "abc123",
+		State:       "",
+		Service:     "test1/value",
+		Metric:      5.6,
+		Description: "metrics from telegraf",
+		Attributes:  map[string]string{"tag1": "value1"},
+	}
+	require.Equal(t, expectedEvent, events[0])
+
+	// build 2 events
+	metric, _ = telegraf.NewMetric(
+		"test2",
+		map[string]string{"host": "xyz987"},
+		map[string]interface{}{"point": 1},
+		time.Date(2012, time.November, 2, 3, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
+	)
+
+	events = append(events, r.buildRiemannEvents(metric)...)
+	require.Len(t, events, 2)
+
+	// first event should still be the same
+	require.Equal(t, expectedEvent, events[0])
+
+	// second event
+	expectedEvent = &raidman.Event{
+		Ttl:         20.0,
+		Time:        1351825200,
+		Tags:        []string{"telegraf"},
+		Host:        "xyz987",
+		State:       "",
+		Service:     "test2/point",
+		Metric:      int64(1),
+		Description: "metrics from telegraf",
+		Attributes:  map[string]string{},
+	}
+	require.Equal(t, expectedEvent, events[1])
+}
+
+func TestStateEvents(t *testing.T) {
+	r := &Riemann{
+		MeasurementAsAttribute: true,
+	}
+
+	// string metrics will be skipped unless explicitly enabled
+	metric, _ := telegraf.NewMetric(
+		"test",
+		map[string]string{"host": "host"},
+		map[string]interface{}{"value": "running"},
+		time.Date(2015, time.November, 9, 22, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
+	)
+
+	events := r.buildRiemannEvents(metric)
+	// no event should be present
+	require.Len(t, events, 0)
+
+	// enable string metrics as event states
+	r.StringAsState = true
+	events = r.buildRiemannEvents(metric)
+	require.Len(t, events, 1)
+
+	// is event as expected?
+	expectedEvent := &raidman.Event{
+		Ttl:         0,
+		Time:        1447106400,
+		Tags:        nil,
+		Host:        "host",
+		State:       "running",
+		Service:     "value",
+		Metric:      nil,
+		Description: "",
+		Attributes:  map[string]string{"measurement": "test"},
+	}
+	require.Equal(t, expectedEvent, events[0])
+}
+
 func TestConnectAndWrite(t *testing.T) {
 	if testing.Short() {
 		t.Skip("Skipping integration test in short mode")
 	}

-	url := testutil.GetLocalHost() + ":5555"
-
 	r := &Riemann{
-		URL:       url,
-		Transport: "tcp",
+		URL:                    fmt.Sprintf("tcp://%s:5555", testutil.GetLocalHost()),
+		TTL:                    15.0,
+		Separator:              "/",
+		MeasurementAsAttribute: false,
+		StringAsState:          true,
+		DescriptionText:        "metrics from telegraf",
+		Tags:                   []string{"docker"},
 	}

 	err := r.Connect()
@ -24,4 +182,32 @@ func TestConnectAndWrite(t *testing.T) {

 	err = r.Write(testutil.MockMetrics())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	metrics := make([]telegraf.Metric, 0)
+	metrics = append(metrics, testutil.TestMetric(2))
+	metrics = append(metrics, testutil.TestMetric(3.456789))
+	metrics = append(metrics, testutil.TestMetric(uint(0)))
+	metrics = append(metrics, testutil.TestMetric("ok"))
+	metrics = append(metrics, testutil.TestMetric("running"))
+	err = r.Write(metrics)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	time.Sleep(200 * time.Millisecond)
+
+	// are there any "docker" tagged events in Riemann?
+	events, err := r.client.Query(`tagged "docker"`)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NotZero(t, len(events))
+
+	// get Riemann events with state = "running", should be 1 event
+	events, err = r.client.Query(`state = "running"`)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, events, 1)
+
+	// is event as expected?
+	require.Equal(t, []string{"docker", "value1"}, events[0].Tags)
+	require.Equal(t, "running", events[0].State)
+	require.Equal(t, "test1/value", events[0].Service)
+	require.Equal(t, "metrics from telegraf", events[0].Description)
+	require.Equal(t, map[string]string{"tag1": "value1"}, events[0].Attributes)
 }
--- a/plugins/outputs/riemann_legacy/riemann.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/riemann_legacy/riemann.go
@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+package riemann_legacy
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"log"
+	"os"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/amir/raidman"
+	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf"
+	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/outputs"
+)
+
+const deprecationMsg = "E! Error: this Riemann output plugin will be deprecated in a future release, see https://github.com/influxdata/telegraf/issues/1878 for more details & discussion."
+
+type Riemann struct {
+	URL       string
+	Transport string
+	Separator string
+
+	client *raidman.Client
+}
+
+var sampleConfig = `
+  ## URL of server
+  url = "localhost:5555"
+  ## transport protocol to use either tcp or udp
+  transport = "tcp"
+  ## separator to use between input name and field name in Riemann service name
+  separator = " "
+`
+
+func (r *Riemann) Connect() error {
+	log.Printf(deprecationMsg)
+	c, err := raidman.Dial(r.Transport, r.URL)
+
+	if err != nil {
+		r.client = nil
+		return err
+	}
+
+	r.client = c
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (r *Riemann) Close() error {
+	if r.client == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	r.client.Close()
+	r.client = nil
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (r *Riemann) SampleConfig() string {
+	return sampleConfig
+}
+
+func (r *Riemann) Description() string {
+	return "Configuration for the Riemann server to send metrics to"
+}
+
+func (r *Riemann) Write(metrics []telegraf.Metric) error {
+	log.Printf(deprecationMsg)
+	if len(metrics) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	if r.client == nil {
+		err := r.Connect()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("FAILED to (re)connect to Riemann. Error: %s\n", err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	var events []*raidman.Event
+	for _, p := range metrics {
+		evs := buildEvents(p, r.Separator)
+		for _, ev := range evs {
+			events = append(events, ev)
+		}
+	}
+
+	var senderr = r.client.SendMulti(events)
+	if senderr != nil {
+		r.Close() // always retuns nil
+		return fmt.Errorf("FAILED to send riemann message (will try to reconnect). Error: %s\n",
+			senderr)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+func buildEvents(p telegraf.Metric, s string) []*raidman.Event {
+	events := []*raidman.Event{}
+	for fieldName, value := range p.Fields() {
+		host, ok := p.Tags()["host"]
+		if !ok {
+			hostname, err := os.Hostname()
+			if err != nil {
+				host = "unknown"
+			} else {
+				host = hostname
+			}
+		}
+
+		event := &raidman.Event{
+			Host:    host,
+			Service: serviceName(s, p.Name(), p.Tags(), fieldName),
+		}
+
+		switch value.(type) {
+		case string:
+			event.State = value.(string)
+		default:
+			event.Metric = value
+		}
+
+		events = append(events, event)
+	}
+
+	return events
+}
+
+func serviceName(s string, n string, t map[string]string, f string) string {
+	serviceStrings := []string{}
+	serviceStrings = append(serviceStrings, n)
+
+	// we'll skip the 'host' tag
+	tagStrings := []string{}
+	tagNames := []string{}
+
+	for tagName := range t {
+		tagNames = append(tagNames, tagName)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(tagNames)
+
+	for _, tagName := range tagNames {
+		if tagName != "host" {
+			tagStrings = append(tagStrings, t[tagName])
+		}
+	}
+	var tagString string = strings.Join(tagStrings, s)
+	if tagString != "" {
+		serviceStrings = append(serviceStrings, tagString)
+	}
+	serviceStrings = append(serviceStrings, f)
+	return strings.Join(serviceStrings, s)
+}
+
+func init() {
+	outputs.Add("riemann_legacy", func() telegraf.Output {
+		return &Riemann{}
+	})
+}
--- a/plugins/outputs/riemann_legacy/riemann_test.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/riemann_legacy/riemann_test.go
@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+package riemann_legacy
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/testutil"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func TestConnectAndWrite(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("Skipping integration test in short mode")
+	}
+
+	url := testutil.GetLocalHost() + ":5555"
+
+	r := &Riemann{
+		URL:       url,
+		Transport: "tcp",
+	}
+
+	err := r.Connect()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	err = r.Write(testutil.MockMetrics())
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+}