How to Enable/Disable X-dynaTrace SOAP Header, Globally or Selectively

[PeterHyde1]

Overview: We have recently installed Dynatrace OneAgent into some .Net Framework Azure App Services. These services communicate with external partners that use various technologies, including SOAP XML. For outbound SOAP requests, Dynatrace injects a SOAP header X-dynaTrace, like the following: "<X-dynaTrace                           xmlns=http://ns.dynatrace.com/wcf xmlns:s=http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/>...</X-dynaTrace>"

Problem: We have 1 or more external partners whose SOAP services throw an error when receiving a header that they don't recognize, and this includes the X-dynaTrace header. There could be many more partners using similar technology, we really don't know without trial and error, which would be painful for ourselves and our partners.

Current Workaround: We have uninstalled the Dynatrace OneAgent from our azure app service which makes outbound calls to customer services. This is not ideal, as we do not have monitoring of this service.

What We Want: We would like to be able to have OneAgent installed and active in the affected azure app service, but not add the X-dynaTrace header tag to outbound external SOAP request. We would be happy to hear about other possible solutions that may be available too, such as: a) Don't add the XML SOAP header tag to any SOAP requests; this wouldn't be ideal, but at least we could use Dynatrace and have fully populated distributed traces for non-SOAP. b) Disable addition of the custom XML SOAP header for specific domains. c) Disable the XML SOAP header globally, but have explicit inclusions of certain domains or endpoints. d) Other...

We do have a support ticket open, but it's been a bit so I thought I would ask the community too. Thanks for your time.

[AntonPineiro · Accepted solution]

Hi,

I would say checking OneAgent features, maybe some SOAP header can be disabled, for example that one:

This is just an example, maybe it should be another feature. This can be enabled / disabled in tenant leve, host group level or host level.

Best regards

[PeterHyde1]

A short update, the above did help. I setup a POC which allowed inspection of the full SOAP request including headers for a WCF service, and toggling this option to on, which disables output of WCF x-dynaTrace tag, worked. Digging a little further, for SOAP services that are non-WCF, Dynatrace uses an http header instead of a SOAP header in the payload, so it's a non-issue from my perspective.

The only thing I have left to try to discover is whether I can use the above toggle of turning off WCF SOAP headers only for external URLs. We have many of our own internal WCF soap services for which I do not want to disable this same header, as that cuts down on our visibility into those services. Segmentation by host group or host would not help in this situation, as it is the same processes hitting internal WCF services as well as external ones. I suspect this is not something currently handled however, so would be a feature request.

[AntonPineiro]

Hi,

I would say consult Dynatrace support with your use case.

Best regards