# Supported Protocols Contents * [Supported Protocols](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/sending-metrics/supported-protocols) * [TCP Connection](#tcp-connection) * [UDP Packets](#udp-packets) * [HTTP POST](#http-post) * [TCP Over TLS](#tcp-connection) * [StatsD](#statsd) * [Quick Reference](#quick-reference) ### [TCP Connection](#tcp-connection) A simple way to send metrics to us is via a TCP connection. First, **ensure each metric name is prefixed by your API key**, then you securely send your metric(s) using the [*Metric Data Format*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/welcome-to-hosted-graphite#metric-data-format). **Host**: carbon.hostedgraphite.com **Port**: 2003 It is not necessary (nor recommended) to create a new connection for each metric. You can put multiple metrics on separate lines. A long-lived connection will be faster because you won’t have to wait to establish a new connection each time. The following simple example shows how to send a single TCP metric using the [Netcat](http://netcat.sourceforge.net/) utility: ``` echo "YOUR-API-KEY.test.testing 1.2" | nc carbon.hostedgraphite.com 2003 ``` For programming language-specific examples of sending metrics via TCP, check out our [*Language Guide*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/language-guide). ### [UDP Packets](#udp-packets) For a similar, but non-blocking alternative to TCP, you can use UDP packets to send the metric(s) to us. **Ensure each metric name is prefixed by your API key** ([*see above*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/welcome-to-hosted-graphite#api-key)) to securely send your UDP metric(s) using the [*Metric Data Format*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/welcome-to-hosted-graphite#metric-data-format). **Host**: carbon.hostedgraphite.com **Port**: 2003 Here’s a simple example using [netcat](http://netcat.sourceforge.net/) on linux: ``` echo "YOUR-API-KEY.test.udp.metric 1.2" | nc -uw0 carbon.hostedgraphite.com 2003 ``` You can send multiple metrics on separate lines as with TCP, but be aware there is a size limit of 8192 bytes for UDP packets. For programming language-specific examples of sending metrics via UDP, check out our [*Language Guide*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/language-guide). ### [HTTP POST](#http-post) POST your metrics to the following URL: **** Your metric data should be provided in the [*Metric Data Format*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/welcome-to-hosted-graphite#metric-data-format) as the HTTP POST payload. Don’t prefix your metric names with your [*API Key*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/welcome-to-hosted-graphite#api-key) - instead use it as the username for Basic Authentication. Here’s an example using [curl](https://curl.haxx.se/) on linux, which lets you provide the API key in the URL. ``` curl https://YOUR-API-KEY@www.hostedgraphite.com/api/v1/sink --data-binary "test.http.metric 1.2" ``` If your data was accepted, you will receive a **HTTP/1.1 202 Accepted** response, with no content body. If your data wasn’t accepted, you’ll receive a 400 error with more information about why. For programming language-specific examples of sending metrics via HTTP POST, check out our [*Language Guide*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/language-guide). ### [TCP Over TLS](#tcp-over-tls) If you want, you can send your metrics over TCP using an encrypted tunnel. First, **ensure each metric name is prefixed by your API key** ([*see above*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/welcome-to-hosted-graphite#api-key)), then send your metric(s) using the [*Metric Data Format*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/#metric-data-format). **Host**: carbon.hostedgraphite.com **Port**: 20030 The following simple example shows how to send a single metric using [Ncat](https://nmap.org/ncat/) on linux: ``` echo "YOUR-API-KEY.conc_users 59" | ncat --ssl carbon.hostedgraphite.com 20030 ``` Alternatively, the following example using [OpenSSL](https://www.openssl.org/) should work out of the box in OS X: ``` echo "YOUR-API-KEY.conc_users 59" | openssl s_client -connect carbon.hostedgraphite.com:20030 ``` For programming language-specific examples of sending metrics via TLS over TCP, check out our [*Language Guide*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/language-guide). ### [StatsD](#statsd) StatsD is commonly used as a pre-aggregation service and sends metrics via UDP by default. First, **ensure each metric name is prefixed by your API key**, then send your metric(s) using the [*Metric Data Format*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/welcome-to-hosted-graphite#metric-data-format). **Host**: statsd.hostedgraphite.com **Port**: 8125 The following simple example shows how to send a single counter metric using [Ncat](https://nmap.org/ncat/) on linux: ``` echo "YOUR-API-KEY.test.statsd.metric:1.2|c" | nc -u -w1 statsd.hostedgraphite.com 8125 ``` Find more information about using StatsD and Hosted StatsD in our [*Add-ons and Integrations Guide*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/add-ons-and-integrations-guide). **NOTE**: to use the above StatsD endpoint, you must also enable the Hosted StatsD feature for your account (Add-Ons ⇒ Hosted StatsD ⇒ Enable). ### [Quick Reference](#quick-reference) You can send Graphite messages via: * TCP & UDP connections to **carbon.hostedgraphite.com** port **2003** (Metric names *must* be [*API Key*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/welcome-to-hosted-graphite#api-key)-prefixed) * TCP over TLS tunnel to **carbon.hostedgraphite.com** port **20030** (Metric names *must* be [*API Key*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/welcome-to-hosted-graphite#api-key)-prefixed) * HTTP POST to **** (Metric names are *not* [*API Key*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/welcome-to-hosted-graphite#api-key)-prefixed, HTTP 202 response on success) * StatsD to **carbon.hostedgraphite.com** port **8125** (Metric names *must* be [*API Key*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/welcome-to-hosted-graphite#api-key)-prefixed) * Python Pickle **carbon.hostedgraphite.com** port **2004** (discussed in the [*language guide*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/language-guide)) **Tip**: Send your metrics to us in a non-blocking/asynchronous manner. Holding up processing to send metrics will skew the data (if it’s being used for performance analysis), and in the worst case have a negative impact on the responsiveness of your app to users.