blog: add post on Elastic PHP distro donation (#9434) (#9617)

Co-authored-by: otelbot <197425009+otelbot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Tiffany Hrabusa <30397949+tiffany76@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Fabrizio Ferri-Benedetti <algernon@fastmail.com>

Author: 4 people

content/en/blog/2026/otel-php-distro-donation-update.md

@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+---
+title: OpenTelemetry Accepted Elastic's PHP Distro Donation
+linkTitle: Elastic PHP Distro Donation
+date: 2026-04-16
+author: >-
+  [Pawel Filipczak](https://github.com/intuibase) (Elastic)
+draft: true
+issue: https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry.io/issues/9434
+sig: OpenTelemetry PHP
+cSpell:ignore: Filipczak Pawel
+---
+
+The OpenTelemetry community accepted the donation of the OpenTelemetry PHP
+Distro project. This post summarizes what the donation enables, how it relates
+to existing PHP instrumentation paths, and where contributors can help next.
+
+## Why this donation matters
+
+OpenTelemetry provides a common observability standard, but OpenTelemetry PHP
+adoption can still be difficult in environments where installing or compiling
+native extensions is restricted. Common blockers include:
+
+- Restricted or hardened systems where native extensions cannot be built during
+  deployment.
+- Runtime images that are not rebuilt frequently.
+- Operational workflows that rely on OS package managers.
+
+The PHP Distro addresses these constraints by focusing on an operations-first
+installation model.
+
+## What the PHP Distro provides
+
+The project combines native and PHP runtime components into a single deployment
+model for production environments. Current capabilities include:
+
+- Prebuilt native extension and loader artifacts.
+- Runtime/bootstrap logic for auto-instrumentation.
+- Packaging support for `deb`, `rpm`, and `apk`.
+- OTLP protobuf serialization without requiring `ext-protobuf`.
+- Inferred spans and URL grouping features for better visibility.
+- OpAMP integration support.
+
+For teams running PHP `8.1` through `8.4`, this can reduce adoption overhead
+compared with custom build pipelines.
+
+## Relationship to existing PHP instrumentation
+
+The distro builds on the same OpenTelemetry PHP APIs and SDK, so it does not
+fork or replace core components. Teams can choose either installation path on a
+per-service basis:
+
+- Distro path: package-managed, operations-first rollout with minimal code
+  changes.
+- Composer-based path: manual control and portability where application-level
+  packaging is preferred.
+
+Choosing between them depends on your deployment model, security constraints,
+and ownership of runtime packaging.
+
+## Practical rollout checklist
+
+Before broad production rollout, validate the following:
+
+- Runtime compatibility across PHP versions and SAPIs (`php-fpm`, `mod_php`,
+  CLI).
+- Package format and architecture support in your Linux distributions.
+- Telemetry quality (span completeness, naming, exporter behavior).
+- Operational safety (restart and rollback procedures, version pinning).
+
+A lightweight validation matrix across representative services can help avoid
+rework later.
+
+## Current status and next topics
+
+The project has reached a major milestone and is moving toward a first beta
+release. Active follow-up topics include:
+
+- Class and namespace shadowing to reduce dependency collisions.
+- Declarative configuration support.
+- PHP `8.5` compatibility.
+- Central configuration capabilities aligned with OpenTelemetry policy work.
+- Ongoing alignment between upstream OpenTelemetry distro work and vendor
+  distributions built on top of it.
+
+## How to contribute
+
+If you want to help:
+
+- Test the distro in real environments and share compatibility findings.
+- Report installation and runtime issues in
+  [`opentelemetry-php-distro` repository](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-php-distro).
+- Propose documentation improvements for deployment, migration, and
+  troubleshooting.
+- Join OpenTelemetry PHP and relevant SIG discussions to align roadmap and user
+  guidance.
+
+You can also review the donation context and discussion in
+[open-telemetry/community issue #2846](https://github.com/open-telemetry/community/issues/2846).

static/refcache.json

@@ -7383,6 +7383,10 @@
     "StatusCode": 206,
     "LastSeen": "2026-03-24T09:54:05.407124668Z"
   },
+  "https://github.com/open-telemetry/community/issues/2846": {
+    "StatusCode": 206,
+    "LastSeen": "2026-04-09T08:36:44.720113556Z"
+  },
   "https://github.com/open-telemetry/community/issues/2975": {
     "StatusCode": 206,
     "LastSeen": "2026-03-25T09:53:34.367844637Z"
@@ -14455,6 +14459,10 @@
     "StatusCode": 206,
     "LastSeen": "2026-03-23T14:22:19.441950748Z"
   },
+  "https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-php-distro": {
+    "StatusCode": 206,
+    "LastSeen": "2026-04-09T08:36:39.599057204Z"
+  },
   "https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-php-instrumentation": {
     "StatusCode": 206,
     "LastSeen": "2026-04-10T09:57:35.425408103Z"