diff --git a/datadog/dogstatsd/base.py b/datadog/dogstatsd/base.py
index e0c8d3574..80fd50782 100644
--- a/datadog/dogstatsd/base.py
+++ b/datadog/dogstatsd/base.py
@@ -51,6 +51,9 @@
 # Env var to enable/disable sending the container ID field
 ORIGIN_DETECTION_ENABLED = "DD_ORIGIN_DETECTION_ENABLED"
 
+# Environment variable containing external data used for Origin Detection.
+EXTERNAL_DATA_ENV_VAR = "DD_EXTERNAL_ENV"
+
 # Default buffer settings based on socket type
 UDP_OPTIMAL_PAYLOAD_LENGTH = 1432
 UDS_OPTIMAL_PAYLOAD_LENGTH = 8192
@@ -402,6 +405,7 @@ def __init__(
             container_id, origin_detection_enabled
         )
         self._set_container_id(container_id, origin_detection_enabled)
+        self._external_data = os.environ.get(EXTERNAL_DATA_ENV_VAR, None)
 
         # init telemetry version
         self._client_tags = [
@@ -992,7 +996,7 @@ def _serialize_metric(
         self, metric, metric_type, value, tags, sample_rate=1, timestamp=0
     ):
         # Create/format the metric packet
-        return "%s%s:%s|%s%s%s%s%s" % (
+        return "%s%s:%s|%s%s%s%s%s%s" % (
             (self.namespace + ".") if self.namespace else "",
             metric,
             value,
@@ -1000,6 +1004,7 @@ def _serialize_metric(
             ("|@" + text(sample_rate)) if sample_rate != 1 else "",
             ("|#" + ",".join(normalize_tags(tags))) if tags else "",
             ("|c:" + self._container_id if self._container_id else ""),
+            ("|e:" + self._external_data if self._external_data else ""),
             ("|T" + text(timestamp)) if timestamp > 0 else "",
         )
 
diff --git a/datadog/dogstatsd/container.py b/datadog/dogstatsd/container.py
index 93bb819b5..5ee2ea61d 100644
--- a/datadog/dogstatsd/container.py
+++ b/datadog/dogstatsd/container.py
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ def _read_cgroup_path(self):
                     if len(parts):
                         match = self.CONTAINER_RE.match(parts.pop())
                         if match:
-                            return match.group(1)
+                            return "ci-{0}".format(match.group(1))
         except IOError as e:
             if e.errno != errno.ENOENT:
                 raise NotImplementedError("Unable to open {}.".format(self.CGROUP_PATH))
diff --git a/tests/unit/dogstatsd/test_container.py b/tests/unit/dogstatsd/test_container.py
index 482475438..c97d80784 100644
--- a/tests/unit/dogstatsd/test_container.py
+++ b/tests/unit/dogstatsd/test_container.py
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ def get_mock_open(read_data=None):
 2:cpu:/docker/3726184226f5d3147c25fdeab5b60097e378e8a720503a5e19ecfdf29f869860
 1:cpuset:/docker/3726184226f5d3147c25fdeab5b60097e378e8a720503a5e19ecfdf29f869860
             """,
-            "3726184226f5d3147c25fdeab5b60097e378e8a720503a5e19ecfdf29f869860",
+            "ci-3726184226f5d3147c25fdeab5b60097e378e8a720503a5e19ecfdf29f869860",
         ),
         # k8s file
         (
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ def get_mock_open(read_data=None):
 2:hugetlb:/kubepods/test/pod3d274242-8ee0-11e9-a8a6-1e68d864ef1a/3e74d3fd9db4c9dd921ae05c2502fb984d0cde1b36e581b13f79c639da4518a1
 1:name=systemd:/kubepods/test/pod3d274242-8ee0-11e9-a8a6-1e68d864ef1a/3e74d3fd9db4c9dd921ae05c2502fb984d0cde1b36e581b13f79c639da4518a1
             """,
-            "3e74d3fd9db4c9dd921ae05c2502fb984d0cde1b36e581b13f79c639da4518a1",
+            "ci-3e74d3fd9db4c9dd921ae05c2502fb984d0cde1b36e581b13f79c639da4518a1",
         ),
         # ECS file
         (
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ def get_mock_open(read_data=None):
 2:cpu:/ecs/test-ecs-classic/5a0d5ceddf6c44c1928d367a815d890f/38fac3e99302b3622be089dd41e7ccf38aff368a86cc339972075136ee2710ce
 1:blkio:/ecs/test-ecs-classic/5a0d5ceddf6c44c1928d367a815d890f/38fac3e99302b3622be089dd41e7ccf38aff368a86cc339972075136ee2710ce
             """,
-            "38fac3e99302b3622be089dd41e7ccf38aff368a86cc339972075136ee2710ce",
+            "ci-38fac3e99302b3622be089dd41e7ccf38aff368a86cc339972075136ee2710ce",
         ),
         # Fargate file
         (
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ def get_mock_open(read_data=None):
 2:memory:/ecs/55091c13-b8cf-4801-b527-f4601742204d/432624d2150b349fe35ba397284dea788c2bf66b885d14dfc1569b01890ca7da
 1:name=systemd:/ecs/55091c13-b8cf-4801-b527-f4601742204d/432624d2150b349fe35ba397284dea788c2bf66b885d14dfc1569b01890ca7da
             """,
-            "432624d2150b349fe35ba397284dea788c2bf66b885d14dfc1569b01890ca7da",
+            "ci-432624d2150b349fe35ba397284dea788c2bf66b885d14dfc1569b01890ca7da",
         ),
         # Fargate file >= 1.4.0
         (
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ def get_mock_open(read_data=None):
 2:memory:/ecs/55091c13-b8cf-4801-b527-f4601742204d/34dc0b5e626f2c5c4c5170e34b10e765-1234567890
 1:name=systemd:/ecs/34dc0b5e626f2c5c4c5170e34b10e765-1234567890
             """,
-            "34dc0b5e626f2c5c4c5170e34b10e765-1234567890",
+            "ci-34dc0b5e626f2c5c4c5170e34b10e765-1234567890",
         ),
         # Linux non-containerized file
         (
diff --git a/tests/unit/dogstatsd/test_statsd.py b/tests/unit/dogstatsd/test_statsd.py
index a5fe7a0ee..4663f57b1 100644
--- a/tests/unit/dogstatsd/test_statsd.py
+++ b/tests/unit/dogstatsd/test_statsd.py
@@ -1667,12 +1667,27 @@ def test_entity_id_and_container_id(self):
             os.environ['DD_ENTITY_ID'] = '04652bb7-19b7-11e9-9cc6-42010a9c016d'
             dogstatsd = DogStatsd(telemetry_min_flush_interval=0)
         dogstatsd.socket = FakeSocket()
-        dogstatsd._container_id = "fake-container-id"
+        dogstatsd._container_id = "ci-fake-container-id"
 
         dogstatsd.increment("page.views")
         dogstatsd.flush()
         tags = "dd.internal.entity_id:04652bb7-19b7-11e9-9cc6-42010a9c016d"
-        metric = 'page.views:1|c|#' + tags + '|c:fake-container-id\n'
+        metric = 'page.views:1|c|#' + tags + '|c:ci-fake-container-id\n'
+        self.assertEqual(metric, dogstatsd.socket.recv())
+        self.assertEqual(telemetry_metrics(tags=tags, bytes_sent=len(metric)), dogstatsd.socket.recv())
+
+    def test_entity_id_and_container_id_and_external_env(self):
+        with preserve_environment_variable('DD_ENTITY_ID'), preserve_environment_variable('DD_EXTERNAL_ENV'):
+            os.environ['DD_ENTITY_ID'] = '04652bb7-19b7-11e9-9cc6-42010a9c016d'
+            os.environ['DD_EXTERNAL_ENV'] = 'it-false,cn-container-name,pu-04652bb7-19b7-11e9-9cc6-42010a9c016d'
+            dogstatsd = DogStatsd(telemetry_min_flush_interval=0)
+        dogstatsd.socket = FakeSocket()
+        dogstatsd._container_id = "ci-fake-container-id"
+
+        dogstatsd.increment("page.views")
+        dogstatsd.flush()
+        tags = "dd.internal.entity_id:04652bb7-19b7-11e9-9cc6-42010a9c016d"
+        metric = 'page.views:1|c|#' + tags + '|c:ci-fake-container-id' + '|e:it-false,cn-container-name,pu-04652bb7-19b7-11e9-9cc6-42010a9c016d' + '\n'
         self.assertEqual(metric, dogstatsd.socket.recv())
         self.assertEqual(telemetry_metrics(tags=tags, bytes_sent=len(metric)), dogstatsd.socket.recv())
 
@@ -1862,62 +1877,62 @@ def test_histogram_does_not_send_none(self):
         self.assertIsNone(self.recv())
 
     def test_set_with_container_field(self):
-        self.statsd._container_id = "fake-container-id"
+        self.statsd._container_id = "ci-fake-container-id"
         self.statsd.set("set", 123)
-        self.assert_equal_telemetry("set:123|s|c:fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
+        self.assert_equal_telemetry("set:123|s|c:ci-fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
         self.statsd._container_id = None
 
     def test_gauge_with_container_field(self):
-        self.statsd._container_id = "fake-container-id"
+        self.statsd._container_id = "ci-fake-container-id"
         self.statsd.gauge("gauge", 123.4)
-        self.assert_equal_telemetry("gauge:123.4|g|c:fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
+        self.assert_equal_telemetry("gauge:123.4|g|c:ci-fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
         self.statsd._container_id = None
 
     def test_counter_with_container_field(self):
-        self.statsd._container_id = "fake-container-id"
+        self.statsd._container_id = "ci-fake-container-id"
 
         self.statsd.increment("page.views")
         self.statsd.flush()
-        self.assert_equal_telemetry("page.views:1|c|c:fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
+        self.assert_equal_telemetry("page.views:1|c|c:ci-fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
 
         self.statsd._reset_telemetry()
         self.statsd.increment("page.views", 11)
         self.statsd.flush()
-        self.assert_equal_telemetry("page.views:11|c|c:fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
+        self.assert_equal_telemetry("page.views:11|c|c:ci-fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
 
         self.statsd._reset_telemetry()
         self.statsd.decrement("page.views")
         self.statsd.flush()
-        self.assert_equal_telemetry("page.views:-1|c|c:fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
+        self.assert_equal_telemetry("page.views:-1|c|c:ci-fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
 
         self.statsd._reset_telemetry()
         self.statsd.decrement("page.views", 12)
         self.statsd.flush()
-        self.assert_equal_telemetry("page.views:-12|c|c:fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
+        self.assert_equal_telemetry("page.views:-12|c|c:ci-fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
 
         self.statsd._container_id = None
 
     def test_histogram_with_container_field(self):
-        self.statsd._container_id = "fake-container-id"
+        self.statsd._container_id = "ci-fake-container-id"
         self.statsd.histogram("histo", 123.4)
-        self.assert_equal_telemetry("histo:123.4|h|c:fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
+        self.assert_equal_telemetry("histo:123.4|h|c:ci-fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
         self.statsd._container_id = None
 
     def test_timing_with_container_field(self):
-        self.statsd._container_id = "fake-container-id"
+        self.statsd._container_id = "ci-fake-container-id"
         self.statsd.timing("t", 123)
-        self.assert_equal_telemetry("t:123|ms|c:fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
+        self.assert_equal_telemetry("t:123|ms|c:ci-fake-container-id\n", self.recv(2))
         self.statsd._container_id = None
 
     def test_event_with_container_field(self):
-        self.statsd._container_id = "fake-container-id"
+        self.statsd._container_id = "ci-fake-container-id"
         self.statsd.event(
             "Title",
             "L1\nL2",
             priority="low",
             date_happened=1375296969,
         )
-        event2 = u"_e{5,6}:Title|L1\\nL2|d:1375296969|p:low|c:fake-container-id\n"
+        event2 = u"_e{5,6}:Title|L1\\nL2|d:1375296969|p:low|c:ci-fake-container-id\n"
         self.assert_equal_telemetry(
             event2,
             self.recv(2),
@@ -1931,7 +1946,7 @@ def test_event_with_container_field(self):
         self.statsd._reset_telemetry()
 
         self.statsd.event("Title", u"♬ †øU †øU ¥ºu T0µ ♪", aggregation_key="key", tags=["t1", "t2:v2"])
-        event3 = u"_e{5,32}:Title|♬ †øU †øU ¥ºu T0µ ♪|k:key|#t1,t2:v2|c:fake-container-id\n"
+        event3 = u"_e{5,32}:Title|♬ †øU †øU ¥ºu T0µ ♪|k:key|#t1,t2:v2|c:ci-fake-container-id\n"
         self.assert_equal_telemetry(
             event3,
             self.recv(2, reset_wait=True),
@@ -1944,7 +1959,7 @@ def test_event_with_container_field(self):
         self.statsd._container_id = None
 
     def test_service_check_with_container_field(self):
-        self.statsd._container_id = "fake-container-id"
+        self.statsd._container_id = "ci-fake-container-id"
         now = int(time.time())
         self.statsd.service_check(
             "my_check.name",
@@ -1954,7 +1969,7 @@ def test_service_check_with_container_field(self):
             hostname=u"i-abcd1234",
             message=u"♬ †øU \n†øU ¥ºu|m: T0µ ♪",
         )
-        check = u'_sc|my_check.name|{0}|d:{1}|h:i-abcd1234|#key1:val1,key2:val2|m:{2}|c:fake-container-id\n'.format(
+        check = u'_sc|my_check.name|{0}|d:{1}|h:i-abcd1234|#key1:val1,key2:val2|m:{2}|c:ci-fake-container-id\n'.format(
             self.statsd.WARNING, now, u'♬ †øU \\n†øU ¥ºu|m\\: T0µ ♪'
         )
         self.assert_equal_telemetry(