OpenTracing: An Open Standard for Distributed Tracing

OpenTracing is an open standard for distributed tracing that enables developers to instrument their applications with minimal effort, providing visibility into complex systems and workflows. It offers a way to trace requests from beginning to end across touchpoints, understanding distributed systems at scale. A trace in OpenTracing is a directed acyclic graph (DAG) made up of spans named, timed operations representing contiguous segments of work, each component contributing its own spans. The standard aims to simplify troubleshooting in microservice platforms by collecting timing data needed to troubleshoot latency problems common with microservices. With the growing need for effective monitoring and understanding of distributed systems, OpenTracing adoption is increasing, driven by companies' desire to know what's happening in their applications and take appropriate action.