Amazon X-Ray, introduced during AWS re:Invent, is a tool designed to enhance visibility into application performance by tracing requests through various service waypoints, identifying bottlenecks and errors. Currently in preview mode, it supports .NET, Java, and Node.js applications running on AWS services like EC2, ECS, Elastic Beanstalk, and API Gateway. X-Ray works by attaching HTTP headers to requests, collecting data segments at each waypoint, which are later aggregated into traces that can be visualized on a Service Map, highlighting request paths and potential issues. While X-Ray is in its early stages and lacks some features, such as seamless log access and broader language support, it represents a significant advancement for DevOps teams utilizing AWS, potentially challenging established players in application performance monitoring and stack tracing.