CQL tracing in ScyllaDB

CQL tracing in ScyllaDB is a diagnostic tool that allows developers and administrators to analyze internal data flows within a ScyllaDB cluster, similar to Apache Cassandra's tracing. It helps identify issues such as low replication factors or network delays by providing detailed timestamps and processing information for CQL requests. The tool is particularly useful for diagnosing problems like inefficient node-to-node communication, which can be exacerbated by improper client configurations. Tracing can be resource-intensive, so ScyllaDB offers probabilistic tracing to limit performance impacts by tracing only a fraction of queries. Tracing data is stored in the system_traces keyspace, which includes tables for sessions and events, capturing detailed information about query execution across the cluster. The format of these tables mirrors that of Cassandra, and ScyllaDB continually updates the types of traceable events. The ScyllaDB Summit provides opportunities for further learning and networking among users and developers, offering insights into best practices and future developments.