Traces
Traces model the path and timing of work across components so request structure, latency, errors, and causal context can be investigated.
Read the page as a transparent path: establish context, inspect the evidence, then test the published stance.
Correlated paths through work
OpenTelemetry describes a distributed trace as a record of a request as it propagates through a distributed system, with spans representing units of work [1]. Trace usefulness depends on correct instrumentation, context propagation, semantic attributes, clock behavior, and sampling.
Traces are strongest for request paths and latency decomposition. They do not replace aggregate health signals, event records, code-level profiles, or change and business context.
Source record
Bibliography
OpenTelemetry Authors, ‘Traces.’ [Online]. Available: https://opentelemetry.io/docs/concepts/signals/traces/. [Accessed: Aug. 12, 2026].
Known limits
Unresolved unknowns
- Sampling and semantic-convention coverage vary by workload and implementation.
Public review
Discuss and correct
Comments are public. Proposed factual corrections must be incorporated into version-controlled research before they are treated as published.
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