How to Visualize Traces with Zipkin
How to Visualize Traces with Zipkin
Zipkin is a powerful tool for tracing and visualizing distributed systems. It helps developers and system administrators track application performance by visualizing trace data in microservices architecture.
Prerequisites
- Basic understanding of distributed systems and microservices.
- Zipkin server installed and running. You can refer to our Zipkin installation guide for setup instructions.
- A Java application with integrated OpenTelemetry SDK for tracing.
Step 1: Collect Traces
Your application must send traces to Zipkin’s collector. Ensure your application is configured correctly by integrating OpenTelemetry and providing it with the Zipkin endpoint.
zipkin:
endpoint: http://localhost:9411/api/v2/spansAbove is a sample configuration for a Zipkin collector endpoint in your application configuration.
Step 2: Send Traces to Zipkin
Configure your application to start sending trace data to Zipkin. Ensure your application is running, and traces are being emitted correctly.
Check Zipkin server logs to verify that traces are being received without errors.
Step 3: Visualize Traces in Zipkin Dashboard
Access the Zipkin web UI at http://localhost:9411. The Zipkin UI provides several tools for trace visualization, letting you explore spans, systems, and dependencies over time.
Using the Search Feature
Zipkin allows you to search traces by duration, service instance, and method of trace occurrence. Utilize the search tools effectively to troubleshoot any request failures.
Common Troubleshooting Tips
- Traces not visible: Verify that the OpenTelemetry SDK is sending data to the correct Zipkin collector endpoint.
- Zipkin UI unresponsive: Ensure your Zipkin server has adequate resource allocation and server configurations.
- High latency in trace reporting: Investigate network latency between your application and Zipkin server.
Summary Checklist
- Ensure your Zipkin server is properly set up and accessible.
- Integrate OpenTelemetry SDK into your application for trace emission.
- Configure your application to send traces to the Zipkin endpoint.
- Access and utilize the Zipkin UI for trace analysis and monitoring.
By following this guide, you’ll be able to visualize your application’s traces and gain insights into your distributed systems’ health and performance. For detailed insights or specific questions, refer to the OpenTelemetry configuration guide for comprehensive support.
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