Get started with Distributed Traces

  • Classic
  • How-to guide
  • 6-min read

Distributed Traces Classic provides you with a combination of analysis tools to gain insight into your environment's transactions. It combines code-level visibility, topology information, and metadata with the highest level of data granularity and fidelity. In this article, you'll explore the Distributed Traces Classic functionalities and how to leverage them to analyze requests in your environment.

Quick start

To get started with a distributed trace analysis

  1. Go to Distributed Traces Classic Distributed Traces Classic.
  2. Optional Use the Overview chart to understand the request count and response time over the selected timeframe.
    Data retention

    The chart uses trace and request data, which has different data retention periods. For timeframes containing data older than 10 days, you can turn on the Show data retention toggle to better understand which data is available for which period directly from the chart.

  3. Optional In the table, expand the details of the trace you want to analyze for an overview of its topology, attributes, HTTP information, and timings.
  4. Select the distributed trace name for in-depth trace analytics.
  5. Select a time segment to expand the detail tabs.

Get an overview

To configure a view of the distributed traces in your environment

  1. Go to Distributed Traces Classic Distributed Traces Classic.

    Distributed traces overview

  2. Configure a view by setting filters. To filter the distributed traces by

    • Ingestion method

    • Service

      Go to Filter requests > Service name and enter the service name. Note that you can access this view also by going to Services Classic Services Classic > More (…) > Distributed traces for the service.

Export overview data

You can export the distributed traces overview table data in a comma-separated values (CSV) file.

  1. Go to Distributed Traces Classic Distributed Traces Classic.

  2. Optional Narrow down the table results by reconfiguring your view or via the search input field above the table.

    The table lists up to the 3,000 most recent traces that are captured during the selected timeframe and within the selected management zone. Depending on the timeframe and the configured view, the list highlights the most important node for the trace.

    Find a node

    To find a specific node of a trace

    1. Go to Distributed Traces Classic Distributed Traces Classic.
    2. Filter the table by the trace ID.
    3. Select the trace name.
    4. In the Trace view, find the desired node.

  3. In the lower-right corner of the page, select the Show export menu.

    Show export menu

  4. Select one of the following options.

Analyze a single trace

The distributed trace analysis view provides an end-to-end waterfall visualization of the requests in a single trace.

To access the single trace view

  1. Go to Distributed Traces Classic Distributed Traces Classic.

  2. From the table, select the distributed trace name.

  3. Optional Go to the Execution breakdown to learn the trace time distribution.

  4. Go to the waterfall chart to learn which services are traversed by the trace and in which order.

  5. Select a request to visualize subsequent interactions.

    Use the colors and positions of the horizontal bars in the chart to see which requests were executed synchronously (in parallel). They indicate both the sequence and response time of each of the requests.

    Distributed traces - trace overview

  6. Select a time segment to access in-depth trace analytics in detail tabs, down to code-level information.

  7. Choose a detail tab to continue your analysis.

    Summary

    Distributed trace - summary tab

    Values obscured with five asterisks (*****) imply hidden confidential data, which can be unmasked by users with sufficient permissions. Three or fewer asterisks (***) are used for data aggregation purposes and can't be unmasked.

    Timings

    Distributed trace - timings

    Code level

    Distributed trace code-level insights

    1

    The volume of code-level information varies depending on importance, timing, and estimated overhead. Typically, slower parts of a request contain more details.

    Logs
    1

    To get started, see Log enrichment.

    Errors
    Threads
    Integrations

FAQ

What does [declared unavailable by agent] mean?

[declared unavailable by agent] is a placeholder value displayed in the trace view when metadata is not available for OneAgent to capture, due for example to a lack of data visibility or constraints in reporting it, for example, the technology is not supported by OneAgent. We recommend contacting a Dynatrace product specialist via live chat within your Dynatrace environment to understand your case.

Related tags
Application ObservabilityDistributed Traces ClassicDistributed Traces Classic