Troubleshooting OpenTelemetry

The following information can help you determine the cause of common problems and error messages that are associated with OpenTelemetry logs, metrics, and tracing. To help debug issues with your OpenTelemetry logs, metrics, or traces, you can export this data to the console for analysis.

Exporting logs, metrics, or traces to the console for debugging purposes

By default, all OpenTelemetry data is exported to the otlp exporter. For debugging purposes, you can temporarily change the export destination to the console.log file by setting the otel.< signal >.exporter=console property at the application or the runtime level.

For example, to send all application and runtime traces to the console.log file, you might set the following property in the bootstrap.properties file:

otel.traces.exporter=console

Similarly, to send all application and runtime logs to the console.log file, set the following property in the bootstrap.properties file:

otel.logs.exporter=console

When you configure the logs exporter to console, log records are sent immediately, instead of in batches like they are when the default otlp exporter is used.

To send all application and runtime metrics to the console.log file, set the following property in the bootstrap.properties file:

otel.metrics.exporter=console

If you enabled OpenTelemetry at the application level and you want to send only the logs, metrics, or traces for a particular application to the console, set the corresponding property in the microprofile-config.properties file for the application.

Common problems and error messages

Previous spans are incorrectly shown as current or parent spans

If the Scope instance is not closed correctly, the context and baggage values of previous spans might remain when the next operation runs. Alternatively, the current span might remain and be picked up as the parent of the next operation that runs.

Always close the Scope instance when you exit an operation. This configuration stops the span from being current and makes the previous span current again. Use a try-with-resources block, which automatically closes the Scope instance at the end of the block, as shown in the following example:

Span span = tracer.spanBuilder("PerformingOperation").startSpan();
try (Scope scope = span.makeCurrent()) {
    ...
} finally {
    span.end();
}

You receive the CWMOT5100I message that tracing is disabled

If you enable the mpTelemetry-1.1 or mpTelemetry-1.0 feature, you must also set the otel.sdk.disabled=false property in any of the configuration sources that are accessible through MicroProfile Config to enable tracing.

You receive the CWMOT5003W message that the application attempted to acquire MicroProfile Telemetry after shut down

Review the application to see why it attempted to use MicroProfile Telemetry after it shut down. Actions that might trigger MicroProfile Telemetry include calling a method that is annotated with @WithSpan or making a request with a JAX-RS Client or MP Rest Client.

You receive either of the CWMOT5006W or CWMOT5007 warning message that conflicting configuration is specified for otel.sdk.disabled

Specify the settings to enable or disable OpenTelemetry instances by using either environment variables or MicroProfile Config sources, but not both. If you see these warnings, the other MicroProfile Config source to look at is your server.xml file.