Linkage tracking is a critical capability of Application Performance Monitoring (APM), enabling multi-dimensional analysis and retrieval of call chains across applications. On the linkage tracking main page, you can perform call queries by combining various filtering criteria. Each query result represents a call record, equivalent to a Span. You can click the corresponding TraceID to enter the linkage detail view for further analysis of each stage in the linkage.
Directions
2. Select Application Performance Management > Distributed Tracing from the left menu bar.
3. Select the appropriate region and business system.
4. Specify the query time span using the time selector in the upper-right corner and define additional query conditions through the query dialog box.
Field Description
Call role
The call role is equivalent to the Span type, indicating the role under which the Span is recorded within the linkage. There are five types: Server, Client, Consumer, Producer, and Internal, representing the server, client, consumer, producer, and internal call, respectively. For example, if Application A makes an HTTP call to Application B, Application A will record a Span with the call role Client, while Application B will record a Span with the call role Server. For more details about Span types, see OpenTelemetry's definition of Span types. Is it the entry point of the link
The linkage entry represents the first Span in a linkage, which typically generates the Trace ID.
Application name
The application name is usually consistent with the service name. It is specified when the application is accessed by APM. Multiple processes accessed using the same application name will appear as multiple instances under the same application in APM.
Instance
The instance name uniquely identifies each process accessing APM. Typically, the instance name corresponds to the IP address of the process running environment. Some access schemes can automatically set the instance name, or it can be specified when APM is accessed. For specific configuration instructions, see the access documentation.
Peer service
Used to identify the peer service of the call. For example, when a Span’s call role is Server, it usually corresponds to another Span with the call role Client. The application where that Span resides is the peer service. If the Tencent Cloud Enhanced Java Probe for access is used, APM automatically injects the peer service into the Span. For other OpenTelemetry schemes, APM attempts to inject the peer service into the Span based on the call relationship whenever possible. If the peer service is not automatically injected, you can manually specify it in the Span reported to APM using the peer.service
attribute.
API
The API name is equivalent to the Span name.
Tracking component
The event tracking component is used to identify the framework or component reporting the Span. Tencent Cloud Enhanced Java probes and some open-source OpenTelemetry probes can automatically inject event tracking components. If they are not automatically injected, you can manually specify the component in the Span reported to APM using the component
attribute.
Status
Status indicates whether the call is successful.
Error type
If a call’s status is error, the error type is used to differentiate between various types of errors.
Call with method stack snapshot included
If an API call duration frequently exceeds the slow call monitoring threshold, it may automatically generate a method stack snapshot. For calls with method stack snapshots, you can view the execution details of the local method stack in the linkage details. This feature is supported only in Tencent Cloud Enhanced Java Probe 1.16-2023102808 and later.
Span attribute
Span attributes represent additional information attached to a Span, expressed as key-value pairs. In addition to the attributes automatically injected by the probe, users can manually add Span attributes in the code.
Adding Custom Display Columns to the List
In the Link Tracking list, you can add custom columns for any Span attribute based on actual business needs to display in the Link Tracking results. First, go to the APM > System configuration > Business system configuration page, and add the Span attributes you need to display in the Custom configuration. Then, click the settings icon on the right side of the Distributed Tracing page and select the fields you want to display in the list.
Was this page helpful?