Distributed Tracing

Distributed tracing is a method used to monitor and profile applications, particularly those built on microservices or other distributed architectures where a single request may pass through multiple services. To understand the full lifecycle of a request, tracing assigns a unique ID to the initial call and propagates this context across every subsequent network call and process, creating a complete, end-to-end view of the entire operation. This allows developers to visualize the request path, identify performance bottlenecks by seeing how long each step took, and debug errors by pinpointing exactly where in the chain of services a failure occurred.

1. Fundamentals of Distributed Systems
   1. Definition and Characteristics
      1. What Are Distributed Systems
      2. Key Properties
         1. Concurrency
         2. Lack of Global Clock
         3. Independent Failures
      3. Distribution Transparency
   2. Common Distributed System Architectures
      1. Monolithic Applications
      2. Service-Oriented Architecture
      3. Microservices Architecture
      4. Serverless Computing
      5. Event-Driven Architecture
   3. Challenges in Distributed Systems
      1. Network Unreliability
      2. Partial Failures
      3. Consistency and Coordination
      4. Scalability Issues
      5. Complexity Management