A trace represents one distributed operation. It contains spans that describe timed units of work and their relationships.
| Object | Core Fields | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Trace | Trace ID, root span, start, duration, services, errors | Groups one distributed request or workflow. |
| Span | Span ID, parent span ID, name, kind, start, end, status | Describes one operation. |
| Resource | Service and deployment attributes | Identifies where telemetry was produced. |
| Event | Name, timestamp, attributes | Records a point-in-time occurrence within a span. |
| Link | Trace ID, span ID, attributes | Associates work that is not a direct parent-child relationship. |
Trace and span identifiers provide correlation, not business identity. A root span has no parent in the trace. Duration is derived from span timestamps, and an error is represented by status and related attributes or events. Attribute values can be strings, numbers, booleans, or supported arrays; keep keys unique within their attribute set.