How does Envoy support observability through tracing?

Envoy enhances observability through tracing primarily by integrating with distributed tracing systems. This integration allows Envoy to capture and propagate tracing information across various services in a microservices architecture, providing insights into the flow of requests as they traverse through different system components. Such tracing data reveals performance bottlenecks, latency issues, and the overall health of services, making it easier for developers and operators to monitor and debug their applications.

The distributed tracing systems typically supported by Envoy, such as OpenTracing or Zipkin, enable detailed tracking of requests, session data, and execution paths to identify where delays or errors may occur in the processing of requests. This level of observability is crucial when managing complex architectures that involve numerous interdependent services.

While logging requests, tracking user sessions, and generating real-time reports can contribute to understanding system behavior, they do not provide the same depth of insight into the interactions between distributed services as tracing does. Therefore, the integration with tracing systems represents the most effective approach for enhancing observability within Envoy.