How Are Logs Different from Traces?
Logs and traces are key tools for understanding your application. But they work differently. Logs are often created manually by developers, while traces are increasingly automated thanks to OpenTelemetry standards.
1. What Are Logs?
Logs are records of specific events in your app. Developers often add logs manually to capture important moments, like when a user logs in or when an error occurs. Logs provide detailed context but rely heavily on developer input, meaning their quality depends on what was logged.
2. What Are Traces?
Traces show how a request moves through your system, capturing how different services and tasks work together. Unlike logs, traces are often automated. Thanks to OpenTelemetry standards and wide adoption, libraries for tools like databases and APIs are already instrumented to create traces without extra effort from developers.
3. Key Differences Between Logs and Traces
- Logs: Manually placed by developers, focusing on specific events and providing detailed snapshots.
- Traces: Automatically generated and show the full journey of a request through the system.
- Logs depend on what developers think is important, while traces provide a complete picture without manual effort.
4. Why Are Traces Easier to Maintain?
Logs require developers to think ahead and write useful entries during development. Traces, on the other hand, are created automatically for many tools and frameworks using OpenTelemetry. This reduces manual work and ensures consistent, high-quality data.
5. How Does OpenTelemetry Help?
OpenTelemetry makes tracing simple by supporting popular languages like JavaScript, Python, Java, Go, and more. Many libraries and frameworks, such as databases and HTTP clients, are pre-instrumented with OpenTelemetry to generate traces automatically. Developers no longer need to add traces manually.
6. Why Use Logs and Traces Together?
While traces are automated and show how requests flow through your system, logs add extra detail about specific events. Using both gives you a complete picture: traces highlight where the problem is, and logs provide the details about what happened.
7. How Otelic.com Simplifies Observability
Otelic.com collects both logs and traces, letting you debug faster without relying on SSH access to production servers. You can browse, analyze, and set up alerts for both logs and traces in one platform. Otelic.com’s pricing is simple: you pay only for what you use without any surprises. No price per seat, host or anything.