Introduction

OpenTelemetry and Jaeger are related but distinct. OpenTelemetry is a comprehensive observability framework providing APIs, SDKs, and tools for collecting and exporting telemetry data (traces, metrics, logs). Jaeger, on the other hand, is primarily a distributed tracing system, focused on storing, visualizing, and analyzing trace data. OpenTelemetry can be used to generate traces, metrics, and logs, and it can export this data to various backends, including Jaeger.

Having a Closer Look

OpenTelemetry:

• Scope:

  OpenTelemetry offers a unified standard for collecting telemetry data, encompassing traces, metrics, and logs.

• Instrumentation:

  Provides APIs and SDKs for instrumenting applications across various languages, simplifying the process of adding observability.

• Vendor-Neutral:

  It's vendor-agnostic, allowing you to choose and switch between different backend solutions.

• Flexibility:

  Can export data to a wide range of backends, including Jaeger.

Jaeger:

• Scope:

  Specifically designed for distributed tracing, enabling you to track requests as they flow through microservices.

• Data Storage and Visualization:

  Offers storage solutions (like Cassandra, Elasticsearch) and a web UI for analyzing trace data.

• Focus:

  Primarily focused on tracing, unlike OpenTelemetry's broader scope.

• Integration:

  While it can be used with OpenTelemetry, it requires more manual instrumentation and integration.

Conclusion

In essence: OpenTelemetry acts as the instrumentation layer, generating the data, while Jaeger provides a backend for storing, visualizing, and analyzing that data, particularly traces. They are complementary technologies, with OpenTelemetry providing a way to generate the data and Jaeger providing a specialized system for working with trace data.