Getting Started with OpenTelemetry: Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction OpenTelemetry is an open-source observability framework for cloud-native software, providing a set of APIs, libraries, agents, and instrumentation to collect metrics, logs, and traces. It’s a powerful tool for gaining insight into distributed systems and performance bottlenecks. In this article, we’ll walk through what OpenTelemetry is, why you should use it, and how to set it up step-by-step. Why OpenTelemetry? Unified Observability: One standard for logs, metrics, and traces. Vendor-Neutral: Export data to systems like Prometheus, Jaeger, or commercial APMs. Extensible: Support for multiple languages and platforms. Step-by-Step Guide Step 1: Install the Collector Use the OpenTelemetry Collector to receive, process, and export telemetry data. ...

August 31, 2025 · 2 min · 255 words · John Cena

Jaeger: Installation and Usage Guide for Distributed Tracing in Kubernetes

Introduction Jaeger is an open-source end-to-end distributed tracing tool originally developed by Uber Technologies. It is used for monitoring and troubleshooting microservices-based distributed systems. This guide provides a clear overview of how to install and use Jaeger in Kubernetes with practical examples. Why Use Jaeger? Visualize service dependencies and latencies Troubleshoot performance bottlenecks Monitor request paths across microservices Support for OpenTelemetry Prerequisites A running Kubernetes cluster (e.g., Minikube, k3s, GKE, etc.) kubectl configured Helm installed 1. Install Jaeger with Helm helm repo add jaegertracing https://jaegertracing.github.io/helm-charts helm repo update helm install jaeger jaegertracing/jaeger --set query.basePath=/jaeger --set ingress.enabled=true --set ingress.hosts="{jaeger.yourdomain.com}" To expose Jaeger locally: ...

August 29, 2025 · 2 min · 269 words · John Cena

How to Distribute Load Effectively in Kubernetes

How to Distribute Load Effectively in Kubernetes Managing and distributing load in a Kubernetes cluster is key to ensuring system performance and reliability. Kubernetes offers several native features that help balance traffic and workload across nodes and pods. Why Load Distribution Matters Evenly distributed load improves: System responsiveness Resource utilization Cluster stability Cost-efficiency 1. Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA) HPA automatically scales pods based on CPU/memory or custom metrics. kubectl autoscale deployment myapp --cpu-percent=50 --min=2 --max=10 Ensure metrics-server is installed for HPA to function. ...

August 20, 2025 · 2 min · 231 words · John Cena

What is Longhorn? How to Install and Use It in Kubernetes

What is Longhorn? Longhorn is a lightweight, distributed block storage system designed for Kubernetes. Created by Rancher Labs, it’s built specifically for cloud-native environments and enables highly available persistent volumes using standard Kubernetes interfaces. Key Features Cloud-native: Designed specifically for Kubernetes. Highly Available: Replicates volumes across nodes. UI and CLI Tools: Easily manage storage through web interface or CLI. Incremental Snapshots and Backups: Built-in support. Easy to Deploy and Use: Helm and YAML options available. Why Use Longhorn? Kubernetes does not manage storage on its own — it needs a CSI (Container Storage Interface) driver. Longhorn is a popular open-source choice that offers: ...

August 20, 2025 · 2 min · 318 words · John Cena

Helm vs Kustomize: Which One Should You Choose?

Helm vs Kustomize: Which One Should You Choose? When deploying applications in Kubernetes, two of the most popular tools for managing configuration are Helm and Kustomize. Both aim to make deploying manifests more manageable, but they follow different philosophies and offer distinct features. Table of Contents What is Helm? What is Kustomize? Key Differences Pros and Cons Use Cases and Recommendations Example Configurations Conclusion 1. What is Helm? Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes. It lets you define, install, and upgrade even the most complex Kubernetes applications using Helm charts. ...

August 19, 2025 · 2 min · 322 words · John Cena