How do you set up a Zipkin server for distributed tracing?

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Setting Up a Zipkin Server
  • Step 1: Install Zipkin
    • Option 1: Running Zipkin with Docker
    • Option 2: Running Zipkin with Java
  • Step 2: Configure Your Microservices to Send Traces to Zipkin
    • Add Spring Cloud Sleuth and Zipkin Dependencies
    • Configure Application Properties
  • Step 3: Verify the Setup
  • Step 4: (Optional) Integrate with Other Tracing Systems
• Conclusion

Introduction

Zipkin is a popular distributed tracing system that helps in monitoring and troubleshooting microservices-based architectures. It collects and visualizes traces from various services, helping developers identify performance bottlenecks and diagnose issues in complex, distributed systems. Setting up a Zipkin server involves installing the Zipkin application, configuring it to collect traces, and ensuring that it integrates properly with your microservices. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of setting up a Zipkin server for distributed tracing.

Setting Up a Zipkin Server

Step 1: Install Zipkin

Zipkin is available as a standalone server or as a Docker container, and can be easily integrated into your microservices environment. The easiest way to run Zipkin is by using its Docker image, but you can also run it as a Java application.

Option 1: Running Zipkin with Docker

To get started with Zipkin, the most straightforward method is to run it using Docker. If you have Docker installed, you can run the following command to pull and start the Zipkin container:

• -d runs the container in detached mode.
• -p 9411:9411 maps the container’s port 9411 to the host machine’s port 9411, which is the default port for Zipkin's UI and API.

Once the command executes successfully, Zipkin will be available at http://localhost:9411. You can visit this URL in your browser to access the Zipkin UI, where you can search and view the traces collected from your microservices.

Option 2: Running Zipkin with Java

Alternatively, you can run Zipkin as a Java application. First, download the latest release of Zipkin from the official website. After downloading the .jar file, you can run it with the following command:

This will start the Zipkin server on port 9411 by default, and you can access the UI at http://localhost:9411.

Step 2: Configure Your Microservices to Send Traces to Zipkin

Once your Zipkin server is up and running, the next step is to configure your microservices to send trace data to the Zipkin server. If you're using Spring Cloud Sleuth, the integration with Zipkin is straightforward.

Add Spring Cloud Sleuth and Zipkin Dependencies

In your pom.xml (for Maven) or build.gradle (for Gradle), add the required dependencies for Spring Cloud Sleuth and Zipkin.

For Maven:

For Gradle:

Configure Application Properties

Next, you need to configure the Zipkin URL in your application.properties or application.yml file to point to your Zipkin server. Here’s how you can do it:

application.properties:

• spring.zipkin.baseUrl is the URL where your Zipkin server is running (in this case, http://localhost:9411).
• spring.sleuth.sampler.probability controls the sampling rate, determining what percentage of requests will be traced. A value of 1.0 means 100% tracing.
• spring.sleuth.enabled is set to true to enable tracing.

application.yml:

This configuration ensures that all requests in your application will be traced and sent to the Zipkin server for visualization.

Step 3: Verify the Setup

Once you’ve set up Zipkin and configured your microservices to send trace data, it’s time to verify that everything is working correctly.

1. Send a Request to Your Microservice: Make a request to your application. If you’ve set up everything correctly, this request should be traced by Spring Cloud Sleuth and sent to Zipkin.
2. Check the Zipkin UI: Go to http://localhost:9411 and search for traces in the Zipkin UI. You should see the traces and their associated spans, representing the flow of the request across your microservices.
   • Trace View: In Zipkin, a trace represents a single request across services, and a span represents an individual operation within that trace.
   • Search Traces: You can search for traces by service name, trace ID, or other criteria.

Step 4: (Optional) Integrate with Other Tracing Systems

While Zipkin is a popular tracing system, you can also integrate it with other systems like Prometheus, Grafana, or Jaeger to enhance monitoring and visualization. Depending on your needs, you can send Zipkin traces to a centralized monitoring platform that supports more advanced features.

Conclusion

Setting up a Zipkin server for distributed tracing in your microservices architecture provides invaluable insights into how requests flow through your system. By using Zipkin with Spring Cloud Sleuth, you can easily track requests, identify bottlenecks, and troubleshoot issues across multiple services. The process involves running Zipkin, configuring your services to send trace data, and using the Zipkin UI to view the traces. This setup helps ensure that your microservices-based system is observable, maintainable, and efficient.