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Overview

Migrating to Sematext Tracing

This section provides guides for migrating from various tracing solutions to Sematext Tracing. Whether you're coming from open-source tools or commercial APM solutions, these guides will help you transition smoothly while preserving your observability investments.

Why Migrate to Sematext?

Key Benefits of Sematext Tracing:

  • OpenTelemetry Native: Built on the industry-standard observability framework
  • Unified Observability: Combine tracing with logs, metrics, and alerts in one platform
  • Managed Service: No infrastructure to maintain or scale
  • Advanced Analytics: Service maps (coming soon), anomaly detection, and performance insights
  • Enterprise Ready: RBAC, advanced alerting
  • Cost Optimization: Built-in sampling strategies and retention management

Migration Guides

Open Source Tracing Solutions

Jaeger Migration Guide

Best for: Teams currently using Jaeger for distributed tracing

Covers:

  • Direct OpenTelemetry migration paths
  • Jaeger client library replacement
  • Sampling configuration migration
  • Dashboard and alert recreation
  • Parallel operation strategies

Migration approach: Straightforward OpenTelemetry transition
Timeline: 2-3 weeks depending on service count

Zipkin Migration Guide

Best for: Organizations with existing Zipkin deployments

Covers:

  • B3 header propagation compatibility
  • Spring Cloud Sleuth migration
  • Custom annotation conversion
  • Dual export configuration
  • Performance optimization

Migration approach: Smooth transition with OpenTelemetry compatibility
Timeline: 2-3 weeks for most deployments

Commercial APM Solutions

DataDog APM Migration Guide

Best for: Teams currently using DataDog APM and looking to optimize costs

Covers:

  • DataDog agent replacement with OpenTelemetry
  • Custom instrumentation migration for all major languages
  • Dashboard and monitor recreation in Sematext
  • Cost comparison and optimization strategies (see Sematext pricing)
  • Dual export configuration for safe migration

Migration approach: Agent replacement with comprehensive OpenTelemetry migration
Timeline: 3-4 weeks for most deployments

New Relic APM Migration Guide

Best for: Organizations migrating from New Relic APM to reduce licensing costs

Covers:

  • New Relic agent replacement across languages
  • Custom attributes and events migration
  • NRQL query recreation in Sematext
  • Browser monitoring migration strategies
  • Alert and dashboard recreation (see Sematext pricing for cost benefits)

Migration approach: Agent replacement with feature parity recreation
Timeline: 3-4 weeks depending on customization level

Dynatrace APM Migration Guide

Best for: Teams moving from Dynatrace OneAgent to OpenTelemetry standards

Covers:

  • OneAgent replacement with explicit instrumentation
  • Service discovery migration from automatic to configured
  • AI-powered insights recreation with manual rules
  • Management zone and tagging strategy migration
  • Cost optimization post-migration (see Sematext pricing)

Migration approach: Transition from automatic to configured instrumentation
Timeline: 4-5 weeks for complex environments

General Migration Strategy

Regardless of your current solution, follow this proven migration approach:

Phase 1: Assessment and Planning (2-3 days)

Inventory Current State:

  • [ ] Document all services sending traces
  • [ ] Review custom instrumentation and business logic
  • [ ] Identify critical dashboards and alerts
  • [ ] Assess data volume and retention requirements
  • [ ] Map team responsibilities and access controls

Plan Migration:

  • [ ] Define success criteria and acceptance tests
  • [ ] Choose pilot services (start with non-critical)
  • [ ] Plan parallel operation period
  • [ ] Identify potential rollback triggers
  • [ ] Create migration timeline and milestones

Phase 2: Infrastructure Setup (1 week)

Sematext Setup:

OpenTelemetry Preparation:

  • [ ] Choose appropriate SDK languages
  • [ ] Plan instrumentation approach (auto vs manual)
  • [ ] Design sampling strategy
  • [ ] Prepare deployment automation

Phase 3: Pilot Migration (1 week)

Start Small:

  • [ ] Choose 2-3 non-critical services
  • [ ] Implement OpenTelemetry instrumentation
  • [ ] Configure application-level dual export to both systems
  • [ ] Validate trace data quality and completeness

Validation:

  • [ ] Compare trace volumes and sampling rates
  • [ ] Verify custom attributes and metadata
  • [ ] Test end-to-end trace propagation
  • [ ] Validate error capture and reporting

Phase 4: Gradual Migration (1-2 weeks)

Service-by-Service Migration:

  • [ ] Migrate services in dependency order
  • [ ] Maintain trace continuity across service boundaries
  • [ ] Monitor performance impact and resource usage
  • [ ] Update documentation and runbooks

Dashboard and Alert Migration:

Phase 5: Optimization and Cleanup (2-3 days)

Performance Tuning:

  • [ ] Optimize sampling rates using cost optimization strategies
  • [ ] Fine-tune batch processing and export settings
  • [ ] Implement advanced Sematext features
  • [ ] Monitor costs and adjust retention policies

Decommission Old System:

  • [ ] Validate all services migrated successfully
  • [ ] Export historical data if needed
  • [ ] Remove old agents and instrumentation
  • [ ] Update monitoring and operational procedures

Universal Migration Challenges

Challenge 1: Instrumentation Differences

Problem: Each APM solution uses different APIs and concepts

Solution: Map concepts between systems: 

Proprietary Agent     → OpenTelemetry SDK
Custom Tags/Labels    → Span Attributes  
Transactions/Traces   → Distributed Traces
Segments/Spans       → OpenTelemetry Spans
Timeline Annotations → Span Events

Challenge 2: Data Model Differences

Problem: Different solutions structure and store trace data differently

Solution:

  • Focus on business-level metrics that translate across systems
  • Use semantic conventions for consistency
  • Accept that some proprietary features won't have direct equivalents
  • Leverage Sematext's advanced analytics to replace vendor-specific insights

Challenge 3: Context Propagation

Problem: Trace context headers vary between systems

Solution: Use OpenTelemetry's composite propagators during transition: 

from opentelemetry.propagators.composite import CompositePropagator
from opentelemetry.propagators.b3 import B3MultiFormat
from opentelemetry.propagate import set_global_textmap

# Support multiple header formats during migration
propagator = CompositePropagator([
    TraceContextTextMapPropagator(),  # W3C standard
    B3MultiFormat(),                  # Zipkin compatible
    # Add other formats as needed
])
set_global_textmap(propagator)

Challenge 4: Sampling Strategy Migration

Problem: Different sampling approaches and configurations

Solution: Start conservative, then optimize:

  1. Begin with simple percentage-based sampling
  2. Monitor data volume and costs
  3. Implement advanced strategies using Sematext's sampling guide
  4. Use service-specific sampling based on criticality

Migration Best Practices

Technical Best Practices

  1. Gradual Migration: Never migrate everything at once
  2. Parallel Operation: Use application-level dual export during transition (Sematext Agent already handles OTLP, no need for additional collectors)
  3. Comprehensive Testing: Validate trace continuity and data quality
  4. Monitoring: Watch for performance impacts and data loss
  5. Rollback Plan: Always have a way to revert quickly

Organizational Best Practices

  1. Team Training: Ensure teams understand OpenTelemetry concepts
  2. Documentation: Update runbooks and operational procedures
  3. Communication: Keep stakeholders informed of progress
  4. Success Criteria: Define clear metrics for migration success
  5. Post-Migration Review: Capture lessons learned for future migrations

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

  1. Insufficient Testing: Not validating trace completeness and accuracy
  2. No Rollback Plan: Being unable to revert if issues arise
  3. Ignoring Dependencies: Not considering trace propagation between services
  4. Inadequate Monitoring: Missing performance impacts or data quality issues
  5. Rushed Timeline: Not allowing adequate time for validation and optimization

Support and Resources

Getting Help

  • Migration Support: Contact support@sematext.com for personalized migration assistance
  • Documentation: Comprehensive guides available for all OpenTelemetry SDKs
  • Community: Join discussions about OpenTelemetry best practices
  • Professional Services: Available for complex enterprise migrations

Useful Resources

Next Steps

  1. Choose Your Migration Guide: Select the guide most relevant to your current solution
  2. Plan Your Migration: Use the assessment templates and timeline guidance
  3. Start with Pilot: Begin with non-critical services for validation
  4. Get Support: Contact our team for personalized migration assistance

Whether you're migrating from open-source tools like Jaeger and Zipkin or commercial solutions like DataDog and New Relic, we're here to help ensure your migration is successful and your observability capabilities are enhanced.