From Jaeger

Migrating from Jaeger to Sematext Tracing¶

This guide helps you migrate from Jaeger to Sematext Tracing while maintaining your existing trace data and instrumentation investments.

Migration Overview¶

Sematext Tracing is built on OpenTelemetry, the same standard that Jaeger supports, making migration straightforward:

Current: Application → Jaeger Client → Jaeger Agent → Jaeger Collector → Jaeger Storage

New:     Application → OpenTelemetry SDK → Sematext Agent → Sematext Cloud

Why Migrate to Sematext?¶

Advantages over self-hosted Jaeger:

Managed Infrastructure: No need to manage Jaeger collectors, storage, or scaling
Integrated Observability: Combine tracing with logs, metrics, and alerts in one platform
Advanced Analytics: Built-in performance analysis, service maps, and anomaly detection
OpenTelemetry Native: Future-proof with the industry standard
Cost Optimization: Built-in sampling strategies and retention management

Migration Strategies¶

Strategy 1: Parallel Migration (Recommended)¶

Run both systems simultaneously during the transition:

Phase 1: Set up Sematext alongside existing Jaeger
Phase 2: Configure applications to send traces to both systems
Phase 3: Validate trace data in Sematext
Phase 4: Gradually switch services to Sematext-only
Phase 5: Decommission Jaeger infrastructure

Strategy 2: Service-by-Service Migration¶

Migrate one service at a time:

Start with non-critical services
Validate each migration before proceeding
Move to critical services last
Maintain Jaeger for unmigrated services

Pre-Migration Checklist¶

[ ] Inventory Current Setup: Document all services using Jaeger
[ ] Review Instrumentation: Catalog custom spans and tags
[ ] Assess Sampling: Document current sampling configurations
[ ] Check Dependencies: Note any dashboards or alerts using Jaeger
[ ] Plan Downtime: Identify any required maintenance windows
[ ] Create Sematext Account: Set up Tracing Apps for your services

Step-by-Step Migration¶

Step 1: Set Up Sematext Infrastructure¶

Create Tracing Apps:
- Create a Sematext Tracing App for each service or business domain
- Note down the Tracing App tokens
Install Sematext Agent:
- Install Sematext Agent on your infrastructure
- Configure OpenTelemetry support

Step 2: Application Migration by Language¶

Java Applications¶

Current Jaeger Setup:

// Old Jaeger configuration
Configuration config = Configuration.fromEnv("my-service");
Tracer tracer = config.getTracer();

New OpenTelemetry Setup:

Option A - Auto-Instrumentation (Recommended):

# Download OpenTelemetry Java agent
wget https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java-instrumentation/releases/latest/download/opentelemetry-javaagent.jar

# Replace Jaeger agent with OpenTelemetry
java -javaagent:opentelemetry-javaagent.jar \
  -Dotel.service.name=my-service \
  -Dotel.exporter.otlp.endpoint=http://localhost:4338 \
  -Dotel.exporter.otlp.protocol=http/protobuf \
  -jar my-application.jar

Option B - Manual Migration:

// New OpenTelemetry configuration
import io.opentelemetry.api.GlobalOpenTelemetry;
import io.opentelemetry.api.trace.Tracer;

Tracer tracer = GlobalOpenTelemetry.getTracer("my-service");

// Span creation remains similar
Span span = tracer.spanBuilder("operation-name").startSpan();
try (Scope scope = span.makeCurrent()) {
    // Your code here
    span.setAttribute("key", "value");  // Same as Jaeger tags
} catch (Exception e) {
    span.recordException(e);
    span.setStatus(StatusCode.ERROR, e.getMessage());
} finally {
    span.end();
}

Python Applications¶

Current Jaeger Setup:

from jaeger_client import Config

config = Config(
    config={'sampler': {'type': 'const', 'param': 1}},
    service_name='my-service'
)
tracer = config.initialize_tracer()

New OpenTelemetry Setup:

# Install OpenTelemetry packages
pip install opentelemetry-distro[otlp]
opentelemetry-bootstrap -a install

# Configure environment
export OTEL_SERVICE_NAME=my-service
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4338
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf

# Run with auto-instrumentation
opentelemetry-instrument python my_app.py

Manual instrumentation:

from opentelemetry import trace
from opentelemetry.trace import Status, StatusCode

tracer = trace.get_tracer(__name__)

# Similar span usage
with tracer.start_as_current_span("operation-name") as span:
    span.set_attribute("key", "value")  # Same as Jaeger tags
    try:
        # Your code here
        pass
    except Exception as e:
        span.record_exception(e)
        span.set_status(Status(StatusCode.ERROR, str(e)))

Node.js Applications¶

Current Jaeger Setup:

const initJaegerTracer = require('jaeger-client').initTracer;

const tracer = initJaegerTracer({
  serviceName: 'my-service'
}, {});

New OpenTelemetry Setup:

// Install packages
// npm install @opentelemetry/auto-instrumentations-node @opentelemetry/sdk-node

// tracing.js
const { NodeSDK } = require('@opentelemetry/sdk-node');
const { getNodeAutoInstrumentations } = require('@opentelemetry/auto-instrumentations-node');

const sdk = new NodeSDK({
  serviceName: 'my-service',
  instrumentations: [getNodeAutoInstrumentations()]
});

sdk.start();

// Run: node -r ./tracing.js my-app.js

Go Applications¶

Current Jaeger Setup:

import "github.com/uber/jaeger-client-go"

tracer, closer := jaeger.NewTracer(
    "my-service",
    jaeger.NewConstSampler(true),
    jaeger.NewRemoteReporter(...),
)

New OpenTelemetry Setup:

import (
    "go.opentelemetry.io/otel"
    "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/otlptracehttp"
    "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/trace"
)

// Initialize tracer
exporter, _ := otlptracehttp.New(context.Background(),
    otlptracehttp.WithEndpoint("http://localhost:4338"))

tp := trace.NewTracerProvider(
    trace.WithBatcher(exporter),
    trace.WithResource(resource.NewWithAttributes(
        semconv.ServiceNameKey.String("my-service"),
    )))

otel.SetTracerProvider(tp)
tracer := tp.Tracer("my-service")

Step 3: Configuration Migration¶

Sampling Configuration¶

Jaeger Sampling:

# Jaeger sampling config
strategies:
  default_strategy:
    type: probabilistic
    param: 0.1

OpenTelemetry Sampling:

# Environment variable
export OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER=traceidratio
export OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER_ARG=0.1

# Or in code
sampler = TraceIdRatioBasedSampler(0.1)

Service Tags / Resource Attributes¶

Jaeger Tags:

JAEGER_TAGS=environment=production,version=1.2.3,datacenter=us-east

OpenTelemetry Resource Attributes:

export OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=environment=production,service.version=1.2.3,datacenter=us-east

Step 4: Parallel Operation Setup¶

To run both systems simultaneously:

Application-Level Dual Export (Recommended)

# Python example - send to both Jaeger and Sematext
from opentelemetry.exporter.jaeger.thrift import JaegerExporter
from opentelemetry.exporter.otlp.proto.http.trace_exporter import OTLPSpanExporter
from opentelemetry.sdk.trace.export import BatchSpanProcessor

# Jaeger exporter (keep temporarily during migration)
jaeger_exporter = JaegerExporter(
    agent_host_name="jaeger-agent",
    agent_port=6831,
)

# Sematext Agent OTLP endpoint (already running)
otlp_exporter = OTLPSpanExporter(
    endpoint="http://localhost:4338/v1/traces"  # Sematext Agent HTTP endpoint for traces
)

# Add both processors
tracer_provider = TracerProvider()
tracer_provider.add_span_processor(BatchSpanProcessor(jaeger_exporter))
tracer_provider.add_span_processor(BatchSpanProcessor(otlp_exporter))

Note: Since Sematext Agent already accepts OTLP traffic (ports 4337 for gRPC, 4338 for HTTP for traces), you don't need an additional OpenTelemetry Collector. The application can send traces directly to Sematext Agent while maintaining the Jaeger export during migration.

Step 5: Data Validation¶

Compare Key Metrics:

Service names and operations
Trace volume and sampling rates
Error rates and latencies
Custom tags/attributes
Dependency relationships

Validation Checklist:

[ ] All services appear in Sematext
[ ] Trace volumes match expected rates
[ ] Custom attributes are preserved
[ ] Error traces are captured correctly
[ ] Performance metrics align with Jaeger

Step 6: Dashboard and Alert Migration¶

Dashboards:

Export key Jaeger dashboard queries
Use Sematext's built-in reporting:
Tracing Overview - Main dashboard for service health insights and metrics
Traces Explorer - Search and filter traces
Trace Details View - Analyze individual request flows with waterfall visualization
Span Details Panel - Examine span-level details
Test alerting rules in Sematext

Alerting:

Document existing Jaeger alerts
Create equivalent Sematext alerts
Test alert delivery and escalation

Common Migration Challenges¶

Challenge 1: Custom Instrumentation Differences¶

Issue: Jaeger-specific APIs don't translate directly

Solution: Map concepts between systems:

// Jaeger
span.setTag("user.id", userId);
span.log("Processing started");

// OpenTelemetry  
span.setAttribute("user.id", userId);
span.addEvent("Processing started");

Challenge 2: Sampling Strategy Migration¶

Issue: Different sampling configuration formats

Solution: Use the OpenTelemetry sampling guide to recreate your strategies:

# Jaeger const sampler (always on)
JAEGER_SAMPLER_TYPE=const
JAEGER_SAMPLER_PARAM=1

# OpenTelemetry equivalent
export OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER=always_on

# Jaeger probabilistic sampler  
JAEGER_SAMPLER_TYPE=probabilistic
JAEGER_SAMPLER_PARAM=0.1

# OpenTelemetry equivalent
export OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER=traceidratio
export OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER_ARG=0.1

Challenge 3: Different Trace Context Headers¶

Issue: Jaeger uses different trace propagation headers

Solution: OpenTelemetry uses W3C Trace Context by default. If you need Jaeger header compatibility during migration:

from opentelemetry.propagators.jaeger import JaegerPropagator
from opentelemetry.propagators.composite import CompositePropagator
from opentelemetry.propagate import set_global_textmap

# Support both header formats during migration
propagator = CompositePropagator([
    JaegerPropagator(),
    TraceContextTextMapPropagator(),
])
set_global_textmap(propagator)

Post-Migration Optimization¶

After successful migration:

Review Sampling: Optimize with Sematext cost optimization strategies
Set Up Alerts: Configure performance and error alerts
Explore Features: Use service maps, anomaly detection, and correlation features
Team Training: Train your team on Sematext's advanced features

Rollback Plan¶

Always have a rollback strategy:

Keep Jaeger Running: Don't decommission until fully validated
DNS/Load Balancer Switch: Quick rollback via infrastructure changes
Application Toggle: Feature flags to switch between exporters
Data Backup: Export critical traces before decommissioning Jaeger

Migration Timeline Template¶

Week 1: Setup and Pilot

[ ] Assess current Jaeger setup (1 day)
[ ] Create Sematext account and install agents (1 day)
[ ] Choose 2-3 pilot services and implement dual export (2-3 days)
[ ] Validate data quality and completeness (1-2 days)

Week 2: Full Migration

[ ] Migrate remaining services
[ ] Update any custom dashboards or alerts
[ ] Monitor performance

Week 3: Cleanup

[ ] Final validation across all services
[ ] Decommission Jaeger infrastructure
[ ] Optimize sampling and costs

Need Help?¶

Check the troubleshooting guide for common issues
Review OpenTelemetry SDK documentation for language-specific details
Contact support@sematext.com for migration assistance

From Jaeger

Migrating from Jaeger to Sematext Tracing¶

Migration Overview¶

Why Migrate to Sematext?¶

Migration Strategies¶

Strategy 1: Parallel Migration (Recommended)¶

Strategy 2: Service-by-Service Migration¶

Pre-Migration Checklist¶

Step-by-Step Migration¶

Step 1: Set Up Sematext Infrastructure¶

Step 2: Application Migration by Language¶

Java Applications¶

Python Applications¶

Node.js Applications¶

Go Applications¶

Step 3: Configuration Migration¶

Sampling Configuration¶

Service Tags / Resource Attributes¶

Step 4: Parallel Operation Setup¶

Step 5: Data Validation¶

Step 6: Dashboard and Alert Migration¶

Common Migration Challenges¶

Challenge 1: Custom Instrumentation Differences¶

Challenge 2: Sampling Strategy Migration¶

Challenge 3: Different Trace Context Headers¶

Post-Migration Optimization¶

Rollback Plan¶

Migration Timeline Template¶

Need Help?¶

Related Documentation¶