What is distributed tracing used for in microservices deployments?

• A. Track requests across services to identify latency and errors
• B. Monitor CPU usage
• C. Deploy code
• D. Create backups

Answer: (A)

Distributed tracing follows a single request as it travels through multiple microservices, collecting timing data at each step and carrying a trace identifier so every hop can be connected into one end-to-end story. This view shows where time is spent, which service may be causing a delay, and where errors originate, enabling quick root-cause analysis and performance tuning in complex deployments. In microservices, one operation often touches many services, so having visibility across the entire path is crucial. The other activities—monitoring CPU usage, deploying code, and creating backups—address separate concerns: resource metrics, release management, and data protection, respectively. Distributed tracing focuses specifically on tracking requests across services to reveal latency and errors.