If your app is written in Java, you can get started quickly with Lightstep. Download the Java SpecialAgent, then configure it to communicate with your Lightstep Satellites. When you deploy your app, all supported third-party framework libraries (like the Elasticsearch client, RxJava, or the Kafka client) will begin sending trace data to Lightstep.
Installation can be static or dynamic, allowing you to install without requiring the application’s source code to be modified or re-compiled.
Supported Java Versions
Java versions 1.7 or later are supported.
Install the Agent
Download the JAR file from Maven.
Configure the Agent to Send Data to Lightstep
To send data from your system to Lightstep, you need to configure the agent to point to your Satellites.
To configure the agent:
- Configure the agent to point to the Lightstep Satellites by setting these environment variables. Use the right values, depending on if you are using on-premise, Lightstep public, or Developer Mode Satellites.
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On-Premise Satellites
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# Options for On Premise Satellites
-Dsa.tracer=lightstep
-Dls.collectorHost=$(your_load_balancer_DNS_name_or_IP_address)
-Dls.collectorProtocol=$(your_satellite_protocol)
-Dls.collectorPort=$(your_satellite_port)
-Dls.accessToken=$(your_Lightstep_token)
-Dls.componentName=${your_service_name}
-Dls.propagator=b3
Public Satellites
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# Options for Lightstep Public Satellites
-Dsa.tracer=lightstep
-Dls.collectorHost=ingest.lightstep.com
-Dls.collectorProtocol=https
-Dls.collectorPort=443
-Dls.accessToken=$(your_Lightstep_token)
-Dls.componentName=${your_service_name}
-Dls.propagator=b3
Developer Mode
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# Options for Lightstep Public Satellites
-Dsa.tracer=lightstep
-Dls.collectorHost=localhost
-Dls.collectorProtocol=https
-Dls.collectorPort=8360
-Dls.accessToken=$developer
-Dls.componentName=${your_service_name}
-Dls.propagator=b3
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Your access token is shown in Project Settings. It tells Lightstep which project the agent should send data to.
The host and port values for on-premise satellites is your pool address, found in your configuration file.
Lightstep recommends using B3 headers for trace propagation as the default, especially on hybrid deployments, as it is the most widely supported header at this time.
Run the Java Special Agent
You can install the agent statically (you will need to restart your app) or dynamically (you can install while the app is running).
Static
For a static attach, use the -javaagent argument to start up your app.
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java <application_name>
-javaagent:$(full_path_to_special_agent_jar)
-jar $(full_path_to_your_jar_file)
Dynamic
For a dynamic attach, you need to determine your application’s PID and then attach the agent.
Run jps in a shell to get your PID.
Make sure the SpecialAgent version is correct for your installation.
JDK 1.9 and later:
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-jar opentracing-specialagent-<version>.jar <PID>
JDK 1.8:
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-Xbootclasspath/a:$JAVA_HOME/lib/tools.jar
-jar opentracing-specialagent-<version>.jar <PID>
All supported OpenTracing plugins are now installed! If you did a dynamic attachment and the third-party apps that have plugins are running, you’ll immediately start to see spans in Lightstep. If you did a static attach, you’ll get spans as soon as your apps are all running.
Read the next section to learn how to configure SpecialAgent to tune the amount of data sent.
Configure Java SpecialAgent Plugins
Java SpecialAgent supports many plugins out of the box. You can add the following additional configuration properties on the command line for plugin configuration.
Set the verbose property
By default, all plugins except Concurrent have this property set to false.
To set all plugins to true:-Dsa.instrumentation.plugins.verbose=true
Or to set individual plugins to true: -Dsa.instrumentation.plugin.${RULE_NAME_PATTERN}.verbose=true
The ${RULE_NAME_PATTERN} is the artifactId of the plugin, and is shown in the table, below.
Disable a plugin
All plugins are installed by default. You can disable any you don’t need:-Dsa.instrumentation.plugin.${RULE_NAME_PATTERN}.disable
The ${RULE_NAME_PATTERN} is the artifactId of the plugin, and is shown in the table, below.
Enable a plugin
All plugins are installed by default. If you’ve disabled a plugin, you can re-enable it: -Dsa.instrumentation.plugin.${RULE_NAME_PATTERN}.enable
The ${RULE_NAME_PATTERN} is the artifactId of the plugin, and is shown in the table, below.
What’s Auto-Instrumented
Following are the supported plugins that are auto-instrumented when you run your app.