Kibana Kibana 'APM' not showing traces

What is Kibana Kibana 'APM' not showing traces

Understanding Kibana and APM

Kibana is a powerful visualization tool that works seamlessly with Elasticsearch to provide insights into your data. One of its key features is the APM (Application Performance Monitoring) module, which helps monitor application performance and trace requests across distributed systems.

Identifying the Symptom

One common issue users encounter is that the 'APM' section in Kibana does not display any traces. This can be frustrating as it prevents you from analyzing application performance effectively.

Exploring the Issue

The absence of traces in Kibana's APM can be attributed to several factors. The most common root cause is an incorrect configuration of the APM agent or issues with data ingestion into Elasticsearch. Without proper configuration, the APM agent may fail to send trace data, or Elasticsearch may not index the data correctly.

Common Misconfigurations

Misconfigurations can occur in the APM agent setup, such as incorrect service names, server URLs, or missing authentication credentials. These errors prevent the agent from communicating with the APM server.

Steps to Resolve the Issue

Step 1: Verify APM Agent Configuration

Ensure that the APM agent is correctly configured. Check the service.name, server_url, and authentication settings in your agent's configuration file. Refer to the official APM agent documentation for detailed configuration instructions.

Step 2: Check Data Ingestion

Confirm that trace data is being ingested into Elasticsearch. You can do this by querying Elasticsearch directly:

GET /_cat/indices?v

Look for indices starting with apm-. If they are missing, it indicates that data is not being ingested properly.

Step 3: Review Elasticsearch Logs

Examine Elasticsearch logs for any errors related to APM data ingestion. Logs can provide insights into issues like indexing errors or connectivity problems.

Additional Resources

For further assistance, consider visiting the Elastic APM Discuss Forum where you can ask questions and share experiences with other users.

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the issue of missing traces in Kibana's APM and ensure your application performance monitoring is back on track.