Incomplete traces

A trace is considered incomplete if the system fails to build a full span tree, typically because the root span or certain parent spans are missing.

Causes of incomplete tracesCauses of incomplete traces

Missing root spanMissing root span

A root span is a parentless span that marks the start of a trace. The system displays a trace as incomplete if the root span is not delivered, fails validation, or originates from an uninstrumented service.

Missing parent spansMissing parent spans

If a child span is missing its parent in the tree, the system cannot link spans correctly. This typically results from context propagation errors between services or when the parent span is rejected during validation.

Span limit exceededSpan limit exceeded

The UI displays up to 100,000 spans per trace. Any spans exceeding this limit are omitted, which may cause the trace to appear incomplete.

TroubleshootingTroubleshooting

Checking data deliveryChecking data delivery

1. Make sure all services in the call chain are instrumented and sending data.
2. Review agent logs (OpenTelemetry Collector or Unified Agent) for data delivery errors.
3. Check trace delivery metrics on the Monium – Traces overview service dashboard.

Checking validationChecking validation

Spans may be rejected during validation for the following reasons:

• Missing required fields (trace_id, span_id, timestamps, etc.).
• Invalid field value format (e.g., incorrect trace_id format).
• Exceeded span or attribute size limit.

Learn more about validation rules here.

Checking context propagationChecking context propagation

Make sure trace context is correctly propagated across services:

• HTTP interactions use traceparent and tracestate headers.
• For asynchronous operations, context is included in message metadata.
• All services use compatible OpenTelemetry SDK versions.