Tracing serverless Node.js functions

Instana announced the ability to trace serverless Node.js functions running on AWS Lambda. The new capabilities, which require zero code modification, deliver superior native serverless tracing automatically, providing performance metrics beyond, and independently from, X-Ray.

“As companies continue to push the envelope in creating smaller, more dynamic services, developers will use serverless functions more often, and in more critical applications,” said Mirko Novakovic, co-founder and CEO of Instana. “By providing Native Node.js tracing on AWS Lambda, Instana helps application stakeholders like DevOps see how individual functions are performing call by call, but also provides the necessary details developers need to make their code perform as expected.”

The new capabilities are an extension of Instana’s unique AutoTrace™ feature, which captures end-to-end distributed traces of all requests with no sampling. The new serverless monitoring and tracing feature is included with Instana’s Application Performance Management solution for microservice and cloud-native applications, with no additional cost.

“Application environments and the technologies utilized in these environments are always going to improve with advancements in platforms,” said Pavlo Baron, Instana CTO and co-founder. “Instana is committed to providing the most comprehensive visibility into applications and application platforms, all with the same best-in-class automation that our users have come to expect.”

Instana AutoTrace for AWS Lambda is a big step forward for developers and DevOps teams responsible for developing, deploying and maintaining applications that include serverless functions built with Node.js. Key capabilities include:

• Automated native tracing for AWS Lambda functions written in Node.js for all supported Node.js libraries and frameworks
• Zero code modification, representing huge productivity gains for development, DevOps and operations teams
• Tracing through other programming languages, platforms and deployments

All data from Lambda function traces is seamlessly integrated into all Instana analysis capabilities including End User Monitoring, Unbounded Analytics™ and  Application Perspectives™. New functionality also includes out-of-the box contextual Lambda Function Overview Dashboards that include function name, function version, AWS region, interdependencies with other functions and services along with all other critical Lambda runtime metrics. Information from Instana’s Lambda Node.js tracing is combined with other performance information, including CloudWatch to provide the most comprehensive view of service health and performance.

Unlike other APM solutions, Instana fully automates the entire lifecycle of application monitoring including application discovery and mapping, monitoring sensor and agent deployment and health monitoring of application infrastructure. When any changes occur to dynamic applications, Instana recognizes that a change has occurred, automatically makes the appropriate adjustments to maps, monitoring thresholds and health dashboards.