AWS Glossary
AWS X-Ray
AWS X-Ray is the distributed tracing backend on AWS. Prefer ADOT/OpenTelemetry instrumentation and CloudWatch Application Signals as the APM UI — X-Ray SDKs are in maintenance mode.
Definition
AWS X-Ray stores and queries distributed traces for applications on AWS. In the modern stack, CloudWatch Application Signals is the primary APM experience; X-Ray remains the trace backend that receives OpenTelemetry spans (via ADOT, CloudWatch agent, or OTLP endpoints) and legacy X-Ray segments.
When to use it
- As the destination for ADOT/OpenTelemetry traces powering Application Signals and Transaction Search
- Trace retrieval and analytics alongside Application Signals service maps
When not to use it
- Do not start net-new instrumentation with the X-Ray SDKs or Daemon — they entered maintenance mode on February 25, 2026 (security fixes only). Use ADOT instead.
- Do not treat the classic X-Ray console as your only APM if Application Signals is available for your runtime
Tips
- Migrate existing X-Ray SDK apps to ADOT when you next touch instrumentation
- Enable Transaction Search for span search and unified Application Signals pricing features
- Sampling rules still matter — 100% trace ingest is a common bill shock
Gotchas
Serious
- Continuing to teach
aws-xray-sdk-*for greenfield work after maintenance mode - Confusing X-Ray service (supported) with X-Ray SDK (maintenance)
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