KCNA Cloud Native Observability Practice Question
In the context of distributed tracing, what is a 'span'?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
A single logical operation within a service, with a start and end time
A span is the fundamental building block of a trace, representing a single unit of work in a distributed system.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A metric that measures request latency
Why it's wrong here
That is a metric, not a span.
- ✗
A tool for collecting logs from containers
Why it's wrong here
That describes a log shipper.
- ✗
The entire end-to-end transaction across services
Why it's wrong here
That defines a 'trace', not a span.
- ✓
A single logical operation within a service, with a start and end time
Why this is correct
Correct. A span represents one operation, such as a database call or an HTTP request handler.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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