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Node.js and AWS X-Ray (Node.js SDK)

note

Check out the source code on GitHub here.

Tracetest is a testing tool based on OpenTelemetry that allows you to test your distributed application. It allows you to use data from distributed traces generated by OpenTelemetry to validate and assert if your application has the desired behavior defined by your test definitions.

AWS X-Ray provides a complete view of requests as they travel through your application and filters visual data across payloads, functions, traces, services, APIs and more with no-code and low-code motions.

Node.js App with AWS X-Ray (Node.js SDK) and Tracetest​

This is a simple quick start guide on how to configure a Node.js app to use instrumentation with traces and Tracetest for enhancing your E2E and integration tests with trace-based testing. The infrastructure will use AWS X-Ray as the trace data store and a Node.js app to generate the telemetry data.

Prerequisites​

Tracetest Account:

AWS Account:

Docker: Have Docker and Docker Compose installed on your machine.

Run This Quckstart Example​

The example below is provided as part of the Tracetest project. You can download and run the example by following these steps:

Clone the Tracetest project and go to the AWS X-Ray Node.js Quickstart:

git clone https://github.com/kubeshop/tracetest
cd tracetest/examples/tracetest-amazon-x-ray

Follow these instructions to run the quick start:

  1. Copy the .env.template file to .env.
  2. Fill out the TRACETEST_TOKEN and ENVIRONMENT_ID details by editing your .env file.
  3. Fill out the AWS credentials in the .env file. You can create credentials by following this guide.
  4. Run docker compose run tracetest-run.
  5. Follow the links in the output to view the test results.

Follow along with the sections below for an in detail breakdown of what the example you just ran did and how it works.

Project Structure​

The project contains Tracetest Agent, and a Node.js app.

The docker-compose.yaml file in the root directory of the quick start runs the Node.js app, X-Ray Daemon, and the Tracetest Agent setup.

Configuring the Node.js App​

The Node.js app is a simple Express app, contained in the index.js file.

Configure the .env like shown below.

# Get the required information here: https://app.tracetest.io/retrieve-token

TRACETEST_TOKEN="<YOUR_TRACETEST_TOKEN>"
TRACETEST_ENVIRONMENT_ID="<YOUR_ENV_ID>"

AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="<YOUR_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID>"
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="<YOUR_AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>"
AWS_SESSION_TOKEN="<YOURAWS_SESSION_TOKEN>"
AWS_REGION="<YOUR_AWS_REGION>"

The X-Ray tracing is contained in the index.js file. Traces will be sent to AWS X-Ray via the X-Ray Daemon.

Run the Node.js App, X-Ray Daemon, and Tracetest Agent with Docker Compose​

The docker-compose.yaml file and Dockerfile in the root directory contain the Node.js app.

The docker-compose.yaml file also contains the Tracetest Agent and X-Ray Daemon.

To run everything including Tracetest tests, run this command:

docker compose run tracetest-run

This will:

  1. Start the Node.js app, the OpenTelemetry Collector, and send the traces to X-Ray.
  2. Start the Tracetest Agent.
  3. Configure the tracing backend and create tests in your environment.
  4. Run the tests.

Learn More​

Please visit our examples in GitHub and join our Slack Community for more info!