IBM Support

MustGather: Instana Python Tracer

Troubleshooting


Problem

This guide provides essential steps for collecting data related to Instana Python Tracer. Before contacting IBM® support for assistance, please review the information below to familiarize yourself with the troubleshooting process.

Resolving The Problem

To explore potential solutions, search for issues, access documentation, or visit support forums, head to the IBM® Support page. If you are aware of the affected component, refer to the relevant MustGather details below:
MustGather Data Collection Requirements for Instana Python Tracer

Monitored environment details:
  • Kind of deployment (Single host , Kubernetes, Docker, Podman, AWS Fargate/Lambda)
  • OS and CPU architecture
Agent logs:
  • Collect the Instana agent debug log:
    • See the MustGather page for Instana Agent for more details
Agent configuration:
  • Collect <instana-agent-dir>/etc/instana/configuration.yaml 
Debug logs & Error messages:
  • Debug logs are crucial for analyzing the issue. To retrieve the debug logs, enable the environment variable INSTANA_DEBUG and collect the debug logs. This will also display the below information:
    • Instana Python Tracer version
    • Python runtime version
    • Architecture
    • Operating System
  • Target application logs:
    • Kubernetes: pod logs
    • Docker: container logs
    • AWS ECS/EKS/Fargate: task/service logs
  • Share stack traces, initialization errors, or warnings related to Instana.

  • Include the full error message (not just a snippet)

Instrumentation type:
  • Autotrace Webhook:
    • Which Kubernetes distribution/version?
    • Share the webhook pod log
    • The Base image used to build the application
    • Dockerfile used to build the application image
    • Additional configuration file(s) and script(s) to run the application (if any)
    • The deployment yaml to deploy the application in the k8s environment
  • Serverless - (AWS Lambda):
    • Deployment Region – e.g., us-east-1.
    • Backend URL Configured – default or custom.
    • Lambda Timeout Value – function timeout in seconds.
    • Deployment Method – Instana Lambda Layer or manual instrumentation
    • Function Exposure – how is the function invoked? (API Gateway, EventBridge, SQS, direct invocation, etc.).
    • VPC Configuration – is the Lambda inside a VPC?
    • CloudWatch Logs with INSTANA_DEBUG=True enabled – full logs from cold start through invocation (helps identify initialization or instrumentation errors).
    • Sample Code - Minimal reproduceable code (if possible, which would make debugging much easier)
    • Besides instana, are there any other lambda layers added?
Additional information & files to collect:
 
  • SaaS URL detail
  • How is the tracer enabled — via the Autotrace Webhook or manual instrumentation?
  • Are there any other APM tools being used? For example, OpenTelemetry, etc.?
  • List of application dependencies and their versions
  • Any Instana-specific configurations applied (filtering, span disabling, other env vars)

Document Location

Worldwide

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Document Information

Modified date:
03 October 2025

UID

ibm17246833

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