# Appendix
> **Parent Document**: [OpenTelemetryPlan.md](./OpenTelemetryPlan.md)
> **Related**: [Observability Backends](./07-observability-backends.md)
---
## 8.1 Glossary
> **OTLP** = OpenTelemetry Protocol | **TxQ** = Transaction Queue
| Term | Definition |
| --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Span** | A unit of work with start/end time, name, and attributes |
| **Trace** | A collection of spans representing a complete request flow |
| **Trace ID** | 128-bit unique identifier for a trace |
| **Span ID** | 64-bit unique identifier for a span within a trace |
| **Context** | Carrier for trace/span IDs across boundaries |
| **Propagator** | Component that injects/extracts context |
| **Sampler** | Decides which traces to record |
| **Exporter** | Sends spans to backend |
| **Collector** | Receives, processes, and forwards telemetry |
| **OTLP** | OpenTelemetry Protocol (wire format) |
| **W3C Trace Context** | Standard HTTP headers for trace propagation |
| **Baggage** | Key-value pairs propagated across service boundaries |
| **Resource** | Entity producing telemetry (service, host, etc.) |
| **Instrumentation** | Code that creates telemetry data |
### xrpld-Specific Terms
| Term | Definition |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Overlay** | P2P network layer managing peer connections |
| **Consensus** | XRP Ledger consensus algorithm (RCL) |
| **Proposal** | Validator's suggested transaction set for a ledger |
| **Validation** | Validator's signature on a closed ledger |
| **HashRouter** | Component for transaction deduplication |
| **JobQueue** | Thread pool for asynchronous task execution |
| **PerfLog** | Existing performance logging system in xrpld |
| **Beast Insight** | Existing metrics framework in xrpld |
| **PathFinding** | Payment path computation engine for cross-currency payments |
| **TxQ** | Transaction queue managing fee-based prioritization |
| **LoadManager** | Dynamic fee escalation based on network load |
| **SHAMap** | SHA-256 hash-based map (Merkle trie variant) for ledger state |
---
## 8.2 Span Hierarchy Visualization
> **TxQ** = Transaction Queue
```mermaid
flowchart TB
subgraph trace["Trace: Transaction Lifecycle"]
rpc["rpc.request
(entry point)"]
validate["tx.validate"]
relay["tx.relay
(parent span)"]
subgraph peers["Peer Spans"]
p1["peer.send
Peer A"]
p2["peer.send
Peer B"]
p3["peer.send
Peer C"]
end
subgraph pathfinding["PathFinding Spans"]
pathfind["pathfind.request"]
pathcomp["pathfind.compute"]
end
consensus["consensus.round"]
apply["tx.apply"]
subgraph txqueue["TxQ Spans"]
txq["txq.enqueue"]
txqApply["txq.apply"]
end
feeCalc["fee.escalate"]
end
subgraph validators["Validator Spans"]
valFetch["validator.list.fetch"]
valManifest["validator.manifest"]
end
rpc --> validate
rpc --> pathfind
pathfind --> pathcomp
validate --> relay
relay --> p1
relay --> p2
relay --> p3
p1 -.->|"context propagation"| consensus
consensus --> apply
apply --> txq
txq --> txqApply
txq --> feeCalc
style trace fill:#0f172a,stroke:#020617,color:#fff
style peers fill:#1e3a8a,stroke:#172554,color:#fff
style pathfinding fill:#134e4a,stroke:#0f766e,color:#fff
style txqueue fill:#064e3b,stroke:#047857,color:#fff
style validators fill:#4c1d95,stroke:#6d28d9,color:#fff
style rpc fill:#1d4ed8,stroke:#1e40af,color:#fff
style validate fill:#047857,stroke:#064e3b,color:#fff
style relay fill:#047857,stroke:#064e3b,color:#fff
style p1 fill:#0e7490,stroke:#155e75,color:#fff
style p2 fill:#0e7490,stroke:#155e75,color:#fff
style p3 fill:#0e7490,stroke:#155e75,color:#fff
style consensus fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#fde68a,color:#1e293b
style apply fill:#047857,stroke:#064e3b,color:#fff
style pathfind fill:#0e7490,stroke:#155e75,color:#fff
style pathcomp fill:#0e7490,stroke:#155e75,color:#fff
style txq fill:#047857,stroke:#064e3b,color:#fff
style txqApply fill:#047857,stroke:#064e3b,color:#fff
style feeCalc fill:#047857,stroke:#064e3b,color:#fff
style valFetch fill:#6d28d9,stroke:#4c1d95,color:#fff
style valManifest fill:#6d28d9,stroke:#4c1d95,color:#fff
```
**Reading the diagram:**
- **rpc.request (blue, top)**: The entry point — every traced transaction starts as an RPC call; this root span is the parent of all downstream work.
- **tx.validate and pathfind.request (green/teal, first fork)**: The RPC request fans out into transaction validation and, for cross-currency payments, a PathFinding branch (`pathfind.request` -> `pathfind.compute`).
- **tx.relay -> Peer Spans (teal, middle)**: After validation, the transaction is relayed to peers A, B, and C in parallel; each `peer.send` is a sibling child span showing fan-out across the network.
- **context propagation (dashed arrow)**: The dotted line from `peer.send Peer A` to `consensus.round` represents the trace context crossing a node boundary — the receiving validator picks up the same `trace_id` and continues the trace.
- **consensus.round -> tx.apply -> TxQ Spans (green, lower)**: Once consensus accepts the transaction, it is applied to the ledger; the TxQ spans (`txq.enqueue`, `txq.apply`, `fee.escalate`) capture queue depth and fee escalation behavior.
- **Validator Spans (purple, detached)**: `validator.list.fetch` and `validator.manifest` are independent workflows for UNL management — they run on their own traces and are linked to consensus via Span Links, not parent-child relationships.
---
## 8.3 References
> **OTLP** = OpenTelemetry Protocol
### OpenTelemetry Resources
1. [OpenTelemetry C++ SDK](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-cpp)
2. [OpenTelemetry Specification](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/otel/)
3. [OpenTelemetry Collector](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/collector/)
4. [OTLP Protocol Specification](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/otlp/)
### Standards
5. [W3C Trace Context](https://www.w3.org/TR/trace-context/)
6. [W3C Baggage](https://www.w3.org/TR/baggage/)
7. [Protocol Buffers](https://protobuf.dev/)
### xrpld Resources
8. [xrpld Source Code](https://github.com/XRPLF/rippled)
9. [XRP Ledger Documentation](https://xrpl.org/docs/)
10. [xrpld Overlay README](https://github.com/XRPLF/rippled/blob/develop/src/xrpld/overlay/README.md)
11. [xrpld RPC README](https://github.com/XRPLF/rippled/blob/develop/src/xrpld/rpc/README.md)
12. [xrpld Consensus README](https://github.com/XRPLF/rippled/blob/develop/src/xrpld/app/consensus/README.md)
---
## 8.4 Version History
| Version | Date | Author | Changes |
| ------- | ---------- | ------ | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1.0 | 2026-02-12 | - | Initial implementation plan |
| 1.1 | 2026-02-13 | - | Refactored into modular documents |
| 1.2 | 2026-03-24 | - | Review fixes: accuracy corrections, cross-document consistency |
---
## 8.5 Document Index
### Plan Documents
| Document | Description |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| [OpenTelemetryPlan.md](./OpenTelemetryPlan.md) | Master overview and executive summary |
| [00-tracing-fundamentals.md](./00-tracing-fundamentals.md) | Distributed tracing concepts and OTel primer |
| [01-architecture-analysis.md](./01-architecture-analysis.md) | xrpld architecture and trace points |
| [02-design-decisions.md](./02-design-decisions.md) | SDK selection, exporters, span conventions |
| [03-implementation-strategy.md](./03-implementation-strategy.md) | Directory structure, performance analysis |
| [04-code-samples.md](./04-code-samples.md) | C++ code examples for all components |
| [05-configuration-reference.md](./05-configuration-reference.md) | xrpld config, CMake, Collector configs |
| [06-implementation-phases.md](./06-implementation-phases.md) | Timeline, tasks, risks, success metrics |
| [07-observability-backends.md](./07-observability-backends.md) | Backend selection and architecture |
| [08-appendix.md](./08-appendix.md) | Glossary, references, version history |
| [09-data-collection-reference.md](./09-data-collection-reference.md) | Span/metric/dashboard inventory |
| [presentation.md](./presentation.md) | Slide deck for OTel plan overview |
### Task Lists
| Document | Description |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| [POC_taskList.md](./POC_taskList.md) | Proof-of-concept telemetry integration |
| [Phase2_taskList.md](./Phase2_taskList.md) | RPC layer trace instrumentation |
| [Phase3_taskList.md](./Phase3_taskList.md) | Peer overlay & consensus tracing |
| [Phase4_taskList.md](./Phase4_taskList.md) | Transaction lifecycle tracing |
| [Phase5_taskList.md](./Phase5_taskList.md) | Ledger processing & advanced tracing |
| [Phase5_IntegrationTest_taskList.md](./Phase5_IntegrationTest_taskList.md) | Observability stack integration tests |
| [presentation.md](./presentation.md) | Presentation slides for OpenTelemetry plan overview |
---
_Previous: [Observability Backends](./07-observability-backends.md)_ | _Back to: [Overview](./OpenTelemetryPlan.md)_