--- title: Notes on Installing and Running Zipkin with OTLP Support on Rocky Linux tags: ["Zipkin", "OpenTelemetry", "Tracing", "Rocky", "Systemd", "Java"] categories: ["Observability", "OpenTelemetry", "Zipkin"] date: 2025-02-26T01:21:27Z updated: 2025-02-26T01:35:43Z --- > ⚠️ This article was automatically translated by OpenAI (gpt-4o-mini). > It may be edited eventually, but please be aware that it may contain incorrect information at this time. In this article, I will explain how to install [Zipkin](https://zipkin.io/) with OTLP support on Rocky Linux 8 and run it as a systemd service. While it is easy to set up an OTLP-compatible Tracing Backend using Docker, it can be cumbersome to install Docker or start containers in environments like air-gapped setups. This method allows you to easily try out OTLP. **Table of Contents** ### Prerequisites * Rocky Linux 8+ * Java 17+ ### Installing Java If you haven't installed Java on Rocky Linux 8, you can do so with the following command. ```bash sudo dnf install -y java-17-openjdk ``` Check the installed version of Java. ```bash java -version ``` You should see output similar to the following. ``` openjdk version "17.0.14" 2025-01-21 LTS OpenJDK Runtime Environment (Red_Hat-17.0.14.0.7-1) (build 17.0.14+7-LTS) OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (Red_Hat-17.0.14.0.7-1) (build 17.0.14+7-LTS, mixed mode, sharing) ``` ### Installing Zipkin > [!TIP] > This article uses in-memory storage. The JVM heap size can be adjusted as needed. > Set the heap size to an appropriate size based on the amount of traces you want to store. #### Downloading Zipkin Download the latest version of Zipkin. ```bash curl -sSL https://zipkin.io/quickstart.sh | bash -s ``` This command downloads `zipkin.jar` to the current directory. Next, download the Zipkin OTel Module. ```bash curl -sSL https://zipkin.io/quickstart.sh | bash -s io.zipkin.contrib.otel:zipkin-module-otel:LATEST:module otel.jar ``` This command downloads `otel.jar` to the current directory. #### Creating a Service User Create a dedicated user to run Zipkin. ```bash sudo useradd -r -s /sbin/nologin zipkin ``` #### Placing Zipkin Files Place the Zipkin executable files in the appropriate location. ```bash sudo mkdir -p /opt/zipkin sudo mv zipkin.jar /opt/zipkin/ sudo mv otel.jar /opt/zipkin/ sudo chown -R zipkin:zipkin /opt/zipkin ``` ### Configuring the systemd Service Register Zipkin as a systemd service. Adjust memory settings and port numbers as needed for your environment. ```bash sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/zipkin.service << 'EOF' [Unit] Description=Zipkin Server After=network.target [Service] Type=simple User=zipkin Group=zipkin Environment="JAVA_OPTS=-Xms512m -Xmx1g -XX:+ExitOnOutOfMemoryError -Dloader.path='otel.jar,otel.jar!/lib' -Dspring.profiles.active=otel" Environment="MEM_MAX_SPANS=10000" NoNewPrivileges=true ProtectSystem=strict ProtectHome=true PrivateTmp=true PrivateDevices=true WorkingDirectory=/opt/zipkin ExecStart=/usr/bin/java $JAVA_OPTS -cp /opt/zipkin/zipkin.jar org.springframework.boot.loader.launch.PropertiesLauncher Restart=always RestartSec=10 [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target EOF ``` #### Enabling and Starting the Service Enable and start the service you created. ```bash sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl enable zipkin sudo systemctl start zipkin ``` #### Checking the Service Status Verify that the Zipkin service is running properly. ```bash sudo systemctl status zipkin ``` You should see output similar to the following. ``` ● zipkin.service - Zipkin Server Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/zipkin.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled) Active: active (running) since Wed 2025-02-26 10:11:09 JST; 7s ago Main PID: 1678 (java) Tasks: 43 (limit: 617204) Memory: 466.1M CGroup: /system.slice/zipkin.service └─1678 /usr/bin/java -Xms512m -Xmx1g -XX:+ExitOnOutOfMemoryError -Dloader.path=otel.jar,otel.jar!/lib -Dspring.profiles.active=otel -cp /opt/zipkin/zipkin.jar org.springframework.boot.loader.launch.PropertiesLauncher Feb 26 10:11:10 zipkin java[1678]: oooooooo oooooooo Feb 26 10:11:10 zipkin java[1678]: oooo oooo Feb 26 10:11:10 zipkin java[1678]: ________ ____ _ _____ _ _ Feb 26 10:11:10 zipkin java[1678]: |__ /_ _| _ \| |/ /_ _| \ | | Feb 26 10:11:10 zipkin java[1678]: / / | || |_) | ' / | || \| | Feb 26 10:11:10 zipkin java[1678]: / /_ | || __/| . \ | || |\ | Feb 26 10:11:10 zipkin java[1678]: |____|___|_| |_|\_\___|_| \_| Feb 26 10:11:10 zipkin java[1678]: :: version 3.5.0 :: commit 0f8fc88 :: Feb 26 10:11:10 zipkin java[1678]: 2025-02-26T10:11:10.944+09:00 WARN [/] 1678 --- [ main] i.m.p.PrometheusMeterRegistry : A MeterFilter is being configured after a Meter has been registered to this registry. All MeterFilters should be configured before any Meters are registered. If that is not possible or you have a use case where it should be allowed, let the Micrometer maintainers know at https://github.com/micrometer-metrics/micrometer/issues/4920. Enable DEBUG level logging on t his logger to see a stack trace of the call configuring this MeterFilter. Feb 26 10:11:11 zipkin java[1678]: 2025-02-26T10:11:11.045+09:00 INFO [/] 1678 --- [oss-http-*:9411] c.l.a.s.Server : Serving HTTP at /[0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0]:9411 - http://127.0.0.1:9411/ ``` ### Verification Access the Zipkin UI to confirm that the service is running correctly. ```bash curl -s http://localhost:9411/health ``` If it is running correctly, you will receive a response like the following. ```json { "status" : "UP", "zipkin" : { "status" : "UP", "details" : { "OpenTelemetryHttpCollector{}" : { "status" : "UP" }, "InMemoryStorage{}" : { "status" : "UP" } } } } ``` Access `http://:9411` in a web browser to view the Zipkin UI. image You can check the service logs with the following command. ```bash sudo journalctl -u zipkin -f ``` If you modify `/etc/systemd/system/zipkin.service`, please reload the service and restart it. ```bash sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl restart zipkin ``` The OTLP Tracing Endpoint is `http://:9411/v1/traces`. For information on how to send traces using the OpenTelemetry Java Agent, please refer to [this article](/entries/827).