OTel middleware overhead is 21x — needs fast path optimization #70

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opened 2026-02-22 13:38:53 +00:00 by ash · 0 comments

ash commented

2026-02-22 13:38:53 +00:00

Owner

Problem

Benchmarks show 367ns bare vs 7900ns with tracing (21x overhead). Unacceptable.

Fix

Add IsRecording() early exit — skip attribute building when no active trace
Pre-allocate attribute slices
Benchmark with noop exporter to separate dispatch cost from exporter cost
Add noop-span fast path
Target: <5% overhead when tracing is inactive, <20% when active

Acceptance

Benchmark: bare vs otel-inactive vs otel-active
<5% overhead when tracing not active
Pre-allocated attributes

## Problem Benchmarks show 367ns bare vs 7900ns with tracing (21x overhead). Unacceptable. ## Fix - Add IsRecording() early exit — skip attribute building when no active trace - Pre-allocate attribute slices - Benchmark with noop exporter to separate dispatch cost from exporter cost - Add noop-span fast path - Target: <5% overhead when tracing is inactive, <20% when active ## Acceptance - [ ] Benchmark: bare vs otel-inactive vs otel-active - [ ] <5% overhead when tracing not active - [ ] Pre-allocated attributes