What is the typical number of spans in a microservice call chain as described in the previous scenario?

In a microservice architecture, a call chain represents the interaction between different microservices during a request-processing cycle. Each interaction or service call is referred to as a span. The typical number of spans in a microservice call chain can vary based on the architecture of the application and the number of services involved in processing a single request.

Choosing the answer of five spans suggests that in the considered scenario, there are usually several services that handle parts of the request. For instance, this can involve an initial service handling the request from a client, which then calls another service for processing, potentially a database service, and might also call additional services for supplementary tasks. Each of these interactions would be a unique span in the call chain.

Furthermore, five spans can provide a balance that reflects a reasonably complex workflow, where interactions between three or four microservices are common, but five encompasses possible dependencies that might arise in a well-structured microservice environment. This number indicates a level of complexity that is insightful for tracking performance and diagnosing issues in distributed systems.

Understanding that the number of spans can reveal insights into system performance and dependencies is crucial in microservice architecture, and the choice of five spans aligns with real-world applications frequently seen in microservice deployments.