SUMM

The State of MCP observability: Observable.tools — Alex Volkov and Benjamin Eckel, W&B and Dylibso

Introduction to MCP Observability 00:03

  • Alex Volkov and Benjamin Eckle introduce themselves and their roles related to MCP observability.
  • They highlight the growing prevalence of MCP, citing concerns about observability blind spots for developers.

Challenges in MCP Observability 01:12

  • The rise of MCP tools creates difficulties in tracking end-to-end operations within AI agents.
  • Developers face challenges in diagnosing issues in production environments due to a lack of visibility.

Importance of Observability 01:58

  • Observability is crucial for quickly identifying and responding to issues in production.
  • Enterprises invest significantly in observability platforms to ensure reliability and security.

Announcements and Integrations 02:40

  • Weights and Biases (W&B) announces support for MCP observability, simplifying the process for developers.
  • A tool is introduced that allows developers to view traces and durations of MCP calls.

Open Standards and Observable Tools 03:37

  • Alex discusses the need for a vendor-neutral approach to observability in MCP, leading to the creation of observable tools.
  • OpenTelemetry is introduced as a global standard for telemetry data, promoting interoperability.

Understanding Traces and Sinks 04:45

  • Explanation of traces and spans: a trace is made up of multiple spans that represent different operations.
  • Sinks are described as centralized databases that collect telemetry data from various sources.

Distributed Tracing and Context Propagation 06:22

  • Discussion on how distributed tracing allows for a comprehensive view of operations across different services.
  • Importance of context propagation for tracing requests through different domains, such as external services.

Integration Challenges 08:23

  • The integration between MCP and OpenTelemetry requires careful handling of trace context.
  • A TypeScript example illustrates how to pass trace context from clients to servers.

Demonstration of MCP with OpenTelemetry 09:51

  • A live demo shows how traces from different programming languages can be integrated into the Weave observability platform.
  • The audience is encouraged to explore the GitHub link for practical implementation.

MCP and Observable Agents 12:29

  • Introduction of an MCP server that facilitates communication between agents and allows them to access traces.
  • A real-world example illustrates how an agent autonomously resolves an issue by querying the support bot.

Future of MCP Observability 13:16

  • MCP Run will extend telemetry support to OpenTelemetry-compatible sinks, enhancing observability.
  • The community is urged to collaborate on improving observability tools and conventions.

Call to Action for the Community 14:07

  • Engineers are encouraged to think about observability in their MCP tooling and contribute to defining semantic conventions.
  • Platform builders should support OpenTelemetry and engage in discussions about improving observability practices.

Conclusion and Resources 16:08

  • Alex and Benjamin recap the key points and invite the audience to try MCP Run and W&B Weave.
  • They promote the observable tools initiative and encourage networking at the event.
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