diff --git a/.github/workflows/makefile.yml b/.github/workflows/makefile.yml
index 603689ba..6165f8fa 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/makefile.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/makefile.yml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ jobs:
      - name: Setup Go
        uses: actions/setup-go@v3
        with:
-          go-version: "1.20.0"
+          go-version: "1.21.0"
           
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
       
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 12300bcf..68cbf4cf 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,3 +3,5 @@ bin/
 .run/
 __pycache__*
 images/*/executor
+*.backup
+default.etcd
diff --git a/cmd/serverledge/main.go b/cmd/serverledge/main.go
index 80ee04f3..eccddffe 100644
--- a/cmd/serverledge/main.go
+++ b/cmd/serverledge/main.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/internal/metrics"
 	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/internal/registration"
 	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/internal/scheduling"
+	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/internal/telemetry"
 	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/utils"
 	"github.com/labstack/echo/v4"
 	"github.com/labstack/echo/v4/middleware"
@@ -129,6 +130,25 @@ func main() {
 
 	go metrics.Init()
 
+	if config.GetBool(config.TRACING_ENABLED, false) {
+		ctx, stop := signal.NotifyContext(context.Background(), os.Interrupt)
+		defer stop()
+
+		tracesOutfile := config.GetString(config.TRACING_OUTFILE, "")
+		if len(tracesOutfile) < 1 {
+			tracesOutfile = fmt.Sprintf("traces-%s.json", time.Now().Format("20060102-150405"))
+		}
+		log.Printf("Enabling tracing to %s\n", tracesOutfile)
+		otelShutdown, err := telemetry.SetupOTelSDK(ctx, tracesOutfile)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		// Handle shutdown properly so nothing leaks.
+		defer func() {
+			err = errors.Join(err, otelShutdown(context.Background()))
+		}()
+	}
+
 	e := echo.New()
 
 	// Register a signal handler to cleanup things on termination
diff --git a/docs/tracing.md b/docs/tracing.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c7dfa6bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/tracing.md
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+Serverledge relies on [OpenTelemetry](https://opentelemetry.io) for optional
+request tracing, aimed at performance investigations.
+
+## Enabling tracing
+
+Tracing is disabled by default. It can enabled with the following configuration
+line:
+
+    tracing.enabled: true
+
+By default, JSON-encoded traces are written to `./traces-<timestamp>.json`.
+The following line sets a custom output file:
+
+    tracing.outfile: /path/to/file.json
+
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 22f5da14..bdd71e28 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 module github.com/grussorusso/serverledge
 
-go 1.20
+go 1.21
+
+toolchain go1.22.5
 
 require (
 	github.com/LK4D4/trylock v0.0.0-20191027065348-ff7e133a5c54
@@ -12,6 +14,9 @@ require (
 	github.com/spf13/cobra v1.0.0
 	github.com/spf13/viper v1.4.0
 	go.etcd.io/etcd/client/v3 v3.5.1
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.28.0
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace v1.28.0
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.28.0
 	golang.org/x/net v0.0.0-20220225172249-27dd8689420f
 )
 
@@ -26,10 +31,12 @@ require (
 	github.com/docker/go-connections v0.4.0 // indirect
 	github.com/docker/go-units v0.4.0 // indirect
 	github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify v1.4.9 // indirect
+	github.com/go-logr/logr v1.4.2 // indirect
+	github.com/go-logr/stdr v1.2.2 // indirect
 	github.com/gogo/protobuf v1.3.2 // indirect
 	github.com/golang-jwt/jwt v3.2.2+incompatible // indirect
 	github.com/golang/protobuf v1.5.2 // indirect
-	github.com/google/uuid v1.2.0 // indirect
+	github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0 // indirect
 	github.com/gorilla/mux v1.8.0 // indirect
 	github.com/hashicorp/hcl v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.0.0 // indirect
@@ -57,11 +64,13 @@ require (
 	github.com/valyala/fasttemplate v1.2.1 // indirect
 	go.etcd.io/etcd/api/v3 v3.5.1 // indirect
 	go.etcd.io/etcd/client/pkg/v3 v3.5.1 // indirect
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.28.0 // indirect
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.28.0 // indirect
 	go.uber.org/atomic v1.7.0 // indirect
 	go.uber.org/multierr v1.6.0 // indirect
 	go.uber.org/zap v1.17.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20210817164053-32db794688a5 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220520151302-bc2c85ada10a // indirect
+	golang.org/x/sys v0.21.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/text v0.3.7 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/time v0.0.0-20201208040808-7e3f01d25324 // indirect
 	google.golang.org/genproto v0.0.0-20210602131652-f16073e35f0c // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 936d2eda..a7be0bb6 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -291,6 +291,11 @@ github.com/go-logfmt/logfmt v0.5.0/go.mod h1:wCYkCAKZfumFQihp8CzCvQ3paCTfi41vtzG
 github.com/go-logfmt/logfmt v0.5.1/go.mod h1:WYhtIu8zTZfxdn5+rREduYbwxfcBr/Vr6KEVveWlfTs=
 github.com/go-logr/logr v0.1.0/go.mod h1:ixOQHD9gLJUVQQ2ZOR7zLEifBX6tGkNJF4QyIY7sIas=
 github.com/go-logr/logr v0.2.0/go.mod h1:z6/tIYblkpsD+a4lm/fGIIU9mZ+XfAiaFtq7xTgseGU=
+github.com/go-logr/logr v1.2.2/go.mod h1:jdQByPbusPIv2/zmleS9BjJVeZ6kBagPoEUsqbVz/1A=
+github.com/go-logr/logr v1.4.2 h1:6pFjapn8bFcIbiKo3XT4j/BhANplGihG6tvd+8rYgrY=
+github.com/go-logr/logr v1.4.2/go.mod h1:9T104GzyrTigFIr8wt5mBrctHMim0Nb2HLGrmQ40KvY=
+github.com/go-logr/stdr v1.2.2 h1:hSWxHoqTgW2S2qGc0LTAI563KZ5YKYRhT3MFKZMbjag=
+github.com/go-logr/stdr v1.2.2/go.mod h1:mMo/vtBO5dYbehREoey6XUKy/eSumjCCveDpRre4VKE=
 github.com/go-openapi/jsonpointer v0.19.2/go.mod h1:3akKfEdA7DF1sugOqz1dVQHBcuDBPKZGEoHC/NkiQRg=
 github.com/go-openapi/jsonpointer v0.19.3/go.mod h1:Pl9vOtqEWErmShwVjC8pYs9cog34VGT37dQOVbmoatg=
 github.com/go-openapi/jsonreference v0.19.2/go.mod h1:jMjeRr2HHw6nAVajTXJ4eiUwohSTlpa0o73RUL1owJc=
@@ -357,7 +362,8 @@ github.com/google/go-cmp v0.5.1/go.mod h1:v8dTdLbMG2kIc/vJvl+f65V22dbkXbowE6jgT/
 github.com/google/go-cmp v0.5.2/go.mod h1:v8dTdLbMG2kIc/vJvl+f65V22dbkXbowE6jgT/gNBxE=
 github.com/google/go-cmp v0.5.4/go.mod h1:v8dTdLbMG2kIc/vJvl+f65V22dbkXbowE6jgT/gNBxE=
 github.com/google/go-cmp v0.5.5/go.mod h1:v8dTdLbMG2kIc/vJvl+f65V22dbkXbowE6jgT/gNBxE=
-github.com/google/go-cmp v0.5.8 h1:e6P7q2lk1O+qJJb4BtCQXlK8vWEO8V1ZeuEdJNOqZyg=
+github.com/google/go-cmp v0.6.0 h1:ofyhxvXcZhMsU5ulbFiLKl/XBFqE1GSq7atu8tAmTRI=
+github.com/google/go-cmp v0.6.0/go.mod h1:17dUlkBOakJ0+DkrSSNjCkIjxS6bF9zb3elmeNGIjoY=
 github.com/google/gofuzz v1.0.0/go.mod h1:dBl0BpW6vV/+mYPU4Po3pmUjxk6FQPldtuIdl/M65Eg=
 github.com/google/gofuzz v1.1.0/go.mod h1:dBl0BpW6vV/+mYPU4Po3pmUjxk6FQPldtuIdl/M65Eg=
 github.com/google/martian v2.1.0+incompatible/go.mod h1:9I4somxYTbIHy5NJKHRl3wXiIaQGbYVAs8BPL6v8lEs=
@@ -373,8 +379,9 @@ github.com/google/renameio v0.1.0/go.mod h1:KWCgfxg9yswjAJkECMjeO8J8rahYeXnNhOm4
 github.com/google/uuid v1.0.0/go.mod h1:TIyPZe4MgqvfeYDBFedMoGGpEw/LqOeaOT+nhxU+yHo=
 github.com/google/uuid v1.1.1/go.mod h1:TIyPZe4MgqvfeYDBFedMoGGpEw/LqOeaOT+nhxU+yHo=
 github.com/google/uuid v1.1.2/go.mod h1:TIyPZe4MgqvfeYDBFedMoGGpEw/LqOeaOT+nhxU+yHo=
-github.com/google/uuid v1.2.0 h1:qJYtXnJRWmpe7m/3XlyhrsLrEURqHRM2kxzoxXqyUDs=
 github.com/google/uuid v1.2.0/go.mod h1:TIyPZe4MgqvfeYDBFedMoGGpEw/LqOeaOT+nhxU+yHo=
+github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0 h1:NIvaJDMOsjHA8n1jAhLSgzrAzy1Hgr+hNrb57e+94F0=
+github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0/go.mod h1:TIyPZe4MgqvfeYDBFedMoGGpEw/LqOeaOT+nhxU+yHo=
 github.com/googleapis/gax-go/v2 v2.0.4/go.mod h1:0Wqv26UfaUD9n4G6kQubkQ+KchISgw+vpHVxEJEs9eg=
 github.com/googleapis/gax-go/v2 v2.0.5/go.mod h1:DWXyrwAJ9X0FpwwEdw+IPEYBICEFu5mhpdKc/us6bOk=
 github.com/googleapis/gnostic v0.4.1/go.mod h1:LRhVm6pbyptWbWbuZ38d1eyptfvIytN3ir6b65WBswg=
@@ -643,8 +650,9 @@ github.com/stretchr/testify v1.3.0/go.mod h1:M5WIy9Dh21IEIfnGCwXGc5bZfKNJtfHm1UV
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.4.0/go.mod h1:j7eGeouHqKxXV5pUuKE4zz7dFj8WfuZ+81PSLYec5m4=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.5.1/go.mod h1:5W2xD1RspED5o8YsWQXVCued0rvSQ+mT+I5cxcmMvtA=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.6.1/go.mod h1:6Fq8oRcR53rry900zMqJjRRixrwX3KX962/h/Wwjteg=
-github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.0 h1:nwc3DEeHmmLAfoZucVR881uASk0Mfjw8xYJ99tb5CcY=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.0/go.mod h1:6Fq8oRcR53rry900zMqJjRRixrwX3KX962/h/Wwjteg=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.9.0 h1:HtqpIVDClZ4nwg75+f6Lvsy/wHu+3BoSGCbBAcpTsTg=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.9.0/go.mod h1:r2ic/lqez/lEtzL7wO/rwa5dbSLXVDPFyf8C91i36aY=
 github.com/syndtr/gocapability v0.0.0-20170704070218-db04d3cc01c8/go.mod h1:hkRG7XYTFWNJGYcbNJQlaLq0fg1yr4J4t/NcTQtrfww=
 github.com/syndtr/gocapability v0.0.0-20180916011248-d98352740cb2/go.mod h1:hkRG7XYTFWNJGYcbNJQlaLq0fg1yr4J4t/NcTQtrfww=
 github.com/syndtr/gocapability v0.0.0-20200815063812-42c35b437635/go.mod h1:hkRG7XYTFWNJGYcbNJQlaLq0fg1yr4J4t/NcTQtrfww=
@@ -698,6 +706,16 @@ go.opencensus.io v0.22.0/go.mod h1:+kGneAE2xo2IficOXnaByMWTGM9T73dGwxeWcUqIpI8=
 go.opencensus.io v0.22.2/go.mod h1:yxeiOL68Rb0Xd1ddK5vPZ/oVn4vY4Ynel7k9FzqtOIw=
 go.opencensus.io v0.22.3/go.mod h1:yxeiOL68Rb0Xd1ddK5vPZ/oVn4vY4Ynel7k9FzqtOIw=
 go.opencensus.io v0.22.4/go.mod h1:yxeiOL68Rb0Xd1ddK5vPZ/oVn4vY4Ynel7k9FzqtOIw=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.28.0 h1:/SqNcYk+idO0CxKEUOtKQClMK/MimZihKYMruSMViUo=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.28.0/go.mod h1:q68ijF8Fc8CnMHKyzqL6akLO46ePnjkgfIMIjUIX9z4=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace v1.28.0 h1:EVSnY9JbEEW92bEkIYOVMw4q1WJxIAGoFTrtYOzWuRQ=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace v1.28.0/go.mod h1:Ea1N1QQryNXpCD0I1fdLibBAIpQuBkznMmkdKrapk1Y=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.28.0 h1:f0HGvSl1KRAU1DLgLGFjrwVyismPlnuU6JD6bOeuA5Q=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.28.0/go.mod h1:Fb1eVBFZmLVTMb6PPohq3TO9IIhUisDsbJoL/+uQW4s=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.28.0 h1:b9d7hIry8yZsgtbmM0DKyPWMMUMlK9NEKuIG4aBqWyE=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.28.0/go.mod h1:oYj7ClPUA7Iw3m+r7GeEjz0qckQRJK2B8zjcZEfu7Pg=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.28.0 h1:GhQ9cUuQGmNDd5BTCP2dAvv75RdMxEfTmYejp+lkx9g=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.28.0/go.mod h1:jPyXzNPg6da9+38HEwElrQiHlVMTnVfM3/yv2OlIHaI=
 go.opentelemetry.io/proto/otlp v0.7.0/go.mod h1:PqfVotwruBrMGOCsRd/89rSnXhoiJIqeYNgFYFoEGnI=
 go.uber.org/atomic v1.3.2/go.mod h1:gD2HeocX3+yG+ygLZcrzQJaqmWj9AIm7n08wl/qW/PE=
 go.uber.org/atomic v1.4.0/go.mod h1:gD2HeocX3+yG+ygLZcrzQJaqmWj9AIm7n08wl/qW/PE=
@@ -902,8 +920,8 @@ golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20210630005230-0f9fa26af87c/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBc
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20210910150752-751e447fb3d0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20211216021012-1d35b9e2eb4e/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220114195835-da31bd327af9/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220520151302-bc2c85ada10a h1:dGzPydgVsqGcTRVwiLJ1jVbufYwmzD3LfVPLKsKg+0k=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220520151302-bc2c85ada10a/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.21.0 h1:rF+pYz3DAGSQAxAu1CbC7catZg4ebC4UIeIhKxBZvws=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.21.0/go.mod h1:/VUhepiaJMQUp4+oa/7Zr1D23ma6VTLIYjOOTFZPUcA=
 golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20201126162022-7de9c90e9dd1/go.mod h1:bj7SfCRtBDWHUb9snDiAeCFNEtKQo2Wmx5Cou7ajbmo=
 golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20210927222741-03fcf44c2211/go.mod h1:jbD1KX2456YbFQfuXm/mYQcufACuNUgVhRMnK/tPxf8=
 golang.org/x/text v0.0.0-20170915032832-14c0d48ead0c/go.mod h1:NqM8EUOU14njkJ3fqMW+pc6Ldnwhi/IjpwHt7yyuwOQ=
@@ -1099,8 +1117,9 @@ gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.3.0/go.mod h1:hI93XBmqTisBFMUTm0b8Fm+jr3Dg1NNxqwp+5A1VGuI=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.4.0 h1:D8xgwECY7CYvx+Y2n4sBz93Jn9JRvxdiyyo8CTfuKaY=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.4.0/go.mod h1:RDklbk79AGWmwhnvt/jBztapEOGDOx6ZbXqjP6csGnQ=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.0-20200313102051-9f266ea9e77c/go.mod h1:K4uyk7z7BCEPqu6E+C64Yfv1cQ7kz7rIZviUmN+EgEM=
-gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.0-20210107192922-496545a6307b h1:h8qDotaEPuJATrMmW04NCwg7v22aHH28wwpauUhK9Oo=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.0-20210107192922-496545a6307b/go.mod h1:K4uyk7z7BCEPqu6E+C64Yfv1cQ7kz7rIZviUmN+EgEM=
+gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 h1:fxVm/GzAzEWqLHuvctI91KS9hhNmmWOoWu0XTYJS7CA=
+gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1/go.mod h1:K4uyk7z7BCEPqu6E+C64Yfv1cQ7kz7rIZviUmN+EgEM=
 gotest.tools v2.2.0+incompatible h1:VsBPFP1AI068pPrMxtb/S8Zkgf9xEmTLJjfM+P5UIEo=
 gotest.tools v2.2.0+incompatible/go.mod h1:DsYFclhRJ6vuDpmuTbkuFWG+y2sxOXAzmJt81HFBacw=
 gotest.tools/v3 v3.0.2/go.mod h1:3SzNCllyD9/Y+b5r9JIKQ474KzkZyqLqEfYqMsX94Bk=
diff --git a/internal/api/api.go b/internal/api/api.go
index c9e96c03..8e67a221 100644
--- a/internal/api/api.go
+++ b/internal/api/api.go
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@ import (
 	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/internal/function"
 	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/internal/node"
 	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/internal/registration"
+	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/internal/telemetry"
 	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/utils"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/attribute"
 
 	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/internal/scheduling"
 	"github.com/labstack/echo/v4"
@@ -64,11 +66,21 @@ func InvokeFunction(c echo.Context) error {
 	r.CanDoOffloading = invocationRequest.CanDoOffloading
 	r.Async = invocationRequest.Async
 	r.ReturnOutput = invocationRequest.ReturnOutput
-	r.ReqId = fmt.Sprintf("%s-%s%d", fun, node.NodeIdentifier[len(node.NodeIdentifier)-5:], r.Arrival.Nanosecond())
+
+	reqId := fmt.Sprintf("%s-%s%d", fun, node.NodeIdentifier[len(node.NodeIdentifier)-5:], r.Arrival.Nanosecond())
+	r.Ctx = context.WithValue(context.Background(), "ReqId", reqId)
+
+	// Tracing
+	if telemetry.DefaultTracer != nil {
+		ctx, span := telemetry.DefaultTracer.Start(r.Ctx, "invocation")
+		r.Ctx = ctx
+		span.SetAttributes(attribute.String("function", r.Fun.Name))
+		defer span.End()
+	}
 
 	if r.Async {
 		go scheduling.SubmitAsyncRequest(r)
-		return c.JSON(http.StatusOK, function.AsyncResponse{ReqId: r.ReqId})
+		return c.JSON(http.StatusOK, function.AsyncResponse{ReqId: r.Id()})
 	}
 
 	executionReport, err := scheduling.SubmitRequest(r)
diff --git a/internal/config/keys.go b/internal/config/keys.go
index 91d21f4f..3205ab4b 100644
--- a/internal/config/keys.go
+++ b/internal/config/keys.go
@@ -3,10 +3,10 @@ package config
 // Etcd server hostname
 const ETCD_ADDRESS = "etcd.address"
 
-//exposed port for serverledge APIs
+// exposed port for serverledge APIs
 const API_PORT = "api.port"
 
-//REMOTE SERVER URL
+// REMOTE SERVER URL
 const CLOUD_URL = "cloud.server.url"
 
 // Forces runtime container images to be pulled the first time they are used,
@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@ const CONTAINER_EXPIRATION_TIME = "container.expiration"
 // cache capacity
 const CACHE_SIZE = "cache.size"
 
-//cache janitor interval (Seconds) : deletes expired items
+// cache janitor interval (Seconds) : deletes expired items
 const CACHE_CLEANUP = "cache.cleanup"
 
-//default expiration time assigned to a cache item (Seconds)
+// default expiration time assigned to a cache item (Seconds)
 const CACHE_ITEM_EXPIRATION = "cache.expiration"
 
 // true if the current server is a remote cloud server
@@ -64,3 +64,9 @@ const SCHEDULING_POLICY = "scheduler.policy"
 
 // Capacity of the queue (possibly) used by the scheduler
 const SCHEDULER_QUEUE_CAPACITY = "scheduler.queue.capacity"
+
+// Enables tracing
+const TRACING_ENABLED = "tracing.enabled"
+
+// Custom output file for traces
+const TRACING_OUTFILE = "tracing.outfile"
diff --git a/internal/function/request.go b/internal/function/request.go
index 54217f5c..f096755a 100644
--- a/internal/function/request.go
+++ b/internal/function/request.go
@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 package function
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"time"
 )
 
 // Request represents a single function invocation.
 type Request struct {
-	ReqId   string
+	Ctx     context.Context
 	Fun     *Function
 	Params  map[string]interface{}
 	Arrival time.Time
@@ -42,8 +43,12 @@ type AsyncResponse struct {
 	ReqId string
 }
 
+func (r *Request) Id() string {
+	return r.Ctx.Value("ReqId").(string)
+}
+
 func (r *Request) String() string {
-	return fmt.Sprintf("[%s] Rq-%s", r.Fun.Name, r.ReqId)
+	return fmt.Sprintf("[%s] Rq-%s", r.Fun.Name, r.Id())
 }
 
 type ServiceClass int64
diff --git a/internal/scheduling/scheduler.go b/internal/scheduling/scheduler.go
index 3fbaeefb..f736c497 100644
--- a/internal/scheduling/scheduler.go
+++ b/internal/scheduling/scheduler.go
@@ -3,13 +3,16 @@ package scheduling
 import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
-	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/internal/metrics"
 	"log"
 	"net/http"
 	"runtime"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/internal/metrics"
+
 	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/internal/node"
+	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/internal/telemetry"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace"
 
 	"github.com/grussorusso/serverledge/internal/config"
 
@@ -83,6 +86,10 @@ func SubmitRequest(r *function.Request) (function.ExecutionReport, error) {
 		decisionChannel: make(chan schedDecision, 1)}
 	requests <- &schedRequest
 
+	if telemetry.DefaultTracer != nil {
+		trace.SpanFromContext(r.Ctx).AddEvent("Scheduling start")
+	}
+
 	// wait on channel for scheduling action
 	schedDecision, ok := <-schedRequest.decisionChannel
 	if !ok {
@@ -90,6 +97,10 @@ func SubmitRequest(r *function.Request) (function.ExecutionReport, error) {
 	}
 	//log.Printf("[%s] Scheduling decision: %v", r, schedDecision)
 
+	if telemetry.DefaultTracer != nil {
+		trace.SpanFromContext(r.Ctx).AddEvent("Scheduling complete")
+	}
+
 	if schedDecision.action == DROP {
 		//log.Printf("[%s] Dropping request", r)
 		return function.ExecutionReport{}, node.OutOfResourcesErr
@@ -111,29 +122,32 @@ func SubmitAsyncRequest(r *function.Request) {
 	// wait on channel for scheduling action
 	schedDecision, ok := <-schedRequest.decisionChannel
 	if !ok {
-		publishAsyncResponse(r.ReqId, function.Response{Success: false})
+		publishAsyncResponse(r.Id(), function.Response{Success: false})
 		return
 	}
 
 	var err error
 	if schedDecision.action == DROP {
-		publishAsyncResponse(r.ReqId, function.Response{Success: false})
+		publishAsyncResponse(r.Id(), function.Response{Success: false})
 	} else if schedDecision.action == EXEC_REMOTE {
 		//log.Printf("Offloading request")
 		err = OffloadAsync(r, schedDecision.remoteHost)
 		if err != nil {
-			publishAsyncResponse(r.ReqId, function.Response{Success: false})
+			publishAsyncResponse(r.Id(), function.Response{Success: false})
 		}
 	} else {
 		report, err := Execute(schedDecision.contID, &schedRequest, schedDecision.useWarm)
 		if err != nil {
-			publishAsyncResponse(r.ReqId, function.Response{Success: false})
+			publishAsyncResponse(r.Id(), function.Response{Success: false})
 		}
-		publishAsyncResponse(r.ReqId, function.Response{Success: true, ExecutionReport: report})
+		publishAsyncResponse(r.Id(), function.Response{Success: true, ExecutionReport: report})
 	}
 }
 
 func handleColdStart(r *scheduledRequest) (isSuccess bool) {
+	if telemetry.DefaultTracer != nil {
+		trace.SpanFromContext(r.Ctx).AddEvent("Container init start")
+	}
 	newContainer, err := node.NewContainer(r.Fun)
 	if errors.Is(err, node.OutOfResourcesErr) {
 		return false
@@ -141,6 +155,9 @@ func handleColdStart(r *scheduledRequest) (isSuccess bool) {
 		log.Printf("Cold start failed: %v\n", err)
 		return false
 	} else {
+		if telemetry.DefaultTracer != nil {
+			trace.SpanFromContext(r.Ctx).AddEvent("Container initialized")
+		}
 		execLocally(r, newContainer, false)
 		return true
 	}
diff --git a/internal/telemetry/otel.go b/internal/telemetry/otel.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..02d84edd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/telemetry/otel.go
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+package telemetry
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"os"
+
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/propagation"
+	sdktrace "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/trace"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace"
+)
+
+var DefaultTracer trace.Tracer = nil
+
+// setupOTelSDK bootstraps the OpenTelemetry pipeline.
+// If it does not return an error, make sure to call shutdown for proper cleanup.
+func SetupOTelSDK(ctx context.Context, outputFilename string) (shutdown func(context.Context) error, err error) {
+	var shutdownFuncs []func(context.Context) error
+
+	// shutdown calls cleanup functions registered via shutdownFuncs.
+	// The errors from the calls are joined.
+	// Each registered cleanup will be invoked once.
+	shutdown = func(ctx context.Context) error {
+		var err error
+		for _, fn := range shutdownFuncs {
+			err = errors.Join(err, fn(ctx))
+		}
+		shutdownFuncs = nil
+		return err
+	}
+
+	// handleErr calls shutdown for cleanup and makes sure that all errors are returned.
+	handleErr := func(inErr error) {
+		err = errors.Join(inErr, shutdown(ctx))
+	}
+
+	// Set up propagator.
+	prop := newPropagator()
+	otel.SetTextMapPropagator(prop)
+
+	// Set up trace provider.
+	f, err := os.OpenFile(outputFilename, os.O_WRONLY|os.O_CREATE, 0644)
+	if err != nil {
+		handleErr(err)
+		return
+	}
+	traceExporter, err := stdouttrace.New(stdouttrace.WithWriter(f))
+	if err != nil {
+		handleErr(err)
+		return
+	}
+	shutdownFuncs = append(shutdownFuncs, func(ctx context.Context) error {
+		return f.Close()
+	})
+
+	tracerProvider := sdktrace.NewTracerProvider(sdktrace.WithBatcher(traceExporter))
+
+	shutdownFuncs = append(shutdownFuncs, tracerProvider.Shutdown)
+	otel.SetTracerProvider(tracerProvider)
+	// Finally, set the tracer that can be used for this package.
+	DefaultTracer = tracerProvider.Tracer("github.com/grussorusso/serverledge")
+
+	// NOTE: could boostrap metric provider as well
+
+	return
+}
+
+func newPropagator() propagation.TextMapPropagator {
+	return propagation.NewCompositeTextMapPropagator(
+		propagation.TraceContext{},
+		propagation.Baggage{},
+	)
+}