What is a correlation ID?¶
A correlation ID is designed to link records belonging to one wider operation, request, transaction or workflow across components. It establishes a technical relationship, not a common human actor.
Scope is defined by the architecture¶
A request can pass one identifier through identity, application, database and response services. IDs may instead span a session, originate at a client or change during retries and parallel processing. Uniqueness can be limited to an application, tenant or period.
Establish creator and propagation¶
Identify which system generated the value, its lifetime and which components should copy it. Preserve linked session, request, event and account fields plus surrounding events.
Do not confuse correlation, session and request IDs unless documentation equates them. Use the ID to reconstruct processing and add separate evidence for initiator and intent.
The point to remember
Correlation IDs join designed workflow stages; their scope and the operator behind the workflow still need proof.
