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Comparison · Infra & APIs

Jaeger vs ZoneMinder

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Jaeger and ZoneMinder — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Jaeger vs ZoneMinder: at a glance

FeatureJaegerZoneMinder
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score2.55.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesspan-search, mcp, clickhouse, elasticsearchvideo-surveillance, security-hardening, rbac, api-authorization
Last editorial update16h ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Jaeger?

Jaeger's query service learns to search individual spans, not just whole traces.

Jaeger 2.21 and 2.22 extend the 2.x storage and query rework. ClickHouse storage moved to a stable feature gate in 2.21, and the release removed v1 HTTP endpoints the UI no longer calls. In 2.22 the query service gains FindSpans with RFC 0014 pagination, Elasticsearch span search, and structured filters promoted to beta, while native Elasticsearch trace summaries go stable.

Read the full Jaeger trajectory →

What is ZoneMinder?

ZoneMinder 1.38.5 fixes 19 vulnerabilities, including authenticated remote code execution

ZoneMinder's 1.38 line is in security maintenance. 1.38.5 fixes 19 reported vulnerabilities, including authenticated OS command execution through the filter debug modal, a JPEG heap overflow and cross-monitor authorization bypasses. It replaces a default or empty auth hash secret on upgrade and refuses token logins while the public default is set. 1.38.6 followed within the hour only to fix RPM builds, since no 1.38.5 RPMs were published.

Read the full ZoneMinder trajectory →

Jaeger vs ZoneMinder: editorial side-by-side

J
Jaeger
INFRA · APIS
2.5

Jaeger's query service learns to search individual spans, not just whole traces.

◆ Current state

Jaeger 2.21 and 2.22 extend the 2.x storage and query rework. ClickHouse storage moved to a stable feature gate in 2.21, and the release removed v1 HTTP endpoints the UI no longer calls. In 2.22 the query service gains FindSpans with RFC 0014 pagination, Elasticsearch span search, and structured filters promoted to beta, while native Elasticsearch trace summaries go stable.

◆ Where it's heading

The earlier trace-summaries work made search cheaper; span search changes what can be asked. Pagination and structured filters give both the UI and MCP clients a way to query without pulling whole traces. MCP keeps getting practical limits and input checks, and search_traces no longer needs a service name on backends that declare support for that.

◆ Prediction

Expect span search to spread beyond Elasticsearch and memory storage, and structured filters to move from beta to stable as other gates have. Further removal of v1 surface is likely, since 2.21 already started it.

Z
ZoneMinder
INFRA · APIS
5.0

ZoneMinder 1.38.5 fixes 19 vulnerabilities, including authenticated remote code execution

◆ Current state

ZoneMinder's 1.38 line is in security maintenance. 1.38.5 fixes 19 reported vulnerabilities, including authenticated OS command execution through the filter debug modal, a JPEG heap overflow and cross-monitor authorization bypasses. It replaces a default or empty auth hash secret on upgrade and refuses token logins while the public default is set. 1.38.6 followed within the hour only to fix RPM builds, since no 1.38.5 RPMs were published.

◆ Where it's heading

Every 1.38 release since June has been mostly authorization and memory-safety work. The 1.38.0 feature set (RBAC, WebRTC, the monitor function split) is being made safe rather than extended.

◆ Prediction

Further security releases on 1.38 are likely; the entries give no sign of a 1.39 feature release.

Alternatives to Jaeger and ZoneMinder

Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Jaeger or ZoneMinder.

See all Jaeger alternatives → · See all ZoneMinder alternatives →

Recent activity from Jaeger and ZoneMinder

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 27d agoJaegerSpan search and pagination reach the query service
  2. 27d agoZoneMinderZoneMinder 1.38.6 republishes 1.38.5 with fixed RPM builds
  3. 27d agoZoneMinderZoneMinder 1.38.5 fixes 19 vulnerabilities, including RCE
  4. 1mo agoJaegerClickHouse goes stable; unused v1 HTTP endpoints removed
  5. 2mo agoZoneMinder1.38.4 closes API ACL gaps and two auth bypasses
  6. 3mo agoJaegerMCP merges into the query service; Elasticsearch 6 support removed ⚡
  7. 4mo agoZoneMinder1.38.3 supersedes 1.38.2 with RBAC and injection fixes
  8. 5mo agoZoneMinderchore: bump redhat spec version to 1.39.11
  9. 5mo agoJaegerLightweight trace-summaries endpoint arrives in the v3 API
  10. 5mo agoJaegerHeader forwarding to storage backends and UI base-path autodetection
  11. 7mo agoJaegerClock-skew and jitter fixes; metrics storage exposed to the UI
  12. 8mo agoZoneMinder1.36.38 backports a SQL injection fix to the legacy branch

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Jaeger and ZoneMinder?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. ZoneMinder is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Jaeger better than ZoneMinder?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. ZoneMinder is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Jaeger?

Top Jaeger alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Jaeger alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/jaeger for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to ZoneMinder?

Top ZoneMinder alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ZoneMinder alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/zoneminder for the full list with editorial commentary on each.