diff --git a/cli/create.go b/cli/create.go
index b7183a686c..7327b3a7e3 100644
--- a/cli/create.go
+++ b/cli/create.go
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ import (
 	vc "github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers"
 	vf "github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers/factory"
 	"github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers/pkg/oci"
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
 
@@ -96,7 +95,7 @@ func create(ctx context.Context, containerID, bundlePath, console, pidFilePath s
 	runtimeConfig oci.RuntimeConfig) error {
 	var err error
 
-	span, ctx := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "create")
+	span, ctx := trace(ctx, "create")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	kataLog = kataLog.WithField("container", containerID)
@@ -254,7 +253,7 @@ func setKernelParams(containerID string, runtimeConfig *oci.RuntimeConfig) error
 
 func createSandbox(ctx context.Context, ociSpec oci.CompatOCISpec, runtimeConfig oci.RuntimeConfig,
 	containerID, bundlePath, console string, disableOutput bool) (vc.Process, error) {
-	span, ctx := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "createSandbox")
+	span, ctx := trace(ctx, "createSandbox")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	err := setKernelParams(containerID, &runtimeConfig)
@@ -306,7 +305,7 @@ func setEphemeralStorageType(ociSpec oci.CompatOCISpec) oci.CompatOCISpec {
 func createContainer(ctx context.Context, ociSpec oci.CompatOCISpec, containerID, bundlePath,
 	console string, disableOutput bool) (vc.Process, error) {
 
-	span, ctx := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "createContainer")
+	span, ctx := trace(ctx, "createContainer")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	ociSpec = setEphemeralStorageType(ociSpec)
@@ -338,7 +337,7 @@ func createContainer(ctx context.Context, ociSpec oci.CompatOCISpec, containerID
 }
 
 func createCgroupsFiles(ctx context.Context, containerID string, cgroupsDirPath string, cgroupsPathList []string, pid int) error {
-	span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "createCgroupsFiles")
+	span, _ := trace(ctx, "createCgroupsFiles")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	if len(cgroupsPathList) == 0 {
@@ -384,7 +383,7 @@ func createCgroupsFiles(ctx context.Context, containerID string, cgroupsDirPath
 }
 
 func createPIDFile(ctx context.Context, pidFilePath string, pid int) error {
-	span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "createPIDFile")
+	span, _ := trace(ctx, "createPIDFile")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	if pidFilePath == "" {
diff --git a/cli/delete.go b/cli/delete.go
index 6dad8ffb5e..770b5e4428 100644
--- a/cli/delete.go
+++ b/cli/delete.go
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ import (
 
 	vc "github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers"
 	"github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers/pkg/oci"
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
@@ -60,7 +59,7 @@ EXAMPLE:
 }
 
 func delete(ctx context.Context, containerID string, force bool) error {
-	span, ctx := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "delete")
+	span, ctx := trace(ctx, "delete")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	kataLog = kataLog.WithField("container", containerID)
@@ -134,7 +133,7 @@ func delete(ctx context.Context, containerID string, force bool) error {
 }
 
 func deleteSandbox(ctx context.Context, sandboxID string) error {
-	span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "deleteSandbox")
+	span, _ := trace(ctx, "deleteSandbox")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	status, err := vci.StatusSandbox(sandboxID)
@@ -156,7 +155,7 @@ func deleteSandbox(ctx context.Context, sandboxID string) error {
 }
 
 func deleteContainer(ctx context.Context, sandboxID, containerID string, forceStop bool) error {
-	span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "deleteContainer")
+	span, _ := trace(ctx, "deleteContainer")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	if forceStop {
@@ -173,7 +172,7 @@ func deleteContainer(ctx context.Context, sandboxID, containerID string, forceSt
 }
 
 func removeCgroupsPath(ctx context.Context, containerID string, cgroupsPathList []string) error {
-	span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "removeCgroupsPath")
+	span, _ := trace(ctx, "removeCgroupsPath")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	if len(cgroupsPathList) == 0 {
diff --git a/cli/events.go b/cli/events.go
index d9d8d69486..dfe2c7b4a2 100644
--- a/cli/events.go
+++ b/cli/events.go
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	vc "github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers"
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
@@ -142,7 +141,7 @@ information is displayed once every 5 seconds.`,
 			return err
 		}
 
-		span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "events")
+		span, _ := trace(ctx, "events")
 		defer span.Finish()
 
 		containerID := context.Args().First()
diff --git a/cli/exec.go b/cli/exec.go
index 47130b3533..9600d3168b 100644
--- a/cli/exec.go
+++ b/cli/exec.go
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ import (
 	vc "github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers"
 	"github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers/pkg/oci"
 	specs "github.com/opencontainers/runtime-spec/specs-go"
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
 
@@ -189,7 +188,7 @@ func generateExecParams(context *cli.Context, specProcess *oci.CompatOCIProcess)
 }
 
 func execute(ctx context.Context, context *cli.Context) error {
-	span, ctx := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "execute")
+	span, ctx := trace(ctx, "execute")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	containerID := context.Args().First()
diff --git a/cli/kata-check.go b/cli/kata-check.go
index 84ce480085..8f6b1057c1 100644
--- a/cli/kata-check.go
+++ b/cli/kata-check.go
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ import (
 	"syscall"
 
 	vc "github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers"
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
@@ -288,7 +287,7 @@ var kataCheckCLICommand = cli.Command{
 			return err
 		}
 
-		span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "kata-check")
+		span, _ := trace(ctx, "kata-check")
 		defer span.Finish()
 
 		setCPUtype()
diff --git a/cli/kata-env.go b/cli/kata-env.go
index 36708c4146..133be1616e 100644
--- a/cli/kata-env.go
+++ b/cli/kata-env.go
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers/pkg/oci"
 	vcUtils "github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers/utils"
 	specs "github.com/opencontainers/runtime-spec/specs-go"
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
 
@@ -411,7 +410,7 @@ var kataEnvCLICommand = cli.Command{
 			return err
 		}
 
-		span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "kata-env")
+		span, _ := trace(ctx, "kata-env")
 		defer span.Finish()
 
 		return handleSettings(defaultOutputFile, context)
diff --git a/cli/kill.go b/cli/kill.go
index 4ffde4e7a1..23cee350fb 100644
--- a/cli/kill.go
+++ b/cli/kill.go
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ import (
 
 	vc "github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers"
 	"github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers/pkg/oci"
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
@@ -98,7 +97,7 @@ var signals = map[string]syscall.Signal{
 }
 
 func kill(ctx context.Context, containerID, signal string, all bool) error {
-	span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "kill")
+	span, _ := trace(ctx, "kill")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	kataLog = kataLog.WithField("container", containerID)
diff --git a/cli/list.go b/cli/list.go
index 00f964a89f..b316947527 100644
--- a/cli/list.go
+++ b/cli/list.go
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ import (
 	"text/tabwriter"
 	"time"
 
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 
 	vc "github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers"
@@ -114,7 +113,7 @@ To list containers created using a non-default value for "--root":
 			return err
 		}
 
-		span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "list")
+		span, _ := trace(ctx, "list")
 		defer span.Finish()
 
 		s, err := getContainers(context)
diff --git a/cli/oci.go b/cli/oci.go
index 7a872aba26..12a92d9504 100644
--- a/cli/oci.go
+++ b/cli/oci.go
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers/pkg/oci"
 	"github.com/opencontainers/runc/libcontainer/utils"
 	specs "github.com/opencontainers/runtime-spec/specs-go"
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
 
@@ -128,7 +127,7 @@ func validCreateParams(containerID, bundlePath string) (string, error) {
 // OCI runtime specification. It returns a list of complete paths
 // that should be created and used for every specified resource.
 func processCgroupsPath(ctx context.Context, ociSpec oci.CompatOCISpec, isSandbox bool) ([]string, error) {
-	span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "processCgroupsPath")
+	span, _ := trace(ctx, "processCgroupsPath")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	var cgroupsPathList []string
@@ -377,7 +376,7 @@ func fetchContainerIDMapping(containerID string) (string, error) {
 }
 
 func addContainerIDMapping(ctx context.Context, containerID, sandboxID string) error {
-	span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "addContainerIDMapping")
+	span, _ := trace(ctx, "addContainerIDMapping")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	if containerID == "" {
@@ -404,7 +403,7 @@ func addContainerIDMapping(ctx context.Context, containerID, sandboxID string) e
 }
 
 func delContainerIDMapping(ctx context.Context, containerID string) error {
-	span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "delContainerIDMapping")
+	span, _ := trace(ctx, "delContainerIDMapping")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	if containerID == "" {
diff --git a/cli/pause.go b/cli/pause.go
index 307ae785db..04b409866b 100644
--- a/cli/pause.go
+++ b/cli/pause.go
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ package main
 import (
 	"context"
 
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
@@ -58,7 +57,7 @@ func toggle(c *cli.Context, pause bool) error {
 }
 
 func toggleContainerPause(ctx context.Context, containerID string, pause bool) (err error) {
-	span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "pause")
+	span, _ := trace(ctx, "pause")
 	defer span.Finish()
 	span.SetTag("pause", pause)
 
diff --git a/cli/ps.go b/cli/ps.go
index 6780bccde5..8b824d137b 100644
--- a/cli/ps.go
+++ b/cli/ps.go
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 
 	vc "github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers"
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
@@ -51,7 +50,7 @@ var psCLICommand = cli.Command{
 }
 
 func ps(ctx context.Context, containerID, format string, args []string) error {
-	span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "ps")
+	span, _ := trace(ctx, "ps")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	if containerID == "" {
diff --git a/cli/run.go b/cli/run.go
index 9da73bc904..ac0198d0f2 100644
--- a/cli/run.go
+++ b/cli/run.go
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ import (
 	"syscall"
 
 	"github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers/pkg/oci"
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
 
@@ -82,7 +81,7 @@ var runCLICommand = cli.Command{
 
 func run(ctx context.Context, containerID, bundle, console, consoleSocket, pidFile string, detach bool,
 	runtimeConfig oci.RuntimeConfig) error {
-	span, ctx := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "run")
+	span, ctx := trace(ctx, "run")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	consolePath, err := setupConsole(console, consoleSocket)
diff --git a/cli/spec.go b/cli/spec.go
index 21ec5c0023..a85da8e8dc 100644
--- a/cli/spec.go
+++ b/cli/spec.go
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ import (
 	"os"
 
 	"github.com/opencontainers/runc/libcontainer/specconv"
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
 
@@ -78,7 +77,7 @@ generate a proper rootless spec file.`,
 			return err
 		}
 
-		span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "spec")
+		span, _ := trace(ctx, "spec")
 		defer span.Finish()
 
 		spec := specconv.Example()
diff --git a/cli/start.go b/cli/start.go
index c9641513ba..81c822d7aa 100644
--- a/cli/start.go
+++ b/cli/start.go
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ import (
 
 	vc "github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers"
 	"github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers/pkg/oci"
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
@@ -48,7 +47,7 @@ var startCLICommand = cli.Command{
 }
 
 func start(ctx context.Context, containerID string) (vc.VCSandbox, error) {
-	span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "start")
+	span, _ := trace(ctx, "start")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	kataLog = kataLog.WithField("container", containerID)
diff --git a/cli/state.go b/cli/state.go
index cfc9e52282..0e462be8de 100644
--- a/cli/state.go
+++ b/cli/state.go
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ import (
 	"os"
 
 	"github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers/pkg/oci"
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
 
@@ -41,7 +40,7 @@ instance of a container.`,
 }
 
 func state(ctx context.Context, containerID string) error {
-	span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "state")
+	span, _ := trace(ctx, "state")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
 	kataLog = kataLog.WithField("container", containerID)
diff --git a/cli/tracing.go b/cli/tracing.go
index 4282143b77..92cbbc6057 100644
--- a/cli/tracing.go
+++ b/cli/tracing.go
@@ -76,3 +76,14 @@ func stopTracing(ctx context.Context) {
 	// report all possible spans to the collector
 	tracerCloser.Close()
 }
+
+// trace creates a new tracing span based on the specified name and parent
+// context.
+func trace(parent context.Context, name string) (opentracing.Span, context.Context) {
+	span, ctx := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(parent, name)
+
+	span.SetTag("source", "runtime")
+	span.SetTag("component", "cli")
+
+	return span, ctx
+}
diff --git a/cli/update.go b/cli/update.go
index cc9eac5c0d..29e07e589e 100644
--- a/cli/update.go
+++ b/cli/update.go
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/docker/go-units"
 	vc "github.com/kata-containers/runtime/virtcontainers"
 	"github.com/opencontainers/runtime-spec/specs-go"
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
@@ -133,7 +132,7 @@ other options are ignored.
 			return err
 		}
 
-		span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "update")
+		span, _ := trace(ctx, "update")
 		defer span.Finish()
 
 		if context.Args().Present() == false {
diff --git a/cli/version.go b/cli/version.go
index 10b6676fbc..c4d1f695f7 100644
--- a/cli/version.go
+++ b/cli/version.go
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 package main
 
 import (
-	opentracing "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
 
@@ -19,7 +18,7 @@ var versionCLICommand = cli.Command{
 			return err
 		}
 
-		span, _ := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "version")
+		span, _ := trace(ctx, "version")
 		defer span.Finish()
 
 		cli.VersionPrinter(context)