diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 88b6e438d..d020d404c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -29,37 +29,6 @@ jobs:
           echo "version=$version" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "Found version $version from lib/vmpooler/version.rb"
 
-      - name: Generate Changelog
-        uses: docker://githubchangeloggenerator/github-changelog-generator:1.16.2
-        with:
-          args: >-
-            --future-release ${{ steps.nv.outputs.version }}
-        env:
-          CHANGELOG_GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-
-      - name: Validate Changelog
-        run : |
-          set -e
-          if [[ -n $(git status --porcelain) ]]; then
-            echo "Here is the current git status:"
-            git status
-            echo
-            echo "The following changes were detected:"
-            git --no-pager diff
-            echo "Uncommitted PRs found in the changelog. Please submit a release prep PR of changes after running `./update-changelog`"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-
-      - name: Generate Release Notes
-        uses: docker://githubchangeloggenerator/github-changelog-generator:1.16.2
-        with:
-          args: >-
-            --since-tag ${{ steps.cv.outputs.result }}
-            --future-release ${{ steps.nv.outputs.version }}
-            --output release-notes.md
-        env:
-          CHANGELOG_GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-
       - name: Tag Release
         uses: ncipollo/release-action@v1
         with:
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index c5fb0fffc..347d03679 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ PATH
       deep_merge (~> 1.2)
       net-ldap (~> 0.16)
       opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger (= 0.23.0)
-      opentelemetry-instrumentation-concurrent_ruby (= 0.21.1)
-      opentelemetry-instrumentation-http_client (= 0.22.2)
+      opentelemetry-instrumentation-concurrent_ruby (= 0.21.2)
+      opentelemetry-instrumentation-http_client (= 0.22.3)
       opentelemetry-instrumentation-redis (= 0.25.3)
       opentelemetry-instrumentation-sinatra (= 0.23.2)
       opentelemetry-resource_detectors (= 0.24.2)
@@ -26,36 +26,42 @@ PATH
 GEM
   remote: https://rubygems.org/
   specs:
-    ast (2.4.2)
-    base64 (0.1.1)
-    bindata (2.4.15)
-    builder (3.2.4)
+    ast (2.4.3)
+    base64 (0.1.2)
+    bindata (2.5.1)
+    builder (3.3.0)
     climate_control (1.2.0)
     coderay (1.1.3)
-    concurrent-ruby (1.2.2)
-    connection_pool (2.4.1)
+    concurrent-ruby (1.3.5)
+    connection_pool (2.5.3)
     deep_merge (1.2.2)
-    diff-lcs (1.5.0)
-    docile (1.4.0)
-    faraday (2.7.10)
-      faraday-net_http (>= 2.0, < 3.1)
-      ruby2_keywords (>= 0.0.4)
-    faraday-net_http (3.0.2)
-    ffi (1.15.5-java)
-    google-cloud-env (1.6.0)
-      faraday (>= 0.17.3, < 3.0)
-    json (2.6.3)
-    json (2.6.3-java)
-    language_server-protocol (3.17.0.3)
-    method_source (1.0.0)
-    mock_redis (0.37.0)
-    mustermann (3.0.0)
+    diff-lcs (1.6.2)
+    docile (1.4.1)
+    faraday (2.13.1)
+      faraday-net_http (>= 2.0, < 3.5)
+      json
+      logger
+    faraday-net_http (3.4.0)
+      net-http (>= 0.5.0)
+    ffi (1.17.2-java)
+    google-cloud-env (2.2.1)
+      faraday (>= 1.0, < 3.a)
+    json (2.12.1)
+    json (2.12.1-java)
+    language_server-protocol (3.17.0.5)
+    logger (1.7.0)
+    method_source (1.1.0)
+    mock_redis (0.50.0)
+      redis (~> 5)
+    mustermann (3.0.3)
       ruby2_keywords (~> 0.0.1)
-    net-ldap (0.18.0)
-    nio4r (2.5.9)
-    nio4r (2.5.9-java)
-    opentelemetry-api (1.2.2)
-    opentelemetry-common (0.20.0)
+    net-http (0.6.0)
+      uri
+    net-ldap (0.19.0)
+    nio4r (2.7.4)
+    nio4r (2.7.4-java)
+    opentelemetry-api (1.5.0)
+    opentelemetry-common (0.20.1)
       opentelemetry-api (~> 1.0)
     opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger (0.23.0)
       opentelemetry-api (~> 1.1)
@@ -63,19 +69,18 @@ GEM
       opentelemetry-sdk (~> 1.2)
       opentelemetry-semantic_conventions
       thrift
-    opentelemetry-instrumentation-base (0.22.2)
+    opentelemetry-instrumentation-base (0.22.3)
       opentelemetry-api (~> 1.0)
       opentelemetry-registry (~> 0.1)
-    opentelemetry-instrumentation-concurrent_ruby (0.21.1)
+    opentelemetry-instrumentation-concurrent_ruby (0.21.2)
       opentelemetry-api (~> 1.0)
       opentelemetry-instrumentation-base (~> 0.22.1)
-    opentelemetry-instrumentation-http_client (0.22.2)
+    opentelemetry-instrumentation-http_client (0.22.3)
       opentelemetry-api (~> 1.0)
       opentelemetry-common (~> 0.20.0)
       opentelemetry-instrumentation-base (~> 0.22.1)
-    opentelemetry-instrumentation-rack (0.23.4)
+    opentelemetry-instrumentation-rack (0.25.0)
       opentelemetry-api (~> 1.0)
-      opentelemetry-common (~> 0.20.0)
       opentelemetry-instrumentation-base (~> 0.22.1)
     opentelemetry-instrumentation-redis (0.25.3)
       opentelemetry-api (~> 1.0)
@@ -86,63 +91,66 @@ GEM
       opentelemetry-common (~> 0.20.0)
       opentelemetry-instrumentation-base (~> 0.22.1)
       opentelemetry-instrumentation-rack (~> 0.21)
-    opentelemetry-registry (0.3.0)
+    opentelemetry-registry (0.4.0)
       opentelemetry-api (~> 1.1)
     opentelemetry-resource_detectors (0.24.2)
       google-cloud-env
       opentelemetry-sdk (~> 1.0)
-    opentelemetry-sdk (1.3.0)
+    opentelemetry-sdk (1.8.0)
       opentelemetry-api (~> 1.1)
       opentelemetry-common (~> 0.20)
       opentelemetry-registry (~> 0.2)
       opentelemetry-semantic_conventions
-    opentelemetry-semantic_conventions (1.10.0)
+    opentelemetry-semantic_conventions (1.11.0)
       opentelemetry-api (~> 1.0)
-    parallel (1.23.0)
-    parser (3.2.2.3)
+    parallel (1.27.0)
+    parser (3.3.8.0)
       ast (~> 2.4.1)
       racc
     pickup (0.0.11)
-    prometheus-client (4.2.1)
-    pry (0.14.2)
+    prism (1.4.0)
+    prometheus-client (4.2.4)
+      base64
+    pry (0.15.2)
       coderay (~> 1.1)
       method_source (~> 1.0)
-    pry (0.14.2-java)
+    pry (0.15.2-java)
       coderay (~> 1.1)
       method_source (~> 1.0)
       spoon (~> 0.0)
-    puma (6.4.0)
+    puma (6.6.0)
       nio4r (~> 2.0)
-    puma (6.4.0-java)
+    puma (6.6.0-java)
       nio4r (~> 2.0)
-    racc (1.7.1)
-    racc (1.7.1-java)
-    rack (2.2.8)
-    rack-protection (3.1.0)
+    racc (1.8.1)
+    racc (1.8.1-java)
+    rack (2.2.16)
+    rack-protection (3.2.0)
+      base64 (>= 0.1.0)
       rack (~> 2.2, >= 2.2.4)
-    rack-test (2.1.0)
+    rack-test (2.2.0)
       rack (>= 1.3)
     rainbow (3.1.1)
-    rake (13.0.6)
-    redis (5.0.7)
-      redis-client (>= 0.9.0)
-    redis-client (0.15.0)
+    rake (13.2.1)
+    redis (5.4.0)
+      redis-client (>= 0.22.0)
+    redis-client (0.24.0)
       connection_pool
-    regexp_parser (2.8.1)
-    rexml (3.2.6)
-    rspec (3.12.0)
-      rspec-core (~> 3.12.0)
-      rspec-expectations (~> 3.12.0)
-      rspec-mocks (~> 3.12.0)
-    rspec-core (3.12.2)
-      rspec-support (~> 3.12.0)
-    rspec-expectations (3.12.3)
+    regexp_parser (2.10.0)
+    rexml (3.4.1)
+    rspec (3.13.0)
+      rspec-core (~> 3.13.0)
+      rspec-expectations (~> 3.13.0)
+      rspec-mocks (~> 3.13.0)
+    rspec-core (3.13.3)
+      rspec-support (~> 3.13.0)
+    rspec-expectations (3.13.4)
       diff-lcs (>= 1.2.0, < 2.0)
-      rspec-support (~> 3.12.0)
-    rspec-mocks (3.12.6)
+      rspec-support (~> 3.13.0)
+    rspec-mocks (3.13.4)
       diff-lcs (>= 1.2.0, < 2.0)
-      rspec-support (~> 3.12.0)
-    rspec-support (3.12.1)
+      rspec-support (~> 3.13.0)
+    rspec-support (3.13.3)
     rubocop (1.56.4)
       base64 (~> 0.1.1)
       json (~> 2.3)
@@ -155,30 +163,32 @@ GEM
       rubocop-ast (>= 1.28.1, < 2.0)
       ruby-progressbar (~> 1.7)
       unicode-display_width (>= 2.4.0, < 3.0)
-    rubocop-ast (1.29.0)
-      parser (>= 3.2.1.0)
+    rubocop-ast (1.44.1)
+      parser (>= 3.3.7.2)
+      prism (~> 1.4)
     ruby-progressbar (1.13.0)
     ruby2_keywords (0.0.5)
     simplecov (0.22.0)
       docile (~> 1.1)
       simplecov-html (~> 0.11)
       simplecov_json_formatter (~> 0.1)
-    simplecov-html (0.12.3)
+    simplecov-html (0.13.1)
     simplecov_json_formatter (0.1.4)
-    sinatra (3.1.0)
+    sinatra (3.2.0)
       mustermann (~> 3.0)
       rack (~> 2.2, >= 2.2.4)
-      rack-protection (= 3.1.0)
+      rack-protection (= 3.2.0)
       tilt (~> 2.0)
     spicy-proton (2.1.15)
       bindata (~> 2.3)
     spoon (0.0.6)
       ffi
     statsd-ruby (1.5.0)
-    thor (1.2.2)
-    thrift (0.18.1)
-    tilt (2.2.0)
-    unicode-display_width (2.5.0)
+    thor (1.3.2)
+    thrift (0.21.0)
+    tilt (2.6.0)
+    unicode-display_width (2.6.0)
+    uri (1.0.3)
     yarjuf (2.0.0)
       builder
       rspec (~> 3)
diff --git a/bin/vmpooler b/bin/vmpooler
index 3483349cd..331dd1e49 100755
--- a/bin/vmpooler
+++ b/bin/vmpooler
@@ -34,18 +34,29 @@ else
   exit(2) if torun.empty?
 end
 
+tracer = OpenTelemetry.tracer_provider.tracer('vmpooler', Vmpooler::VERSION)
 if torun.include?(:api)
-  api = Thread.new do
-    redis = Vmpooler.new_redis(redis_host, redis_port, redis_password)
-    Vmpooler::API.execute(torun, config, redis, metrics, logger)
+  tracer.in_span("vmpooler-api") do
+    parent_ctx = OpenTelemetry::Context.current
+    api = Thread.new do
+      OpenTelemetry::Context.with_current(parent_ctx) do
+        redis = Vmpooler.new_redis(redis_host, redis_port, redis_password)
+        Vmpooler::API.execute(torun, config, redis, metrics, logger)
+      end
+    end
+    torun_threads << api
   end
-  torun_threads << api
 elsif metrics.respond_to?(:setup_prometheus_metrics)
-  # Run the cut down API - Prometheus Metrics only.
-  prometheus_only_api = Thread.new do
-    Vmpooler::API.execute(torun, config, nil, metrics, logger)
+  tracer.in_span("vmpooler-prometheus-api") do
+    parent_ctx = OpenTelemetry::Context.current
+    # Run the cut down API - Prometheus Metrics only.
+    prometheus_only_api = Thread.new do
+      OpenTelemetry::Context.with_current(parent_ctx) do
+        Vmpooler::API.execute(torun, config, nil, metrics, logger)
+      end
+    end
+    torun_threads << prometheus_only_api
   end
-  torun_threads << prometheus_only_api
 end
 
 if torun.include?(:manager)
diff --git a/update-gemfile-lock b/update-gemfile-lock
index 2ec1df1b4..ec95ac13e 100755
--- a/update-gemfile-lock
+++ b/update-gemfile-lock
@@ -4,4 +4,4 @@
 docker run -it --rm \
   -v $(pwd):/app \
   jruby:9.4.12.1-jdk11 \
-  /bin/bash -c 'apt-get update -qq && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends git make netbase && cd /app && gem install bundler && bundle install --jobs 3 && bundle update; echo "LOCK_FILE_UPDATE_EXIT_CODE=$?"'
+  /bin/bash -c 'apt-get update -qq && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends git make netbase build-essential && cd /app && gem install bundler && bundle install --jobs 3 && bundle update; echo "LOCK_FILE_UPDATE_EXIT_CODE=$?"'
diff --git a/vmpooler.gemspec b/vmpooler.gemspec
index 8c346091f..bc5120c3e 100644
--- a/vmpooler.gemspec
+++ b/vmpooler.gemspec
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.add_dependency 'deep_merge', '~> 1.2'
   s.add_dependency 'net-ldap', '~> 0.16'
   s.add_dependency 'opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger', '= 0.23.0'
-  s.add_dependency 'opentelemetry-instrumentation-concurrent_ruby', '= 0.21.1'
-  s.add_dependency 'opentelemetry-instrumentation-http_client', '= 0.22.2'
+  s.add_dependency 'opentelemetry-instrumentation-concurrent_ruby', '= 0.21.2'
+  s.add_dependency 'opentelemetry-instrumentation-http_client', '= 0.22.3'
   s.add_dependency 'opentelemetry-instrumentation-redis', '= 0.25.3'
   s.add_dependency 'opentelemetry-instrumentation-sinatra', '= 0.23.2'
   s.add_dependency 'opentelemetry-resource_detectors', '= 0.24.2'