diff --git a/tracing/tracing.go b/tracing/tracing.go
index 9dc7914ee..4e39a7ab8 100644
--- a/tracing/tracing.go
+++ b/tracing/tracing.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package tracing
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"sync"
 
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/otlptracegrpc"
@@ -25,12 +26,39 @@ type Config struct {
 	Endpoint string `yaml:"endpoint" json:"endpoint"`
 	// Insecure determines whether to use an insecure connection (no TLS)
 	Insecure bool `yaml:"insecure" json:"insecure"`
+	// Enabled explicitly controls whether tracing is active. When nil,
+	// tracing is enabled only if Endpoint is set. When explicitly false,
+	// tracing is always disabled regardless of Endpoint.
+	Enabled *bool `yaml:"enabled" json:"enabled"`
+}
+
+var (
+	exportErrMu     sync.Mutex
+	wasFailing      bool
+	previousHandler otel.ErrorHandler
+)
+
+// suppressRepeatedExportErrors logs the first export failure encountered,
+// then stays quiet on subsequent failures, to avoid flooding logs when a
+// configured collector endpoint is unreachable. Retries by the underlying
+// exporter continue unaffected; only the logging is suppressed.
+func suppressRepeatedExportErrors(err error) {
+	exportErrMu.Lock()
+	if !wasFailing {
+		fmt.Printf("tracing export failing, collector may be unreachable: %v\n", err)
+		wasFailing = true
+	}
+	exportErrMu.Unlock()
+
+	if previousHandler != nil {
+		previousHandler.Handle(err)
+	}
 }
 
 func InitTracerFromYamlConfig(ctx context.Context, config string) (*sdktrace.TracerProvider, error) {
 	cfg := Config{}
 
-	err := yaml.Unmarshal([]byte(config),&cfg)
+	err := yaml.Unmarshal([]byte(config), &cfg)
 
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse tracing config: %w", err)
@@ -42,13 +70,22 @@ func InitTracerFromYamlConfig(ctx context.Context, config string) (*sdktrace.Tra
 // InitTracer initializes and configures the global OpenTelemetry trace provider
 // It sets up OTLP gRPC exporter, resource attributes, and W3C trace context propagation
 func InitTracer(ctx context.Context, cfg Config) (*sdktrace.TracerProvider, error) {
+	// Tracing is a no-op if explicitly disabled, or if no endpoint is
+	// configured — this is not an error, just an intentional off state.
+	if (cfg.Enabled != nil && !*cfg.Enabled) || cfg.Endpoint == "" {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+
 	// Validate configuration
 	if cfg.ServiceName == "" {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("service name is required")
 	}
-	if cfg.Endpoint == "" {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("endpoint is required")
-	}
+
+	// Suppress repeated identical export-failure logs (e.g. when the
+	// configured endpoint is unreachable) so noisy retries don't flood logs.
+	// Preserves and still invokes any previously-registered handler.
+	previousHandler = otel.GetErrorHandler()
+	otel.SetErrorHandler(otel.ErrorHandlerFunc(suppressRepeatedExportErrors))
 
 	// Configure OTLP exporter options
 	opts := []otlptracegrpc.Option{
diff --git a/tracing/tracing_test.go b/tracing/tracing_test.go
index b4ef7fcda..135c27894 100644
--- a/tracing/tracing_test.go
+++ b/tracing/tracing_test.go
@@ -14,10 +14,14 @@ import (
 
 func TestInitTracer(t *testing.T) {
 	// Note: These tests validate configuration without attempting real connections
+	falseVal := false
+	trueVal := true
+
 	tests := []struct {
-		name    string
-		config  Config
-		wantErr bool
+		name        string
+		config      Config
+		wantErr     bool
+		wantNilProv bool
 	}{
 		{
 			name: "missing service name",
@@ -29,25 +33,78 @@ func TestInitTracer(t *testing.T) {
 			wantErr: true,
 		},
 		{
-			name: "missing endpoint",
+			name: "missing endpoint is a no-op, not an error",
 			config: Config{
 				ServiceName:    "test-service",
 				ServiceVersion: "1.0.0",
 				Insecure:       true,
 			},
-			wantErr: true,
+			wantErr:     false,
+			wantNilProv: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "explicitly disabled is a no-op, even with endpoint set",
+			config: Config{
+				ServiceName: "test-service",
+				Endpoint:    "localhost:4317",
+				Enabled:     &falseVal,
+			},
+			wantErr:     false,
+			wantNilProv: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "explicitly enabled with empty endpoint is still a no-op",
+			config: Config{
+				ServiceName: "test-service",
+				Enabled:     &trueVal,
+			},
+			wantErr:     false,
+			wantNilProv: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "enabled with valid endpoint returns a real provider",
+			config: Config{
+				ServiceName: "test-service",
+				Endpoint:    "localhost:4317",
+				Insecure:    true,
+				Enabled:     &trueVal,
+			},
+			wantErr:     false,
+			wantNilProv: false,
 		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			prevProvider := otel.GetTracerProvider()
+			prevHandler := otel.GetErrorHandler()
+			prevPropagator := otel.GetTextMapPropagator()
+			t.Cleanup(func() {
+				otel.SetTracerProvider(prevProvider)
+				otel.SetErrorHandler(prevHandler)
+				otel.SetTextMapPropagator(prevPropagator)
+			})
 			ctx := context.Background()
-			_, err := InitTracer(ctx, tt.config)
+			tp, err := InitTracer(ctx, tt.config)
 
 			if (err != nil) != tt.wantErr {
 				t.Errorf("InitTracer() error = %v, wantErr %v", err, tt.wantErr)
 				return
 			}
+			// Only check provider state when no error was expected —
+			// error cases always return a nil provider, which is correct
+			// but not meaningfully described by wantNilProv.
+			if !tt.wantErr {
+				if tt.wantNilProv && tp != nil {
+					t.Errorf("InitTracer() expected nil provider, got %v", tp)
+				}
+				if !tt.wantNilProv && tp == nil {
+					t.Errorf("InitTracer() expected non-nil provider, got nil")
+				}
+			}
+			if tp != nil {
+				_ = tp.Shutdown(ctx)
+			}
 		})
 	}
 }