Application performance management
In the fields of
Measuring application performance
Two sets of
- The load is the volume of transactions processed by the application, e.g., transactions per second, requests per second, pages per second. Without being loaded by computer-based demands (e.g. searches, calculations, transmissions), most applications are fast enough, which is why programmers may not catch performance problems during development.
- The response times are the times required for an application to respond to a user's actions at such a load.[2]
The second set of performance metrics measures the
The use of APM is common for Web applications, which lends itself best to the more detailed monitoring techniques.
In their APM Conceptual Framework, Gartner Research describes five dimensions of APM:[5][6][7][8]
- End-user experience monitoring – (active and passive)
- Application runtime architecture discovery and modeling
- User-defined transaction profiling (also called business transaction management)
- Application component monitoring
- Reporting & Application data analytics.
In 2016, Gartner Research has updated its definition, into three main functional dimensions:[9]
- End-user experience monitoring (EUEM) has been evolved into Digital experience monitoring (DEM);
- A new dimension, Application discovery, tracing, and diagnostics (ADTD), combines three formerly separate dimensions (Application topology [runtime architecture] discovery and visualization, User-defined transaction profiling, and Application component deep-dive), since all three are primarily focused on problem remediation and are interlinked;
- Application analytics (AA).
Current issues
Since the first half of 2013, APM has entered into a period of intense competition in technology and strategy with a multiplicity of vendors and viewpoints.
Two challenges for implementing APM are (1) it can be difficult to instrument an application to monitor application performance, especially among components of an application, and (2) applications can be
The APM conceptual framework
Applications themselves are becoming increasingly difficult to manage as they move toward highly distributed, multi-tier, multi-element constructs that in many cases rely on application development frameworks such as .NET or Java.[17] The APM Conceptual Framework was designed to help prioritize an approach on what to focus on first for quick implementation and overall understanding of the five-dimensional APM model. The framework slide outlines three areas of focus for each dimension and describes their potential benefits. These areas are referenced as "Primary" below, with the lower priority dimensions referenced as "Secondary. "[18]
End user experience (primary)
Measuring the transit of traffic from user request to data and back again is part of capturing the end-user experience (EUE).[19] The outcome of this measuring is referred to as Real-time Application monitoring (aka Top-Down monitoring), which has two components, passive and active. Passive monitoring is usually an agentless appliance implemented using network port mirroring. A key feature to consider is the ability to support multi-component analytics (e.g., database, client/browser). Active monitoring, on the other hand, consists of synthetic probes and web robots predefined to report system availability and business transactions. Active monitoring is a good complement to passive monitoring; together, these two components help provide visibility into application health during off-peak hours when transaction volume is low.
User experience management (UEM) is a subcategory that emerged from the EUE dimension to monitor the behavioral context of the user. UEM, as practiced today, goes beyond availability to capture latencies and inconsistencies as human beings interact with applications and other services.[20] UEM is usually agent-based and may include JavaScript injection to monitor the end-user device. UEM is considered another facet of Real-time Application monitoring.
Runtime application architecture (secondary)
Application Discovery and Dependency Mapping (ADDM) offerings exist to automate the process of mapping transactions and applications to underlying infrastructure components.[21] When preparing to implement a runtime application architecture, it is necessary to ensure that up/down monitoring is in place for all nodes and servers within the environment (aka, bottom-up monitoring). This helps lay the foundation for event correlation and provides the basis for a general understanding of how network topologies interact with application architectures.
Business transaction (primary)
Focus on user-defined transactions or the URL page definitions that have some meaning to the business community. For example, if there are 200 to 300 unique page definitions for a given application, group them into 8–12 high-level categories. This allows for meaningful SLA reports, and provides trending information on application performance from a business perspective: start with broad categories and refine them over time. For a deeper understanding, see Business transaction management.
Deep dive component monitoring (secondary)
Deep dive component monitoring (DDCM) requires an agent installation and is generally targeted at
Analytics/reporting (primary)
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2018) |
It is important to arrive at a common set of metrics to collect and report on for each application, then standardize on a common view on how to present the application performance data. Collecting raw data from the other tool sets across the APM model provides flexibility in application reporting. This allows for answering a wide variety of performance questions as they arise, despite the different platforms each application may be running on. Too much information is overwhelming. That is why it is important to keep reports simple or they won't be used.[22]
See also
- Application Response Measurement
- Application service management
- Business transaction performance
- List of performance analysis tools
- Network management
- Website monitoring
References
- ^ Dragich, Larry (4 April 2012). "The Anatomy of APM – 4 Foundational Elements to a Successful Strategy". APM Digest.
- ^ Dubie, Denise (2006-11-11). "Performance management from the client's point of view". NetworkWorld. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ Dragich, Larry (11 May 2012). "APM and MoM - Symbiotic Solution Sets". APM Digest.
- ^ "What You Should Know About APM – Part 1". Realtime NEXUS. 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-12-14.
- ^ "Keep the Five Functional Dimensions of APM Distinct". Gartner Research (ID Number=G00206101). 16 September 2010. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011.
- ^ "Analytics vs. APM". APM Digest. 28 January 2013.
- ^ "A Comparison of Application Performance Management Suites from CA, HP and Oracle" (PDF). Crimson consulting group. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ "Magic Quadrant for Application Performance Monitoring". Gartner. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
- ^ "Magic Quadrant for Application Performance Monitoring Suites, 2016". Gartner Research (ID Number=G00298377). 21 December 2016.
- ^ "APM Convergence: Monitoring vs. Management". APM Digest. 6 March 2013.
- ^ "What Is Network Monitoring?". Ascendant Technologies, Inc. 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
- ^ "Application Performance Management Spectrum" (PDF). TRAC Research. 11 March 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2013.
- ^ "5 Capabilities to Consider When Selecting an Application Performance Monitoring Solution". APMdigest - Application Performance Management. 2017-04-03. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- S2CID 14638468.
- ^ Matchett, Mike. "Is Virtualization Stalled On Performance?". Virtualization Review. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ "Differences between approaches to APM - a chat with Jesse Rothstein of Extrahop". ZDNet. 9 December 2011.
- ^ "The Five Essential Elements of Application Performance Monitoring". Realtime NEXUS. 2010.
- ^ "Priorizing Gartner's APM Model: The APM Conceptual Framework". APM Digest. 15 March 2012.
- ^ "Application performance monitoring tools: Three vendor strategies". SearchNetworking. 25 March 2013.
- ^ "Insight from the User Experience Management Panel in Boston". APM Digest. 23 March 2012.
- ^ "Research and Markets: Radar for Application Discovery and Dependency Mapping (ADDM)". Business Wire. 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Big Data and Advanced Analytics: Success Stories From the Front Lines". Forbes. 3 December 2012.