WHAT IS APPDYNAMICS
AppDynamics is an application monitoring tool that serves organizations and enterprises, providing vast and complex digital services encompassing multiple websites and applications. With AppDynamics, users obtain a fully operational application monitoring platform directed towards business growth.
AppDynamic’s tools have been termed as an absolute leader in both website monitoring and APM landscape. AppDynamics work with a keen focus on monitoring web applications and websites. It has now evolved as a leading tool (by Gartner) that presents business-focused analytics, dashboards, issue reporting, and alerts for enterprise developers, users, and IT personnel.
OVERVIEW OF APPDYNAMICS
AppDynamics offers modern businesses and organizations with a highly advanced, next-gen tool suitable for IT operations. It offers business – focused analytic that quickly fuels IT and businesses to find real – time answers to most complex questions. The platform is managed by powerful artificial intelligence that gives users real-time insights into performance, user experience, goals, and business outcomes.
AppDynamics works using an innovative technique called Unified Monitoring. This product encapsulates and employs a total of six monitoring applications of AppDynamics into a single robust solution. Besides utilizing continuous monitoring and visibility, Unified Monitoring ensures and manages smooth multi-channel user experience. This UX administration employs an efficient support system, evaluation, and personalized alert mechanisms to track down the precise origin of any performance issue.
AppDynamics offers a unique feature called Unified Monitoring that encompasses six different AppDynamics products into one platform-
- APM
- Browser Real User Monitoring (RUM)
- Mobile RUM
- Synthetic Monitoring (currently in beta)
- Database Monitoring
- Server Monitoring.
With the Unified Monitoring feature from AppDynamics, businesses can experience real fast growth and establishment. Companies can quickly identify lousy customer experiences and performance issues. This means companies can swiftly take swift decisions, deploy quicker actions, and troubleshoot to resolve performance issues.
AppDynamics ensures that businesses obtain valuable insights into reliable data, application performance, user information, and business analytics so that owners can make smart business moves as soon as an anomaly is detected. This also ensures better optimization of user experience as well as enhanced traffic flow and feedback from users on browser-based as well as mobile applications. AppDynamics helps in a thorough understanding and optimization of a business’s performance, be it software, an infrastructure, or a business journey. They also cover the Controller User Interface, which is the browser-based console most widely used to understand issues, configure, and resolve them in an application’s environment.
The APM visibility and root cause analysis offered by AppDynamics are some of the most lucrative features for enterprise developers and IT teams.
APPDYNAMICS FEATURES
Appdynamics boast of the following features to make business analysis and APM faster and more efficient:
- Code -level visibility – runs code level analysis to detect anomalies such as app crashes, etc.
- Dynamic baselining and powerful alerting:- analyzing computer network performance. This is done by comparing current performance to a historical metric, or “baseline” to predict future issues that could develop
- Visibility and control – continuously monitors hardware infrastructure like load balancers, servers, and troubleshoot problems in code or infrastructure.
- Data retention – retaining data for future use during troubleshooting, maintenance of servers, etc.
- Monitor multiple platforms – oversees performance, user – experiences on multiple websites, servers, etc.
- Application performance management agents
- Troubleshoot performance issues in production
- Continuously monitor in a high-volume environment
- Install and begin using immediately
- Trend database performance over time
- Database agents
- Browser Real-User Monitoring – monitors user – experience by directly replaying their sessions
- Server Visibility
- Synthetic Monitoring – Analyze user behavior to predict an action or path that a customer or end-user would take on a site.
- Mobile Real-User Monitoring – monitors real user experience on a website to detect performance issues and reports where there is room for improvement.
- Monitor 24/7 what matters most-your key business transaction
- Troubleshoot bottlenecks 90% faster
- Monitor hybrid environments with Java, .NET, PHP, and Node.j
- Dynamic Scaling in the Cloud
- Automatic Business Transaction Discovery
- Diagnose the root cause of the problems 90% faster
- Operational Dashboards
- Real-Time Business Transaction Monitoring
OPERATING SYSTEMS AND SERVERS THAT SUPPORT APPDYNAMICS
AppDynamics can be installed on the following operating system – Linux and Microsoft Windows. The following Linux servers support AppDynamics-
- RHEL 6.x and 7.x
- CentOS 6 and 7
- Ubuntu 14 and 16
- openSUSE 12
- Amazon Linux 1
The following Microsoft Windows servers support AppDynamics-
- Windows Server 2008 R2
- Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2
- Windows Server 2016
AppDynamics is also supported by the Operating System Solaris – both physically and virtually.
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS FOR INSTALLING APPDYNAMICS
AppDynamics for Databases should be installed on a dedicated machine.
- Installation package required: 142 MB Windows or 140 MB Linux
- Disk space utilized after installation: 614 MB
- Minimum required hardware:
- 1-10 collectors: 2 GB RAM, Single CPU, 1 disk
- 10-50 collectors: 4 GB RAM, 2 CPUs, 1 disk
- 50-100 collectors: 8+ GB RAM, 4 CPUs, fast disk
- 100+ collectors: contact support
- Minimum Memory pre-requisites:
- 512 MB for AppDynamics for Databases Repository
- 512 MB AppDynamics for Databases GUI
- 100 MB per collector
KPI MODE VS DIAGNOSTIC MODE VS ADVANCED DIAGNOSTIC MODE
It might be difficult to handle all Network Agents reporting all the metrics simultaneously and constantly, so as an alternative, you can use each Agent in one of the three modes listed below:
- KPI Mode – for all monitored objects (application flows, tiers, nodes, network links) except individual user connections. KPI ode is the default mode for all Network Agents.
- Diagnostic Mode –for all monitored objects, including connections
- Advanced Diagnostic Mode – All network metrics for all monitored objects, including connections
When a performance issue is identified on a node or network link, the metric level of the associated Network Agents is increased to Diagnostic Mode. Next, KPI metrics for the connections are collected based on which the connections with performance issues are identified.
For resolving performance issues in a specific link, change the metric level on the respective Agents from Diagnostic Mode to Advanced Diagnostic Mode and collect advanced information for the connection.
When the performance issue gets resolved, make sure you reset the Agents back to KPI mode.
APPDYNAMICS VS DYNATRACE
1) Dynatrace’s agents are crafted such that they detect limited stack traces for every transaction that is executed. In contrast, AppDynamics works based on anomaly diagnostic approach, which means that a full-stack traces is only captured if any breach has occurred in the performance baseline or threshold. Each of these approaches has its pros and cons and which is best suited for you depends on your requirements and what kind of monitoring you are looking for.
2) Unlike Dynatrace, AppDynamics offers log management features.
3) AppDynamics is comparatively more comfortable and cheaper to use than Dynatrace for use in more substantial environments due to the differences in data collection, management, and transfer.
4) Dynatrace dashboard might be a hassle for some users, and it may seem a bit old – fashion. If you require more in-depth information about different situations, AppDynamics would be a better choice. AppDynamics has a uniform user interface across all products/features but some of its software still uses Flash elements.
5) Both vendors offer free plans, but again, the pricing transparency differs. AppDynamics openly publishes pricing, whereas Dynatrace does not announce pricing. However, both companies have multiple products that are taxed calculated on different features or aspects, so it is inevitably difficult to categories them based on pricing unless you speak to someone in sales.
6) Although we cannot judge an APM tool by its website, both tools have been popularly used for quite some time. AppDynamics seems like a more relevant and up-to-date choice in comparison to Dynatrace.
REVIEWS OF APPDYNAMICS
1) I use it every day, and it is quite helpful to track
Pros
– SQL statements that are consuming most of the system resources.
– Statistics on procedures and SQL query plans.
– Simple and straightforward UI.
– Thoroughly monitors an application’s performance (APM), database performance, and infrastructure performance.
– It provides insightful information about performance issues that help resolve problems swiftly.
Cons
– Beginners should go through extensive training before using this software.
– Some parts of AppDynamics still use flash.
2) AppDynamics is extremely useful in synthetic monitoring and has helped us understand how various applications installed in our server communicate with others.
Pros
- It is not invasive, and agent consume much fewer resources
- Its interface is built with a high intuition
- Functions excellently in generating personalized reports
Cons
- The interface may seem quite complicated initially, and it may be challenging to find out useful information.
- One needs to learn for quite some time before using this software
- The pricing turns on the higher side if there are a lot of servers to monitor.
3)
AppDynamics has been positioned in the Leader’s Quadrant for Application Management System (APM) for the eighth time by Gartner.
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