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AppDynamics

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AppDynamics is a performance management program for applications. It helps users to gain a comprehensive understanding of the impact of technical difficulties on business goals, allowing IT teams to prioritize their efforts in a way that improves ROI.

Scope of support​

Currently, Nobl9 does not support metric paths that contain Wild Cards | AppDynamics documentation.

Prerequisites​

  1. The Nobl9 agent has firewall access to http://<controller_host>:<controller_port>/controller/rest/<REST_URI>.

  2. To connect to AppDynamics, your AppDynamics API client needs at least the Applications and Dashboards Viewer permissions.

Authentication​

Nobl9 agent calls the Metric and Snapshot API | AppDynamics documentation. The agent and direct configurations for AppDynamics require the following credentials:

  • Client Name: To retrieve apiClientName, log in to your AppDynamics account, go to Administration (under cog icon) / API Clients tab, select an API client and copy Client Name.

  • Account Name: To retrieve your accountName, log in to your AppDynamics account, go to the License (under cog icon) / License Summary / Account Details section and copy the Name.

  • Controller URL: It is an entry point for Nobl9 to AppDynamics instance. Example: http://yourcompany.saas.appdynamics.com

  • Client Secret: Follow the instructions in the API Clients | AppDynamics documentation section of the AppDynamics documentation to create your Client Secret.

Adding AppDynamics as a data source​

To add AppDynamics as a data source in Nobl9 using the agent or direct connection method, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to Integrations > Sources.
  2. Click .
  3. Click the relevant Source icon.
  4. Choose a relevant connection method (Agent or Direct), then configure the source as described below.

AppDynamics direct​

Direct configuration in the UI​

Direct connection to AppDynamics requires users to enter their credentials which Nobl9 stores safely. To set up this type of connection:

  1. Select one of the following Release Channels:
    • The stable channel is fully tested by the Nobl9 team. It represents the final product; however, this channel does not contain all the new features of a beta release. Use it to avoid crashes and other limitations.
    • The beta channel is under active development. Here, you can check out new features and improvements without the risk of affecting any viable SLOs. Remember that features in this channel may be subject to change.

  2. Enter the Controller URL (required).
    Refer to the Authentication section for detailed instructions.

  3. Enter your AppDynamics Client Name.
    To retrieve the Client Name, log in to your AppDynamics account, go to Administration (under the cog icon) > API Clients tab, select an API client and copy the Client Name:

    diagram
    Image 1: Retrieving the Client Name in AppDynamics UI

  4. Enter your AppDynamics Account Name.
    To retrieve your Account Name, log in to your AppDynamics account, go to License (under the cog icon) > License Summary > Account Details section and copy the Name:

    diagram
    Image 2: Retrieving the Account Name in AppDynamics UI
  1. Select a Project.
    Specifying a project is helpful when multiple users are spread across multiple teams or projects. When the Project field is left blank then object is assigned to project default.
  2. Enter a Display Name.
    You can enter a friendly name with spaces in this field.
  3. Enter a Name.
    The name is mandatory and can only contain lowercase, alphanumeric characters and dashes (for example, my-project-name). This field is populated automatically when you enter a display name, but you can edit the result.
  4. Enter a Description.
    Here you can add details such as who is responsible for the integration (team/owner) and the purpose of creating it.
  5. Specify the Query delay to set a customized delay for queries when pulling the data from the data source.
    info
    Changing the Query delay may affect your SLI data. For more details, check the Query delay documentation.
  6. Enter a Maximum Period for Historical Data Retrieval.
    • This value defines how far back in the past your data will be retrieved.
    • The value for the maximum period of data retrieval depends on the data source. Check the Replay documentation for details.
    • A greater period can extend the loading time when creating an SLO.
      • The value must be a positive integer.
  7. Enter a Default Period for Historical Data Retrieval.
    • It is used by SLOs connected to this data source.
    • The value must be a positive integer or 0.
    • By default, this value is set to 0. When you set it to >0, you will create SLOs with Replay.
  8. Click Add Data Source.
caution

Keep note that AppDynamics Metric and Snapshot API downsamples data differently based on the period of fetched historical data, and it may affect your SLI charts.

Also, the resolution of data points in the Appdynamics UI and what Nobl9 extracts from AppDynamics Metric and Snapshot API may differ. This is because the data's granularity in AppDynamics API differs from the AppDynamics Controller UI. Check this thread for more details.

For more details refer to Data Retention for Metric and Snapshot API | AppDynamics documentation.

Direct using CLI - YAML​

The YAML for setting up a direct connection to AppDynamics looks like this:

apiVersion: n9/v1alpha
kind: Direct
metadata:
  name: appdynamics-direct
  displayName: AppDynamics direct
  project: appdynamics-direct
spec:
  description: AppDynamics direct integration
  sourceOf:
    - Metrics
    - Services
  releaseChannel: beta # string, one of: beta || stable
  queryDelay:
      unit: Minute # string, one of: Second || Minute
      value: 720 # numeric, must be a number lesser than 1440 minutes (24 hours)
  historicalDataRetrieval:
    maxDuration:
      value: 30
      unit: Day # allowed values: Minute, Hour, Day
    defaultDuration:
      value: 7
      unit: Day # allowed values: Minute, Hour, Day

  appDynamics:
    url: https://yourcompany.saas.appdynamics.com
    clientName: dev-direct
    accountName: name
    clientSecret: someSecret # secret

Important notes:

AppDynamics agent​

Agent configuration in the UI​

Follow the instructions below to create your AppDynamics agent connection. Refer to the section above for the description of the fields.

  1. Select one of the following Release Channels:
    • The stable channel is fully tested by the Nobl9 team. It represents the final product; however, this channel does not contain all the new features of a beta release. Use it to avoid crashes and other limitations.
    • The beta channel is under active development. Here, you can check out new features and improvements without the risk of affecting any viable SLOs. Remember that features in this channel may be subject to change.

  2. Enter the Controller URL.

  1. Enter a Project.
  2. Enter a Name.
  3. Create a Description.
  4. In the Advanced Settings you can:
    1. Enter a Maximum Period for Historical Data Retrieval.
    2. Enter a Default Period for Historical Data Retrieval.
  5. Click Add Data Source.

Agent using CLI - YAML​

The YAML for setting up an agent connection to AppDynamics looks like this:

apiVersion: n9/v1alpha
kind: Agent
metadata:
  name: appdynamics-agent
  displayName: AppDynamics Agent # optional
  project: default
spec:
  description: Agent settings for appdynamics # optional
  sourceOf:
    - Metrics
    - Services
  releaseChannel: beta # string, one of: beta || stable
  queryDelay:
      unit: Minute # string, one of: Second || Minute
      value: 720 # numeric, must be a number less than 1440 minutes (24 hours)
  historicalDataRetrieval:
    maxDuration:
      value: 30
      unit: Day # allowed values: Minute, Hour, Day
    defaultDuration:
      value: 7
      unit: Day # allowed values: Minute, Hour, Day
  appDynamics:
    url: https://yourcompany.saas.appdynamics.com

Important notes:

warning

You can deploy only one agent in one YAML file by using the sloctl apply command.

Deploying AppDynamics agent​

When you add the data source, Nobl9 automatically generates a Kubernetes configuration and a Docker command line for you to use to deploy the agent. Both of these are available in the web UI, under the Agent Configuration section. Be sure to swap in your credentials (e.g., replace <APPD_CLIENT_NAME>, <APPD_ACCOUNT_NAME> and <APPD_CLIENT_SECRET> with your organization key).

If you use Kubernetes, you can apply the supplied YAML config file to a Kubernetes cluster to deploy the agent. It will look something like this:

# DISCLAIMER: This deployment description contains only the fields necessary for the purpose of this demo.
# It is not a ready-to-apply k8s deployment description, and the appd_client_name, appd_account_name and appd_client_secret are only exemplary values.

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: nobl9-agent-nobl9-dev-default-name
  namespace: default
type: Opaque
stringData:
  appd_client_name: "<APPD_CLIENT_NAME>"
  appd_account_name: "<APPD_ACCOUNT_NAME>"
  appd_client_secret: "<APPD_CLIENT_SECRET>"
  client_id: "unique_client_id"
  client_secret: "unique_client_secret"
---
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: nobl9-agent-nobl9-dev-default-name
  namespace: default
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      nobl9-agent-name: "appdynamics-agent"
      nobl9-agent-project: "appdynamics-project"
      nobl9-agent-organization: "nobl9-dev"
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        nobl9-agent-name: "appdynamics-agent"
        nobl9-agent-project: "appdynamics-project"
        nobl9-agent-organization: "nobl9-dev"
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: agent-container
          image: nobl9/agent:latest
          resources:
            requests:
              memory: "350Mi"
              cpu: "0.1"
          env:
            - name: N9_CLIENT_ID
              valueFrom:
                secretKeyRef:
                  key: client_id
                  name: nobl9-agent-nobl9-dev-default-name
            - name: N9_CLIENT_SECRET
              valueFrom:
                secretKeyRef:
                  key: client_secret
                  name: nobl9-agent-nobl9-dev-default-name
            - name: APPD_CLIENT_NAME
              valueFrom:
                secretKeyRef:
                  key: appd_client_name
                  name: nobl9-agent-nobl9-dev-default-name
            - name: APPD_ACCOUNT_NAME
              valueFrom:
                secretKeyRef:
                  key: appd_account_name
                  name: nobl9-agent-nobl9-dev-default-name
            - name: APPD_CLIENT_SECRET
              valueFrom:
                secretKeyRef:
                  key: appd_client_secret
                  name: nobl9-agent-nobl9-dev-appd-agent-test
            # The N9_METRICS_PORT is a variable specifying the port to which the /metrics and /health endpoints are exposed.
            # The 9090 is the default value and can be changed.
            # If you don’t want the metrics to be exposed, comment out or delete the N9_METRICS_PORT variable.
            - name: N9_METRICS_PORT
              value: "9090"

Creating SLOs with AppDynamics​

Creating SLOs in the UI​

Follow the instructions below to create your SLOs with AppDynamics in the UI:

  1. Navigate to Service Level Objectives.

  2. Click .
    The SLO wizard opens.

  3. In step 1, select the Service the SLO will be associated with.

  4. In step 2, select AppDynamics as the data source for your SLO.

    1. Enter the Application Name.

      • The Application Name refers to the name of the logical business application defined in AppDynamics.
      • To ingest Database Metrics, you must enter Database Monitoring in the Application Name field.

    2. Then specify the Metric. You can choose either:

      • A Threshold Metric where a single time series is evaluated against a threshold
      • A Ratio Metric that allows you to enter two-time series to compare. You can choose one of the following metric types:
        • Good Counter, meaning a ratio of good requests and total requests
        • Bad Counter, meaning a ratio of bad requests and total requests
      1. Choose the Data Count Method for your ratio metric:
      • Non-incremental: counts incoming metric values one-by-one. So the resulting SLO graph is pike-shaped.
      • Incremental: counts the incoming metric values incrementally, adding every next value to previous values. It results in a constantly increasing SLO graph.

  5. Configure the metrics for your SLO. The following are query examples:

    1. Threshold metric for AppDynamics:
      Metric Path: End User Experience|App|End User Response Time 95th percentile (ms)

    2. Ratio metric for AppDynamics:
      Metric Path for Good Counter (numerator): End User Experience|App|Very Slow Requests
      Metric Path for Bad Counter (numerator): End User Experience|App|Slow Requests
      Metric Path for Total Counter (denominator): End User Experience|App|Normal Requests

  6. In step 3, define a Time Window for the SLO.

    1. Rolling: a sliding time frame with live data
    2. Calendar-Aligned: a constant time slot based on Duration, Start Time, and Time Zone

  7. In step 4, specify the Error Budget Calculation Method and the expected Objective(s).

  8. In step 5, set the SLO Name and the Alert Policy for your SLO. Optionally, you can mark your SLO with Labels.

  9. When you’re done, click CREATE SLO.

SLOs using AppDynamics - YAML samples​

Here’s an example of AppDynamics using a rawMetric (threshold metric)

apiVersion: n9/v1alpha
kind: SLO
metadata:
  name: appdynamics-end-user-response-calendar
  displayName: AppDynamics MyService End User Response Calendar
  project: appdynamics-raw
spec:
  description: 95th percentile of End User Response 1 Week Calendar
  service: appdynamics-myservice-service
  indicator:
    metricSource:
      name: appdynamics-agent
  timeWindows:
    - unit: Day
      count: 7
      calendar:
        startTime: 2020-03-09 00:00:00
        timeZone: Europe/Warsaw
  budgetingMethod: Occurrences
  objectives:
    - displayName: Acceptable
      op: lte
      rawMetric:
        query:
          appDynamics:
            applicationName: "myapp"
            metricPath: "End User Experience|App|End User Response Time 95th percentile (ms)"
      value: 10000
      target: 0.75

Important notes:

Metric specification from AppDynamics has two mandatory fields:

  • applicationName – mandatory, string, Application name, meaning the name of the logical business application defined in AppDynamics.

    • To ingest Database Metrics, you must enter Database Monitoring in the Application Name field.

    For more details, refer to Configuring Agents in Kubernetes | AppDynamics documentation.

    On top of the same validation rules for appDynamics sections as for the rawMetric (threshold metric), there is an additional requirement that all applicationName fields must have the same value within a single SLO.

  • metricPath – mandatory, string, full metric path that can be obtained from AppDynamics Controller UI (dashboard).

    metricPath must refer to a single time series.

    Example: "End User Experience|App|End User Response Time 95th percentile (ms)"

    The list of metrics Full Path and their Application Names can be copied directly from the AppDynamics dashboard.

Querying the AppDynamics server​

The Nobl9 agent leverages the Time Range API parameters. It pulls data at a per-minute interval from the AppDynamics server.

Wildcards | AppDynamics documentation

Configuring Agents in Kubernetes | AppDynamics documentation

Configure Resource URL Segments | AppDynamics documentation

AppDynamics Concepts | AppDynamics documentation

Metric and Snapshot API | AppDynamics documentation

Agent metrics

Creating SLOs via Terraform

Creating agents via Terraform

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