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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.

AppDynamics parameters and supported features in Nobl9
General support:
Release channel: Stable, Beta
Connection method: Agent, Direct
Replay and SLI Analyzer: Historical data limit 30 days
Event logs: Supported
Query checker: Not supported
Query parameters retrieval: Supported
Timestamp cache persistence: Supported

Query parameters:
Query interval: 1 min
Query delay: 1 min
Jitter: 15 sec
Timeout: 30 sec

Agent details and minimum required versions for supported features:
Plugin name: n9appd
Query delay environment variable: APPD_QUERY_DELAY
Replay and SLI Analyzer: 0.68.0
Query parameters retrieval: 0.73.2
Timestamp cache persistence: 0.65.0

Additional notes:
No support for metric paths with Wild Cards
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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. The agent and direct configurations for AppDynamics require the following credentials:

  • Controller URL refers to your required AppDynamics controller.
  • Client Name refers to the AppDynamics credential set required to ensure connection between Nobl9 and AppDynamics.
  • Account Name refers to your AppDynamics user account name.
  • Client Secret.

Read more about AppDynamics Concepts.

Adding AppDynamics as a data source

You can add the AppDynamics data source using the direct or agent connection methods.

Direct connection method

Direct connection to AppDynamics requires users to enter their credentials which Nobl9 stores safely.

Nobl9 Web

To set up this type of connection:

  1. Navigate to Integrations > Sources.
  2. Click .
  3. Click the required Source button.
  4. Choose Direct.
  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 can change.
  2. Provide authentication details for your AppDynamics resource:
    • Controller URL
    • Client Name
    • Account Name
    • Client Secret
  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, Nobl9 uses the default project.
  2. Enter a Display Name.
    You can enter a user-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-1). Nobl9 duplicates the display name here, transforming it into the supported format, 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.
    • The default value in AppDynamics integration for Query delay is 1 minute.
    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 when replaying your SLO based on this data source.
    • The maximum period value depends on the data source.
      Find the maximum value for your data source.
    • 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.

sloctl

  1. Create a YAML definition to set up a direct connection with AppDynamics. For this, refer to the following example:
YAML definition for the direct connection method
apiVersion: n9/v1alpha
kind: Direct
metadata:
name: app-dynamics
displayName: AppDynamics Direct
project: default
spec:
description: Example AppDynamics Direct
releaseChannel: stable
appDynamics:
url: https://my-org.saas.appdynamics.com
clientID: ""
clientName: prod-direct
accountName: my-account
clientSecret: "[secret]"
historicalDataRetrieval:
maxDuration:
value: 30
unit: Day
defaultDuration:
value: 15
unit: Day
queryDelay:
value: 2
unit: Minute
FieldTypeDescription
queryDelay.unit
mandatory
enumSpecifies the unit for the query delay. Possible values: Second | Minute.
• Check query delay documentation for default unit of query delay for each source.
queryDelay.value
mandatory
numericSpecifies the value for the query delay.
• Must be a number less than 1440 minutes (24 hours).
• Check query delay documentation for default unit of query delay for each source.
logCollectionEnabled
optional
booleanOptional. Defaults to false. Set to true if you'd like your direct to collect event logs. Contact us to activate it.
releaseChannel
mandatory
enumSpecifies the release channel. Accepted values: beta | stable.
Source-specific fields
appDynamics.url
mandatory
stringBase URL to your required AppDynamics Controller. For more details, check AppDynamics Concepts.
appDynamics.clientName
mandatory
stringSee authentication section above for more details.
appDynamics.accountName
mandatory
stringSee authentication section above for more details.
appDynamics.clientSecret
mandatory
stringSee authentication section above for more details.
Replay-related fields
historicalDataRetrieval
optional
n/aOptional structure related to configuration related to Replay.
❗ Use only with supported sources.
• If omitted, Nobl9 uses the default values of value: 0 and unit: Day for maxDuration and defaultDuration.
maxDuration.value
optional
numericSpecifies the maximum duration for historical data retrieval. Must be integer ≥ 0. See Replay documentation for values of max duration per data source.
maxDuration.unit
optional
enumSpecifies the unit for the maximum duration of historical data retrieval. Accepted values: Minute | Hour | Day.
defaultDuration.value
optional
numericSpecifies the default duration for historical data retrieval. Must be integer ≥ 0 and maxDuration.
defaultDuration.unit
optional
enumSpecifies the unit for the default duration of historical data retrieval. Accepted values: Minute | Hour | Day.
  1. Apply your YAML definition using the sloctl apply command.

Agent connection method

Nobl9 Web

Follow the instructions below to create your AppDynamics agent connection.

  1. Navigate to Integrations > Sources.
  2. Click .
  3. Click the required Source button.
  4. Choose Agent.
  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 can change.
  2. Enter the Controller URL.

  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, Nobl9 uses the default project.
  2. Enter a Display Name.
    You can enter a user-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-1). Nobl9 duplicates the display name here, transforming it into the supported format, 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.
    • The default value in AppDynamics integration for Query delay is 1 minute.
    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 when replaying your SLO based on this data source.
    • The maximum period value depends on the data source.
      Find the maximum value for your data source.
    • 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.
  9. Deploy your agent in a Kubernetes cluster or Docker container.

sloctl

  1. Create a YAML definition to set up an agent connection with AppDynamics. For this, refer to the following example:
YAML definition for the agent connection method
apiVersion: n9/v1alpha
kind: Agent
metadata:
name: app-dynamics
displayName: AppDynamics Agent
project: default
spec:
description: Example AppDynamics Agent
releaseChannel: stable
appDynamics:
url: https://my-org.saas.appdynamics.com
historicalDataRetrieval:
maxDuration:
value: 30
unit: Day
defaultDuration:
value: 15
unit: Day
queryDelay:
value: 2
unit: Minute
FieldTypeDescription
queryDelay.unit
mandatory
enumSpecifies the unit for the query delay. Possible values: Second | Minute.
• Check query delay documentation for default unit of query delay for each source.
queryDelay.value
mandatory
numericSpecifies the value for the query delay.
• Must be a number less than 1440 minutes (24 hours).
• Check query delay documentation for default unit of query delay for each source.
releaseChannel
mandatory
enumSpecifies the release channel. Accepted values: beta | stable.
Source-specific fields
appDynamics.url
mandatory
stringBase URL to an AppDynamics Controller. For more details, check AppDynamics Concepts.
Replay-related fields
historicalDataRetrieval
optional
n/aOptional structure related to configuration related to Replay.
❗ Use only with supported sources.
• If omitted, Nobl9 uses the default values of value: 0 and unit: Day for maxDuration and defaultDuration.
maxDuration.value
optional
numericSpecifies the maximum duration for historical data retrieval. Must be integer ≥ 0. See Replay documentation for values of max duration per data source.
maxDuration.unit
optional
enumSpecifies the unit for the maximum duration of historical data retrieval. Accepted values: Minute | Hour | Day.
defaultDuration.value
optional
numericSpecifies the default duration for historical data retrieval. Must be integer ≥ 0 and maxDuration.
defaultDuration.unit
optional
enumSpecifies the unit for the default duration of historical data retrieval. Accepted values: Minute | Hour | Day.
  1. Apply your YAML definition using the sloctl apply command.
  2. Deploy your agent in a Kubernetes cluster or Docker container.
For a more in-depth look, consult additional resources: