Synthetic transaction monitoring is functionality that is integrated into App Visibility. You can use it to predict application health and user experience. BMC Synthetic End User Experience Monitoring enables you to manage the performance and reliability of your applications by executing complex business transactions and monitoring performance and functional behavior.
This topic provides you with links to all of the information you need to leverage this functionality.
Where to find more information
Basic concepts
Synthetic transaction monitoring works by running scripts that simulate user transactions. These scripts are run on agents that are installed on various locations to test the application's performance. The information is then collected and processed so you can see the results in App Visibility, and use this information to predict any problems that might occur.
Terminology
The following terms and concepts are important for understanding synthetic transaction monitoring:
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| Concept | Description |
|---|
Synthetic transaction scripts | A transaction script is a sequence of instructions that simulate user transactions. BMC Synthetic Transaction Monitoring uses prerecorded .ltz scripts to simulate end-user transactions, and BMC provides some basic scripts. You can create realistic and customizable scripts through an external scripting tool and then upload, deploy, and manage the scripts in the TrueSight console. The scripting tool, Borland Silk Performer Synthetic Transaction Monitoring for BMC Software, also serves as an execution module to run scripts on the computer with the BMC Synthetic Transaction Execution Adapter (TEA) Agent. Each computer with the TEA Agent requires an execution module to run the scripts. On each TEA Agent computer, you can install the full Silk Performer installation, a smaller execution-module-only installation, or TrueLog Explorer, which supports Silk Performer testing efforts with a framework from which you can customize test scripts and view execution log results. For details about working with synthetic transaction scripts, see Using scripts to simulate end-user transactions. |
| A location is a logical group of TEA Agents, grouped for load balancing and high availability, and according to the needs of your organization. Each Execution Plan is run on one Agent in a location. If several Execution Plans are run on the same location, the Execution Plans are distributed evenly across the location. Each TEA Agent is assigned to a location during Agent installation. |
Execution Plan | An Execution Plan provides the interface for a script and its execution. Through an Execution Plan, you specify the configuration for the script (including custom attributes), locations on which the script runs, run schedules, and blackout periods. An Execution Plan runs a single script. If the Silk Performer project contains more than one script, only the first script in the project runs. For details about working with Execution Plans, see Viewing an application's synthetic settings and Editing an application's synthetic settings. |
| An execution is the result of a single instance of a script run according to the parameters set in the associated Execution Plan. Each execution may contain one or more transactions. Executions are simulations of end-user processes, and are used to detect issues that might occur before the real end users encounter them. |
For users who have experience with previous BMC synthetic monitoring solutions such as BMC TM ART or BMC TrueSight, the following lists some of the changes in terminology:
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| TSOM 10.0 | TrueSight 2.6 | TM ART |
|---|
| Location | Agent Group | Location |
| Execution Plan | Execution Plan | Monitor |
| Application | Business Service | Project |
TEA Agents
The agents used for running synthetic transactions are called Transaction Execution Adapter Agents or TEA Agents. TEA Agents require that you install the Borland Silk Performer Synthetic Transaction Monitoring for BMC SDK first.
Using synthetic transaction monitoring
Synthetic transaction monitoring is a two-stage process:
- Define Execution Plans for your application—Select or write scripts; define their locations, frequency, and blackout periods.
- Monitor Executions—View and analyze the results of your synthetic executions.
See the Video for a brief demo of defining an Execution Plan and monitoring synthetic transactions.
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