Integrating with Dynatrace via API

Supported versions

BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations supports version 1.307 of Dynatrace for data collection.​​​​

Task 1: To plan for the connection

Review the following prerequisites to help you plan and configure a connection with Dynatrace.

Dynatrace prerequisites

• To access the Dynatrace APIs required for the integration, generate an API token with the following scopes. For more information, see Dynatrace API - Tokens and authentication.
  • API v2:
    • entities.read
    • events.read
    • extensions.read
    • logs.read
    • metrics.read
    • networkZones.read
    • problems.read
    • releases.read
    • securityProblems.read
    • slo.read
  • API v1:
    • DataExport

BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations prerequisites

• Depending on the location of the third-party product (SaaS, on-premises), choose one or more BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations deployment modes and review the corresponding port requirements. For information about various deployment modes and port requirements, see Deployment scenarios.
• Based on the deployment mode, use the BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations SaaS deployment or the BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations on-premises gateway or both. For more information about the gateway, see Deploying the BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations on-premises gateway.
• The on-premises gateway must be able to reach the third-party product on the required port (default is 443).

In the preceding list, third-party product refers to Dynatrace.

Task 2: To configure the connection with Dynatrace

1. Depending on the deployment mode, perform one of the following steps to access BMC Helix Intelligent
   Integrations:
   • BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations SaaS – Log on to BMC Helix Portal, and click Launch on BMC Helix
     Intelligent Integrations.
   • BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations on-premises gateway – Use the following URL to access BMC Helix
     Intelligent Integrations: https://<hostName>:<portNumber>/swpui
2. On the CONNECTORS  tab, click in the SOURCES panel .

3. Click the  

   Dynatrace

    tile.

4. Specify the following details for the source connection:

   1. Specify a unique instance name.

      Best practice
      We recommend that you specify the instance name in the following format: 

      <sourceType>_<sourceControllerServerName>{_<InstanceQualifier>}                    

      The instance qualifier helps you to distinguish the multiple instances configured from the same source server. For example, you can name your instances as Dynatrace_Host_PROD, Dynatrace_Host_TEST, and so on.

   2. Specify the Dynatrace host name and port number (default value is 443).

   3. Ensure that the HTTPS check box is selected to indicate that you plan to use an https connection to the Dynatrace host.

      Caution

      We recommend that you do not select the Allow Unsigned Certificate option in a production environment.  You might want to select this option to allow unsigned certificates in a test environment. See the Dynatrace  documentation to learn how to install SSL certificates.

   4. Specify the number of maximum concurrent REST API requests that should be executed during a collection schedule (d efault value is 5).
   5. Specify the time, in seconds, after which no attempt should be made to establish a connection (default value is 30).

   6. Specify a valid token id to access the API. Ensure that the token has the required permissions to access the API. For more information, see Dynatrace API - Tokens and authentication..

   7. (On-premises only) The Environment ID is similar to the Account ID. Leave this field blank for SaaS implementations.
   8. Click Proxy and specify if you want to configure a proxy server. If yes, specify the host name and port number (default value is 8888).
5. Click VALIDATE AND CREATE.
   The specified connection details are validated and the corresponding source connection is created in the Source Connection list.

6. Select the source connection that you created from the list if it is not selected already.

   Important

   The destination host connection is created and configured automatically for each tenant when the source connection is created.

7. Ensure that the options for the datatypes for which you want to collect data are selected.

8. Click a data type and specify the configuration parameters in the Collectors section as described in the following table:

   Parameter name	Description	Data type
   		Dynatrace Managed Alerts	Dynatrace Managed Metrics	Dynatrace Managed Topology
   Collection Schedule	Specify the data collection frequency by using one of the following methods: Constantly by specifying the schedule in minutes, hours, or day using the Duration option Default: 5 minutes Example: Collection Schedule is set to 5 mins. Current time is 00:30. If you run the collector just after 00:30, data is collected every 5 mins, first at 00:30 and next at 00:35, and so on.   Periodically by specifying the schedule through a cron expression using the Cron schedule option  A cron expression is a string consisting of five subexpressions (fields) that describe individual details of the schedule.  These fields, separated by blank spaces, can contain any of the allowed values with various combinations of the allowed characters for that field. Default: */5 * * * * (evaluates to 5 minutes) Format: Minutes Hours (24-hour format) Day of Month Month Day of Week Example: If you specify 10 15 3 7 * , data is collected at 15:10 hours every third day in the month of July. For more information about how this parameter affects data collection,  see Data collection schedule.	✅️	✅️	✅️
   Data Collection Window	Specify the historical time period (in minutes) from the current time for which the data should be collected from Dynatrace .  Default: 5 minutes Example: Collection Schedule is set to 5 mins.  Data Collection Window is set to 5 mins.  Current time is 00:30. If you run the collector just after 00:30, data is collected first at 00:30 for the interval, 00:25 - 00:30, and next at 00:35 for the interval, 00:30 - 00:35, and so on. For more information about this parameter, see Data collection window.	✅️	✅️	✅️
   Data Latency	Specify the time (in minutes) by which the data time window should be shifted back on the timeline.  This parameter is useful in delayed data availability situations. Default: 60 minutes Example: Collection Schedule is set to 5 mins.  Data Collection Window is set to 10 mins. Data Latency is set to 2 mins.  Current time is 00:30. If you run the collector just after 00:30, data is collected first at 00:30 for the interval, 00:18 - 00:28, and next at 00:35 for the interval, 00:23 - 00:33, and so on. For more information about this parameter, see Data latency.	✅️	✅️	✅️
   Impacts	Select one or more alert impact status from the list.	✅️	❌️	❌️
   Severities	Select one or more alert severities from the list.	✅️	❌️	❌️
   Statuses	Select the alert status from the list.	✅️	❌️	❌️
   Metric Categories	Select all or a subset of metric categories from the list. This list is updated automatically from Dynatrace.	❌️	✅️	❌️
   Application Tags and Applications	Use these lists to collect metrics for the applications having specific tags or all applications (default). These lists are updated automatically from Dynatrace. Do the following to collect metrics for the applications having tags: Select tags from the Application Tags list. Note: Tags are meant only for restricting the number of applications to be displayed in the Applications list. Metrics are collected based on the applications you select in the Applications list. Remove the All Applications option from the Application Tags list. The Applications list is populated with the applications that have the selected tags. Do one of the following: Select the applications one by one for which you want to collect metrics. Select the Select All option to display the applications having the selected tags and then, remove All Applications from the list. Else, the metrics for all the applications are collected.  Note: If you select All Applications, the tags you have selected from the Application Tags list are not considered and metrics for all the applications are collected. Do the following to collect metrics for all applications (default): Ensure that All Applications is selected in the Application Tags list. Ensure that All Applications is selected in the Applications list.	❌️	✅️	❌️
   Service Tags and Services	Use these lists to collect metrics for the services having specific tags or all services (default). These lists are updated automatically from Dynatrace. Do the following to collect metrics for the services having tags: Select tags from the Service Tags list. Note: Tags are meant only for restricting the number of services to be displayed in the Services list. Metrics are collected based on the services you select in the Services list. Remove the All Services option from the Service Tags list. The Services list is populated with the services that have the selected tags. Do one of the following: Select the services one by one for which you want to collect metrics. Select the Select All option to display the services having the selected tags and then, remove All Services from the list. Else, the metrics for all the services are collected.  Note: If you select All Services , the tags you have selected from the Service Tags list are not considered and metrics for all the services are collected. Do the following to collect metrics for all services (default): Ensure that All Services is selected in the Service Tags list. Ensure that All Services is selected in the Services list.	❌️	✅️	❌️
   Host Tags and Hosts	Use these lists to collect metrics for the hosts having specific tags or all hosts (default). These lists are updated automatically from Dynatrace . Do the following to collect metrics for the hosts having tags: Select tags from the Host Tags list. Note: Tags are meant only for restricting the number of hosts to be displayed in the Hosts list. Metrics are collected based on the hosts you select in the Hosts list. Remove the All Hosts option from the Host Tags list. The Host list is populated with the hosts that have the selected tags. Do one of the following: Select the hosts one by one for which you want to collect metrics. Select the Select All option to display the hosts having the selected tags and then, remove All Hosts from the list. Else, the metrics for all the hosts are collected.  Note: If you select All Hosts , the tags you have selected from the Host Tags list are not considered and metrics for all the hosts are collected. Do the following to collect metrics for all hosts (default): Ensure that All Hosts is selected in the Host Tags list. Ensure that All Hosts is selected in the Hosts list.	❌️	✅️	❌️
   Process Tags and Processes	Use these lists to collect metrics for the processes having specific tags or all processes (default). These lists are updated automatically from Dynatrace . Do the following to collect metrics for the processes having tags: Select tags from the Process Tags list. Note: Tags are meant only for restricting the number of processes to be displayed in the Processes list. Metrics are collected based on the processes you select in the Processes list. Remove the All Processes option from the Process  Tags list. The Processes list is populated with the processes that have the selected tags. Do one of the following: Select the processes one by one for which you want to collect metrics. Select the Select All option to display the processes having the selected tags and then, remove All Processes from the list. Else, the metrics for all the processes are collected.  Note: If you select All Processes , the tags you have selected from the Process Tags list are not considered and metrics for all the processes are collected. Do the following to collect metrics for all processes (default): Ensure that All Processes is selected in the Process Tags list. Ensure that All Processes is selected in the Processes list.	❌️	✅️	❌️
   Process Group Tags and Process Groups	Use these lists to collect metrics for the process groups having specific tags or all process groups (default). These lists are updated automatically from Dynatrace . Do the following to collect metrics for the process groups having tags: Select tags from the Process Group Tags list. Note: Tags are meant only for restricting the number of process groups to be displayed in the Process Groups list. Metrics are collected based on the process groups you select in the Process Groups list. Remove the All Process Groups option from the Process Group Tags list. The Process Groups list is populated with the process groups that have the selected tags. Do one of the following: Select the process groups one by one for which you want to collect metrics. Select the Select All option to display the process groups having the selected tags and then, remove All Process Groups from the list. Else, the metrics for all the process groups are collected.  Note: If you select All Process Groups , the tags you have selected from the Process Group Tags list are not considered and metrics for all the process groups are collected. Do the following to collect metrics for all process groups (default): Ensure that All Process Groups is selected in the Process Group Tags list. Ensure that All Process Groups is selected in the Process Groups list.	❌️	✅️	❌️
   V2 Metrics	Select all or a subset of V2 metrics from the list. If you don't select any metrics, data for all the V2 metrics is collected. This list is updated automatically from Dynatrace .	❌️	✅️	❌️
   Use V2 API	Select this option for compatibility with earlier versions of Dynatrace.	✅️	❌️	❌️
   Extract these entity types	Select one or more entity types from the list.	❌️	❌️	✅️

9. Click CREATE COLLECTORS to create the required collector streams for the selected data types.

10. Click a data type and specify the configuration parameters in the Distributors section as described in the following table:

    Parameter name	Description
    Max Batching Size	Specify the maximum number of data items to send in a single POST request to the destination API. The batch size depends on the destination’s ability to buffer the incoming data. Default: 250
    Max Batching Delay	Specify the maximum time (in seconds) to wait before building and processing a batch. Default: 3 seconds
    Base Retry Delay	Specify the initial time (in seconds) for which to wait before retrying to build and process a batch. The waiting time increases in the following sequence: n1, n2, n3, and so on, where n indicates the number of seconds. Default: 2 seconds Example: Base Retry Delay is set to 2 seconds. Retry is performed after 2, 4, 8, 16, ... seconds.
    Max Intra-Retry Delay	Specify the maximum limit for the base retry delay.  Default: 60 seconds Example: Max Intra-Retry Delay is set to 60 seconds. Base Retry Delay is set to 2 seconds. Retries are performed 2, 4, 8, 16, 32,... seconds later.
    Max Retry Duration	Specify the total time for retrying a delivery. For REST destinations, a delivery is a batch of data items in one POST request.  Default: 5 minutes Example: Max Retry Duration is set to 8 hours. Base Retry Delay is set to 2 seconds. Requests are sent for 2+4+8+16+32+64+132... until 8 hours in total duration is reached. After that, no subsequent attempts are made to retry the delivery. The assumption here is that if there is an outage or other issue with the destination tool, recovery should take less than the value of the Max Retry Duration parameter to be completed.
    Attributes To Be Dropped When Updating Events	Specify the event attributes that you do not want to be updated in BMC Helix Operations Managementwhen events are updated.  For example, if you do not want an event's severity, source address, source category, and subcategory to be updated in BMC Helix Operations Management , you need to specify those attributes in a comma-separated format: severity,source_address,source_category,source_subcategory . Important: You can obtain the event attribute names in BMC Helix Operations Management, by exporting any event data in JSON, BAROC, XML, or CSV format . The exported file contains all attributes of the event data, and from there you can identify the attributes to be dropped.

11. Click CREATE DISTRIBUTORS to create the required distributor streams for the selected data types.

12. Click one of the following buttons:

    • SAVE STREAM: Click this button if you want to edit the integration details before creating the instance. After you save the stream, the connector that you just created is listed in the SOURCES panel. Move the slider to the right to start the data stream.
    • SAVE AND START STREAM: Click this button if you want to save the integration details and start receiving data immediately.

    Important
    For a data stream, the Run Latency (max/avg), Items (Avg per Run), and Last Run Status columns on the Streams page might show the status as No Runs during the data collection process. After completion of the process, these columns are updated with an appropriate status.

    For more information about data streams, see Starting-or-stopping-data-streams .