Synthetic transaction monitoring is functionality that is integrated into App Visibility. You can use it to predict application health and user experience. Synthetic transaction monitoring enables you to manage the performance and reliability of your applications by executing complex business transactions and monitoring performance and functional behavior.
Synthetic transaction monitoring uses scripts that simulate actual user transactions on your applications. These scripts run at regular intervals defined by Execution Plans, to simulate real traffic and predict the performance of your applications.
This topic provides you with links to the information you need to leverage this functionality.
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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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 Operations Management 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 script is run on one Agent in a location. If several scripts are run on the same location, the scripts are distributed evenly across the location. Each TEA Agent is assigned to a location during Agent installation. |
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| 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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| | | logical group of TEA Agents, grouped for load balancing and high availability, and according to the needs of your organization. Each script is run on one Agent in a location. If several scripts are run on the same location, the scripts are distributed evenly across the location. |
| | | 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. |
| | | The software that is run by the script. This can include more than one actual application. |
| | | Parameters that are used by the script. |
| | | The series of steps that are run to test the application. An .ltz file can contain more than one script. Only the first script in the file is executed. |
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.
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.