Key concepts in Splunk Synthetic Monitoring đź”—
These key concepts help you get the most out of your experience with Splunk Synthetic Monitoring.
Concept |
Description |
|---|---|
Synthetic Monitoring |
A monitoring technique to test site or application performance by generating simulated user behavior from a variety of geographic locations, devices, and connection types and by measuring response times and other performance metrics. This level of monitoring lets you proactively measure how your webpages are performing without needing to rely on data generated by real users, so that you can identify and fix problems before they affect user experience or application revenue. |
Synthetics |
A common abbreviation for Synthetic Monitoring. |
Tests |
Tests are the primary mechanism of application monitoring in Splunk Synthetic Monitoring. You can set up Browser, Uptime, and API tests to run at your preferred frequency from the devices and public locations of your choosing. |
Runs |
Each occurrence of a test from a particular device and location at a specific time is called a run. Each run of a test captures a set of metrics and diagnostics that provide insight into your application’s performance. |
Metrics |
Numeric indicators of site performance that synthetic tests capture in each run of a test. See the following links for the lists of metrics available for each test type:
|
Browser tests |
Synthetic tests that simulate and analyze the user experience of loading a page or performing a workflow on a site or application. |
Uptime tests |
Synthetic tests that monitor the response time and response code of HTTP requests and server ports. |
API tests |
Synthetic tests that monitor the functionality and performance of API endpoints. |
Waterfall charts |
A visualization that represents the performance of resources on a webpage in a Browser test. |
Devices |
Options to configure the viewport and network connection type of your tests. For example, you can test a webpage from a laptop screen or a smartphone. |
Viewport |
Browser tests in Splunk Synthetic Monitoring capture the visual experience of a user interacting with your application. The viewport is the framed area on a device’s screen for viewing information, such as the browser window on a desktop. When you set up a test, you can choose the viewport size from a list of common devices, or set a custom viewport by height and width. |
Network connection |
You can run Browser, Uptime or API tests to simulate network connections of various latencies, including Mobile LTE, Mobile 3G, DSL, and cable internet. Testing your site from a variety of connection types lets you monitor the experience of users in a variety of settings. |
Public Locations |
Global checkpoints from which you can synthetically run tests to simulate performance for users in that location. |
Learn more đź”—
To learn more about Splunk Synthetic Monitoring, see the following topics: