AppDynamics and Microservices

[Erin]

Contents:

• What are microservices?
• How to use microservices with AppDynamics?
• Helpful links
• Monitoring Apps in Docker
• Monitoring Apps in Kubernetes
• Monitoring Apps in AWS
• DevOps
• Monitoring Cloud Applications

 

What are microservices?

Microservice Architecture, or simply microservices, describes an architecture or design pattern for software applications made up of loosely coupled services which implement business capabilities. Common characteristics include automated deployment and decentralized control of languages and data.

Many people use Docker or other container technologies for rapid development and testing of services, which makes them enablers of a microservice architecture due to the ability to run only the one thing the container is designed to do (unlike Virtual Machines).

How to use microservices with AppDynamics

As of version 4.3.3, AppDynamics began utilizing an updated Microservices iQ feature which automatically detects the service endpoints of the microservices architecture and allows them to be viewed in the context of distributed business transactions.

This allows users to understand microservice life cycles and ensure data continuity despite the intermittent presence of the underlying application infrastructure. They can check the availability of microservices within a network, as well as the availability of 3rd-party services. This provides the essential next level of performance diagnostics for microservices, ensuring that a particular service is not a bottleneck blocking business transactions.

Helpful Links 

• Getting Started with Containers and Microservices by Matt Chotin

• Microservices Sprawl: How Not to be Overrun by Saba Anees

• 4 Challenges You Need to Address with Microservices Adoption by Saba Anees

• The AppD Approach: Deployment Options for .NET Microservices Agent by Josh Lyons

• Updates to Microservices iQ: Gain Deeper Visibility into Docker Containers and Microservices by Mark Prichard

 

Monitoring Apps in Docker

• Documentation: Monitoring Docker Containers

• Fully automated Docker monitoring

• GitHub: Docker Machine Agent
• Docker Store Images
• How to Use AppDynamics Docker Store Images

Monitoring Apps in Kubernetes

• Documentation: Monitoring Kubernetes Apps in the Cloud
• Intro to GKE, AKS, EKS Webinar
• Monitoring K8's Microservices Applications
• Monitoring K8's Events

Monitoring Apps in Amazon Web Services

• Expanding Amazon Web Services Monitoring with AppDynamics by Anand Akela

• The Role of APM in Continuous Integration and Continuous Release by Jonah Kowall

DevOps

• The State of DevOps at the Start of 2017 by Reanna Miranda

• Instructor-led course: DevOps with AppDynamics
  • See your Account Manager for pricing and subscriptions

Monitoring Cloud Applications

• Documentation: AppDynamics Cloud Monitoring

Published on 8/31/2017

Updated on 10/2/18 for versions 4.4+

[shubham.kumar03]

Can you please explain in general terms , What was a difference in previous versions , i.e. when Microservices IQ wasn't introduced , If at that time each of my containers are on different apache servers , Still those were visible to me as indepemdamnt nodes 

[Radhika.Puthiyetath]

Hi @shubham.kumar03

What I understand from your question is that you have containers running on different servers and you want to monitor the application nodes running inside the container.

First of all container monitoring requires a Server Visibility license version 4.3.3 or higher of both the Controller and the *Standalone Machine Agent. It will not work on any previous versions.

You need to do the following on each container running, as clearly explained in the Docker Visibility documentation:

• Install one *Standalone Machine Agent in a standalone container.
• Install an APM Agent inside each container you want to monitor. 

The Standalone Machine Agent collects hardware metrics for each monitored container, as well as Machine and Server metrics for the host, and forwards the metrics to the Controller.

Hope it answers your question.

__________________

*In 2020, the term "Standalone Machine Agent" has been discontinued in favor of simply "Machine Agent.

C. Landivar, Community Manager & Editor