Cisco AppDynamics Modernizes Self-Hosted Observability

[Ryan.Paredez]

Cisco AppDynamics modernizes self-hosted observability with a new virtual appliance that unlocks new AI-powered intelligence for anomaly detection and root cause analysis, application security, SAP solution monitoring, and AppDynamics Flex licensing. IT Operations teams can now detect anomalies faster and with greater accuracy, protect against security vulnerabilities and attacks, and maintain the performance of SAP applications and business processes. 

You deploy this self-hosted solution as an OVA as a virtual appliance on vSphere – other platform support coming right around the corner, such as VHD, AMI, and KVM! 

This means:  

• Simplifies deployments – everything you need is packaged neatly together in one downloadable OVA streamlining deployments. 
• Reduces compatibility challenges – the different service visions, i.e. Enterprise Console, Controller, EUM, and Events Service, are maintained during installation and upgrades, reducing concerns about compatibility so reducing the strain on maintenance.  
• Offers consistency across different computing environments – leveraging existing infrastructure ensures operations teams are already familiar with deployment and maintenance scenarios.  

This means streamlined deployments with less complexity! 

Many large corporations are not ready to, or are unable to, adopt cloud native solutions. But, when it comes to supporting those who are using self-hosted solutions, including those who have private clouds, namely those in the financial industry looking to protect sensitive information, healthcare concerned about sensitive electronic medical records, or those in the public sector with data residency requirements,  there still is a need for modern tools, such as those that leverage AI-powered intelligence and focus on areas of security. 

Modern services are needed regardless of deployment type! 

What are these new exciting modern services?

Cognition Engine which uses machine learning and AI-powered intelligence to establish dynamic baselines to understand what “normal” application performance looks like so alerts are more precise with anomaly detection driving faster root cause analysis.   

Speeding root cause analysis with issue suggestions

Cisco Secure Application which reduces the risk of security exposure without compromising delivery speed for application performance monitoring (APM)-managed applications by detecting security threats and providing guidance on remediation based on business priorities and risk exposure.  

Identify security threats for business transactions

 What other features are important to note with this release?  

Monitor SAP solutions better enable IT operations teams to build resiliency into SAP landscapes that span SAP and non-SAP environments, in key areas such as service availability, process dashboards, ABAP code-level visibility, and SAP related security areas. The AI-powered intelligence improves analyzing the Java stack (SAP Portal, SAM MI). 

Cisco AppDynamics Flex Licensing is also new, enabling on-premises customers with the ability to seamlessly shift licenses for use with commercial SaaS features for broader full-stack observability capabilities while also providing faster access to APM features through automated controller updates. Flex Licensing is meant to offer flexibility to those looking to transition some of their services to SaaS while reducing the burden of having to maintain components without incurring additional costs.  

What if I already have an existing On-Premises deployment? 

We considered those who need a new deployment and those who are already using on-premises services. The good news is that the deployment is the same. For those using an existing on-premises controller, the existing agents that are sending their data just need the target controller changed to the new one. The new virtual appliance deployment will communicate with the existing deployment, thus providing additional modern services while retaining existing APM correlation. Pretty slick!  

Regardless of net new, or integrating with an existing on-prem deployment, the pre-requisites are: 

• Three virtual machines ranging from small: 16vCPU/64GB RAM/500GB disk to medium: 32vCPU/ 128GB RAM/ 3TB disk. 
• Controller version 24.2.2 (for existing controller compatibility) 
• VMware vSphere Client 7.x or higher (other hosts are on the roadmap and will be coming soon – check the documentation for the latest) 

The high-level steps for deployment are: 

1. Download the OVA from the AppDynamics download portal. 
2. Deploy the three VMs using the downloaded OVA in vSphere Client (you will need to input host names, host IP, DNS, and gateway addresses, and an optional domain name). 
3. Create a Kubernetes (MicroK8s) cluster of those three VMs. 
4. Install the infrastructure and application services (a simple appdcli start command) supporting HA mode (high availability). 
5. Verify service health with another simple appdcli command. 

The detailed steps are found in our documentation: https://docs.appdynamics.com/appd/onprem/24.x/24.4/en/cisco-appdynamics-self-hosted-virtual-applianc... 

We are bringing faster time to value by offering a better on-boarding experience that offers modern tools and security services. 

Please read the following blog or attend the May 29th webinar for more details and reach out to your sales team for more information.  

 Additional Resources

• Blog: Cisco AppDynamics modernizes Self-Hosted Observability for hybrid application monitoring 
• Upcoming webinar: Cisco Unlocks AI-Powered Intelligence for Self-Hosted Observability
• AppDynamics Documentation: https://docs.appdynamics.com/appd/onprem/24.x/24.4/en/cisco-appdynamics-self-hosted-virtual-applianc...