Application performance management system with dynamic discovery and extension
An application performance management system is disclosed. Operational elements are dynamically discovered and extended when changes occur. Programmatic knowledge is captured. Particular instances of operational elements are recognized after changes have been made using a fingerprint/signature process. Metrics and metadata associated with a monitored operational element are sent in a compressed form to a backend for analysis. Metrics and metadata from multiple similar systems may be used to adjust/create expert rules to be used in the analysis of the state of an operational element. A 3-D user interface with both physical and logical representations may be used to display the results of the performance management system.
1. An apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to execute an application performance management (APM) system, including:
receive, from a target computing system, a request for an agent configured to monitor performance of an application running on the target computing system;
send executable code for the agent to the target computing system based on the request;
receive, from the agent installed at the target computing system, a request for a plurality of software sensors specific to a plurality of operational elements of the target computing system associated with the application;
send the plurality of software sensors for installation at the target computing system to monitor the plurality of operational elements;
periodically receive, from the agent, meta information from the plurality of software sensors;
perform analysis on the meta information to identify a problem with the application; and
display a suggested fix for the problem based on the analysis.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
a user interface including a display, wherein the suggested fix is displayed via the user interface; and
a communication interface configured to communicate with the agent once deployed within the target computing system.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
present the periodically received meta information in a time-ordered set; and
receive, via the user interface, user input to timeshift a state of the target computing system to a previous state based on the time-ordered set.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
a memory storing the executable code for the agent to be provided to requesting computing systems, wherein the executable code is configured to cause the target computing system to implement the agent to:
automatically identify the plurality of operational elements associated with the application running on the target computing system;
determine the plurality of software sensors specific to the plurality of operational elements; and
collect the meta information from the plurality of software sensors.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
send a command to the agent based on the problem identified with the application, wherein the command instructs the agent to set a parameter related to the application.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
send a command to the agent based on the problem identified with the application, wherein the command instructs the agent to:
collect further meta information from one of the plurality of software sensors; and
send the further meta information to the APM system for analysis.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
receive the further meta information from the agent;
analyze the further meta information to determine issues with the application running on the target computing system; and
send a second command to the agent instructing the agent to set a parameter related to the application.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the analysis comprises:
modeling, based on the meta information, a three dimensional rendering including representations for each of the plurality of operational elements and at least one host machine representation.
9. A method comprising:
executing, via a backend computer processor, an application performance management (APM) system, including:
receiving, from a target computing system, a request for an agent configured to monitor performance of an application running on the target computing system;
sending executable code for the agent to the target computing system based on the request;
receiving, from the agent installed at the target computing system, a request for a plurality of software sensors specific to a plurality of operational elements of the target computing system associated with the application;
sending the plurality of software sensors for installation at the target computing system to monitor the plurality of operational elements;
periodically receiving, from the agent, meta information from the plurality of software sensors;
performing analysis on the meta information to identify a problem with the application; and
displaying a suggested fix for the problem based on the analysis.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein executing the APM system further comprises:
presenting the periodically received meta information in a time-ordered set via a user interface of the backend computer; and
receiving, via the user interface, user input to timeshift a state of the target computing system to a previous state based on the time-ordered set.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein executing the APM system further comprises:
storing, in a memory of the backend computer, the executable code for the agent to be provided to requesting computing systems, wherein the executable code is configured to cause the target computing system to implement the agent to:
automatically identify the plurality of operational elements associated with the application running on the target computing system;
determine the plurality of software sensors specific to the plurality of operational elements; and
collect the meta information from the plurality of software sensors.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein executing the APM system further comprises sending a command to the agent based on the problem identified with the application, wherein the command instructs the agent to set a parameter related to the application.
13. The method of claim 9 , wherein executing the APM system further comprises:
sending a command to the agent based on the problem identified with the application, wherein the command instructs the agent to:
collect further meta information from one of the plurality of software sensors; and
send the further meta information to the APM system for analysis.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein executing the APM system further comprises:
receiving the further meta information from the agent;
analyzing the further meta information to determine issues with the application running on the target computing system; and
sending a second command to the agent instructing the agent to set a parameter related to the application.
15. The method of claim 9 , wherein executing the APM system further comprises:
modeling, based on the meta information, a three dimensional rendering including representations for each of the plurality of operational elements and at least one host machine representation.
16. A memory device storing instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform a method comprising:
executing an application performance management (APM) system, including:
receiving, from a target computing system, a request for an agent configured to monitor performance of an application running on the target computing system;
sending executable code for the agent to the target computing system based on the request;
receiving, from the agent installed at the target computing system, a request for a plurality of software sensors specific to a plurality of operational elements of the target computing system associated with the application;
sending the plurality of software sensors for installation at the target computing system to monitor the plurality of operational elements;
periodically receiving, from the agent, meta information from the plurality of software sensors;
performing analysis on the meta information to identify a problem with the application; and
displaying a suggested fix for the problem based on the analysis.
17. The memory device of claim 16 , wherein executing the APM system further comprises:
presenting the periodically received meta information in a time-ordered set via a user interface of the backend computer; and
receiving, via the user interface, user input to timeshift a state of the target computing system to a previous state based on the time-ordered set.
18. The memory device of claim 16 , wherein executing the APM system further comprises:
storing, in a memory of the backend computer, the executable code for the agent to be provided to requesting computing systems, wherein the executable code is configured to cause the target computing system to implement the agent to:
automatically identify the plurality of operational elements associated with the application running on the target computing system;
determine the plurality of software sensors specific to the plurality of operational elements; and
collect the meta information from the plurality of software sensors.
19. The memory device of claim 16 , wherein executing the APM system further comprises sending a command to the agent based on the problem identified with the application, wherein the command instructs the agent to set a parameter related to the application.
20. The memory device of claim 16 , wherein executing the APM system further comprises:
sending a command to the agent based on the problem identified with the application, wherein the command instructs the agent to:
collect further meta information from one of the plurality of software sensors; and
send the further meta information to the APM system for analysis.