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Integrating with AppDynamics

This section describes how to integrate WebLOAD with AppDynamics.

AppDynamics is an Application Performance Management (APM) solution that monitors, troubleshoots, and diagnoses problems in mission-critical applications.

By integrating WebLOAD scripts with AppDynamics you will be able to identify slow or problematic transactions of scripts run by WebLOAD test sessions. The integration consists of two tasks:

  1. In WebLOAD – Specifying that a WebLOAD script should add a line in all transaction headers which will identify them as WebLOAD transactions. Refer toConfiguring WebLOAD Scripts for AppDynamics .
  2. In AppDynamics – Configuring AppDynamics to enable it to read the headers. The additional line enables AppDynamics to identify the corresponding transactions as WebLOAD transactions. Refer to Configuring AppDynamics to Recognize WebLOAD.

Configuring WebLOAD Scripts for AppDynamics

To enable WebLOAD for AppDynamics:

  1. Add the line wlGlobals.AddWebLoadHeader=true in the JavaScript code of the script.

This causes WebLOAD to send extra data upon every request of the script. The extra data identifies the request as a WebLOAD request, lists the name of the currently running script, and lists the name of the corresponding transaction.

Configuring AppDynamics to Recognize WebLOAD Transactions

This section describes how to configure AppDynamics Lite and AppDynamics Pro to read WebLOAD transaction headers.

Configuring AppDynamics Lite to Recognize WebLOAD Transactions

To configure AppDynamics Lite to recognize WebLOAD transactions:

  1. In AppDynamics Lite, select Configure > Transaction Detection.

    Transaction Detection Tab

  2. In the Servlet transaction type:

    1. Check the option Enabled.
    2. Check the option Discover Transactions automatically for all Servlet requests, and name them by their URI.

  3. Click Configure Naming (adjacent to Discover Transactions automatically for all Servlet requests, and name them by their URI).

    The Servlet Transaction Naming Configuration window appears.

    Servlet Transaction Naming Configuration Window

  4. In the Servlet Transaction Naming Configuration window, specify the WebLOAD naming convention by performing the following:

    1. Select Use the full URI or Use a part of the URI.
    2. Select Name Transactions dynamically using part of the request.
    3. Select Use a header value in Transaction names.

  5. In the Header Name field, enter WebLOAD-TransactionName.

  6. Click Save.

When you run a WebLOAD test, AppDynamics displays the WebLOAD transactions in its Business Transactions list, as described in *Viewing WebLOAD Performance in AppDynamics.

Configuring AppDynamics Pro to Recognize WebLOAD Transactions

In AppDynamics Pro, in addition to configuring AppDynamics to recognize WebLOAD transactions, you can also configure AppDynamics to add a "WebLOAD- TransactionName" prefix to each transaction name.

To configure AppDynamics Pro to recognize WebLOAD transactions:

Note: As a prerequisite, you must first create an account in AppDynamics. In the example shown below, the account name is called WebLOADTest.

  1. In AppDynamics Pro, access the Applications menu and select the WebLOAD application.

    Applications Menu

  2. Select Configure > Instrumentation > Transaction Detection.

    Transaction Detection Page

  3. In the Transaction Detection page, select the WebLOAD node (called WebLOADTest in our example) and select Use Custom Configuration for this Tier.

    Transaction Detection – Use Custom Configuration

  4. In Custom Rules, click the green + (plus) icon.

    Selecting an Entry Point Type for a Rule

  5. In the Select the Entry Point Type for this Rule window that appears, select Servlet and click Next.

    A New Business Transaction Match Rule – Servlet window appears, for defining a new rule.

    Defining a New Business Transaction Match Rule for a Servlet

  6. Select the Transaction Match Criteria tab.

  7. In the Transaction Match Criteria tab:

    1. In URI, select Is Not Empty.
    2. In Header:
      • Select Check for parameter existence.
      • In Parameter Name, enter WebLOAD-TransactionName.
    3. Click Create Custom Match Rule.

  8. Select the new rule in the Custom Rules list.

    Selecting the WebLOAD Rule

  9. In the Business Transaction Match Rule window that appears, select the Split Transactions Using Request Data tab.

    Specifying a WebLOAD Prefix for WebLOAD Transaction Names

  10. In the Split Transactions Using Request Data tab:

    1. Check the option Split Transactions using request data.
    2. Select the option Use a header value in Transaction names and enter WebLOAD-TransactionName as the Header Name.

    When you run a WebLOAD test, AppDynamics displays the WebLOAD transactions in its Business Transactions list, as described in Viewing WebLOAD Performance in AppDynamics.

Viewing WebLOAD Performance in AppDynamics

After AppDynamics and WebLOAD are configured so AppDynamics can recognize WebLOAD transactions, running a load test in WebLOAD displays the corresponding business transactions in AppDynamics. You can view the WebLOAD transactions in AppDynamics to determine their health.

To view WebLOAD transactions in AppDynamics:

  • In AppDynamics, click Business Transactions to display the full list of top business transactions and their metrics.

The below image shows a load session execution in the WebLOAD Recorder, and the corresponding view in AppDynamics Lite.

Note that in AppDynamics Pro, the name of each WebLOAD application is prefaced with WebLOAD-TransactionName.

Viewing WebLOAD Transaction in AppDynamics

The external statistics are imported into the report.