In
software design
Software design is the process by which an agent creates a specification of a software artifact intended to accomplish goals, using a set of primitive components and subject to constraints. Software design may refer to either "all the activi ...
,
web design, and electronic
product design, synthetic monitoring (also known as ''active monitoring or proactive monitoring'') is a monitoring technique that is done by using a
simulation
A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of Conceptual model, models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or proc ...
or scripted recordings of transactions. Behavioral scripts (or paths) are created to simulate an action or path that a customer or end-user would take on a site, application, or other software (or even hardware). Those paths are then continuously monitored at specified intervals for performance, such as functionality,
availability, and
response time measures.
Synthetic monitoring enables a
webmaster or an
IT/Operations professional to identify problems and determine if a
website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and W ...
or
application
Application may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks
** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...
is slow or experiencing
downtime
The term downtime is used to refer to periods when a system is unavailable.
The unavailability is the proportion of a time-span that a system is unavailable or offline.
This is usually a result of the system failing to function because of an un ...
before that problem affects actual
end-users or customers. This type of monitoring does not require actual
traffic
Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...
, thus the name synthetic, so it enables companies to test applications 24x7, or test new applications prior to a live customer-facing launch.
Because synthetic monitoring is a simulation of typical user behavior or navigation through a website, it is often best used to monitor commonly trafficked paths and critical business processes. Synthetic tests must be scripted in advance, so it is not feasible to measure performance for every permutation of a navigational path an end-user might take. This is more suited for passive monitoring.
Synthetic testing is useful for measuring uptime, availability, and response time of critical pages and transactions (how a site performs from all geographies) but doesn't monitor or capture actual end-user interactions, see
Website monitoring.
Synthetic monitoring will report myriad metrics, and it's up to the a
webmaster or an
IT/Operations professional to identify which ones are most important. Common metrics from synthetic website monitoring includes Time to First Byte, Speed Index, Time to Interactive, and Page Complete.
See also
*
Application performance management
In the fields of information technology and systems management, application performance management (APM) is the monitoring and management of the performance and availability of software applications. APM strives to detect and diagnose complex app ...
*
Website monitoring
References
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Network management