Custom Metrics in AppDynamics

Introduction

Custom metrics in AppDynamics allow users to track specific performance indicators that are unique to their applications. This tutorial will guide you through the process of creating and using custom metrics to gain deeper insights into your application's behavior and performance.

What are Custom Metrics?

Custom metrics are user-defined performance indicators that you can monitor in addition to the out-of-the-box metrics provided by AppDynamics. These metrics can be based on specific business logic, application behavior, or any other aspect of your system that you want to analyze.

Why Use Custom Metrics?

Using custom metrics allows you to:

• Monitor specific aspects of your application that are critical to business performance.
• Gain insights tailored to your application's unique requirements.
• Set up alerts and dashboards based on custom-defined thresholds.

Creating Custom Metrics

To create custom metrics in AppDynamics, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your AppDynamics account.
2. Navigate to the application for which you want to create custom metrics.
3. Go to the 'Metrics' tab, and select 'Custom Metrics'.
4. Click on 'Add Custom Metric'.
5. Fill in the required fields, such as the metric name, type, and aggregation method.
6. Define the conditions under which this metric should be collected.
7. Save your changes.

Example of Creating a Custom Metric

Suppose you want to track the number of successful user logins to your application. You can create a custom metric for this purpose.

Visualizing Custom Metrics

Once your custom metrics are created, you can visualize them on dashboards. This is how:

1. Go to the 'Dashboards' tab in AppDynamics.
2. Select 'Create New Dashboard'.
3. Choose the type of visualization (e.g., line graph, bar chart).
4. In the metric selection section, find and select your custom metric.
5. Configure any additional settings such as time range and display options.
6. Save your dashboard.

Your custom metric will now be displayed on the dashboard, providing real-time insights into user logins.

Setting Alerts for Custom Metrics

To ensure you are notified about critical changes in your custom metrics, you can set up alerts:

1. Navigate to the 'Alerts & Respond' section.
2. Select 'Create New Alert'.
3. Choose your custom metric from the list.
4. Define the conditions under which the alert should trigger (e.g., if logins exceed a threshold).
5. Specify notification options (email, SMS, etc.).
6. Save the alert configuration.

Conclusion

Custom metrics are a powerful way to enhance your monitoring capabilities in AppDynamics. By defining and tracking metrics that are specific to your application, you can gain valuable insights and respond more effectively to user needs. This tutorial provided an overview of how to create, visualize, and set alerts for custom metrics. Start implementing your custom metrics today to take full advantage of AppDynamics' monitoring capabilities!