This document discusses managing the performance of cloud-based applications. It notes that performance is critical for these applications as it directly impacts revenue. The complexity of cloud environments presents new challenges for performance monitoring with issues like scale, distributed resources, and user mobility. The document recommends taking a holistic approach that enforces service levels, performs proactive performance management, and optimizes resources continuously. It outlines various approaches for monitoring including synthetic monitoring, real user monitoring, deep-dive application monitoring, and combining end-user and transaction-level monitoring for end-to-end visibility.

1. Managing Applications
Performance of Cloud-based
applications
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2. Why performance to Cloud based application is critical
Most cloud based applications affect end-user
…So it directly impacts your revenue
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3. The Complication – Cloud is Different
Day 2, 3, 4…
…With new cloud complexity:
Traditional challenges remain:
o Incredible scale
o Varied infrastructures
o Local and public resources
o End-to-End application monitoring
o Highly movable workloads
o Multiple data sources
o Ongoing new/ retired services
o Security considerations
o End-user expectations + mobility
1. Service Level Enforcement
2. Proactive Service Performance Management
3. Continuous Resource Optimization
An integrated, holistic approach across all 3 requirements
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4. Complexity in Architecture
Is the application performing? IaaS
Can I complete my transaction?
Virtualized or Multiple Data Centers
Content Managed Services
Delivery (PaaS) / SaaS
Networks (CDN)
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5. Your GOAL: Meet the user’s ongoing expectations for service
quality
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6. The Challenges
Highly distributed systems No visibility
Many tiers – App, Cache, - Impacted users
- Actual errors on browser
Messaging,
- Offending component
NoSQL/Hadoop, RDB,
- The problematic VM or
MOM, server
No control over the - The problem in Java
physical hardware or app layer, Caching, or
when using SaaS Persistence tier
Network problems
Improperly tuned
application tier
The risk is very high as the time, effort and cost of diagnosing goes high
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7. Approaches for Managing Performance for Cloud-based
applications
End-user monitoring Applications Monitoring
- Synthetic user - Transactions and deep dive monitoring
- Real User Monitoring - App Infra monitoring
Logs
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8. Synthetic Monitoring
1) Transaction working?
2) Yes, try again in 5 minutes
Pros
- Consistent data for trending and availability
- Does not require real user traffic
- Can measure DNS and 3rd party content
Cons
- Only monitors a small part of the web site/application – many problems
missed
- Only monitors a fraction of time intervals – can miss sporadic problems
- Only represents a limited number of reference user locations
- Website/application changes can break scripts
- Additional transactions can generate overhead
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9. Real User Monitoring
Pros
- Monitor actual business processes
- SLAs based on real user experience, not limited scripts
- No need to set up and maintain scripts
- No need to set up dummy accounts
Cons
- Requires real user traffic
- Volume of collected data can be very large
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10. Real User Monitoring: Network Capture of user traffic
1) Span port or network Tap
2) Continuous capture
Pros
- Rich network-level data
- No overhead introduced
- Can see the majority of real user traffic
- Automatically detect applications
- Done by a Cloud-agent in the web server if network tapping is not available
Cons
- See traffic that reaches origin – miss 3rd party objects & cached pages
- Requires ability to capture/tap the traffic
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11. Real User Monitoring : Browser-based measurement (w/
JavaScript)
2) JavaScript execution 1) Instrument pages
3) Record measurements
Pros
- Most accurate measure of browser render time
- Includes 3rd-party content and frames in measurements
- Can measure cached content (ADN)
Cons
- Instrumentation of pages can be difficult
- JavaScript instrumentation can cause logic issues if not done correctly
- Only measures HTML, cannot measure certain types of objects (like pdf, or
images)
- Will not detect page errors
- No packet-level metrics
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12. Real User Monitoring :Client agent
1) Install agent
2) Record measurements
Pros
Accurate measurement of traffic at the mobile device
Can capture other device statistics (CPU, memory, etc)
May be able to capture mobile app performance
Cons
Requires installation of agent on client machine (intrusive)
Or requires instrumentation of the applications (need developer)
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13. Deep-dive Monitoring Applications
Install agent on app
server
Two approaches
• Server-centric
• User / Transaction based problem isolation
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14. Server Centric Monitoring
Monitor Application Server/JDBC/JMS resources
Monitor summarized end-point invocations
Use JVM diagnostic tools to find JVM issues
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15. Challenges in Server Centric Monitoring
Old generation products are not suitable for Cloud
- Do not work well in virtualized environment
Manual correlation of issues
- Challenging in dynamic/elastic environment
Difficult to identify impacted users and issues with
specific transaction
Difficult to identify problems are in actual tiers
- Network, CDN or external services
For PaaS: Depend upon your PaaS vendors for their
monitoring metrics
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16. Transaction-based approach
Identify top level transactions and monitor health of transactions and
monitors its health
Requires agent to be installed on the Application Server
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17. End-to-end APM – combining power of end-user monitoring
with deep-dive
From the data-center perspective
Service Level Enforcement
CDN DB Tier
App Tier
End to End Web Tier
End User Experience Mgmt Deep Diagnostics
From the end-user perspective
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18. End-to-End Performance with Real User / Transaction
Driven Diagnostic
AppVis Continuously
monitor end user
details transactions
Integrate your
transaction driven
deep-dive
monitoring tool with
real-user
monitoring
Complete visibility
to applications and
end-users
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19. DEMONSTRATION
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20. Summary
Cloud applications are more complex than traditional
applications
Diagnosing problems in application deployed in the
cloud could be challenging
You can use a User transaction based tool to identify
bottlenecks in your application
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21. Contact
Debu_panda@bmc.com
http://debupanda.sys-con.com
Twitter: @debupanda
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