Create a WebART Check

Procedure

Creating a web application response time (WebART) check requires configuration of several distinct parts:

1. The base check (this part also controls the creation and management of the passive availability service check that monitors availability of the application).
2. A set of synthetic check steps used to follow a typical user path through the application (this part allows Netreo to collect performance information on the application).
3. (Optional) Any desired threshold checks to monitor the response performance of the application (this part allows Netreo to warn about performance issues).

To create a new WebART check in Netreo, follow the steps below.

Create the base check

1. Log in to Netreo as a user with the SuperAdmin access level.
2. Go to the main menu and select Administration > Modules > Web Apps to open the Web Application Administration page.
3. Select Create Web Application.
4. On the Add an Application page:
   1. In the Name  field enter a name for your WebART check to identify it in the various dashboards.
      • Note: The single quote/apostrophe character is not supported in this field and may not be used.
   2. (Optional) In the Related Business Workflows field select one or more business workflows to have their status displayed on the Application Performance dashboard for this check (as an aid to troubleshooting).
   3. In the Location  field select a location from which this check will be run.
      • Local checks will be run from the Netreo server location.
      • Non-local checks will be run from the selected Netreo cloud remote reflector. This is useful to test accessibility from different regions.
        • Note: You must have Netreo Cloud Services (Administration > System > Cloud Services) active to select a remote reflector.
        • Caution: As a general rule, do not test public websites from remote reflectors—this can conceivably cause problems.
   4. In the Web Application Type  field select how you would like your WebART check categorized in Netreo dashboards alongside other WebART checks.
      • This setting is merely for organizational convenience and can be edited at any time. It does not affect how the check works or any of the check options.
   5. Select Create.
5. The [Application] - Edit page for your new WebART check opens, showing the base WebART check with an APPLICATION status of PENDING.
   • The base check creates and manages the passive availability service check used to monitor the application for availability.
   • At least one synthetic check step must now be added (see below) and the WebART check run once before its status becomes ACTIVE (meaning it is now monitoring your application).

Continue to the next section to configure the settings that manage the availability service check.

Configure the default threshold check and availability service check settings

The base check creates and manages the passive availability service check used for availability monitoring of the application. It also includes a default threshold check for monitoring the total load time performance of the application. Configure the settings for the availability service check, as well as for the default threshold check, using the steps below.

1. Log in to Netreo as a user with the SuperAdmin access level.
2. Go to the main menu and select Administration > Modules > Web Apps to open the Web Application Administration page.
3. Locate the WebART check you wish to edit and select its edit icon in the ACTIONS column to open the [Application] - Edit page.
4. Locate the base check and select its edit icon in the ACTIONS column to open the [Application] - Update page.
5. In the "Default Threshold" section:
   1. In the ACTION GROUP field select the action group(s) to receive alert notifications  before escalation.
   2. In the ESCALATION GROUP field select the action group(s) to receive alert notifications after escalation.
   3. In the RENOTIFICATION INTERVAL  field enter the number of minutes for Netreo to wait before sending another alert notification if the incident  is not acknowledged by a user.
      • The default value of 1440 minutes (24 hours) is recommended to minimize alert noise.
      • Setting a value of 0 (zero) will disable renotifications.
   4. In the ESCALATE AT field enter the number of alert notifications after the first for Netreo to wait before sending alert notifications to the action groups in the ESCALATION GROUP field, as well as to the groups in the ACTION GROUP field.
      • The default value of 1 means that a total of 2 alerts must be sent before escalation groups start receiving them.
   5. In the STATISTICAL GROUP field select the type that has the greatest relevance to the check. This field determines which statistical calculations this check contributes to for reports.
   6. (Optional) If you would like to configure static threshold monitoring:
      1. In the HIGH warning field (yellow) enter the exact value at which the check should enter the WARNING state for high values.
         • Next to the value type, select the multiplier prefix.
      2. In the HIGH critical field (red) enter the exact value at which the check should enter the CRITICAL state for high values.
         • Next to the value type, select the multiplier prefix.
      3. In the LOW warning field (yellow) enter the exact value at which the check should enter the WARNING state for low values.
         • Next to the value type, select the multiplier prefix.
      4. In the LOW critical field (red) enter the exact value at which the check should enter the CRITICAL state for low values.
         • Next to the value type, select the multiplier prefix.
      5. Repeat these steps for each variable if two variables are present.
   7. In the TIME PERIOD field select the time period over which data values will be sampled for the calculated average.
   8. (Optional) If you would like to configure anomaly detection:
      1. In the Boundary field select whether to check for upper boundary anomalies, lower boundary anomalies or both.
      2. In the Sensitivity warning field (yellow) select the desired sensitivity. (This should always be at least one setting higher than the critical sensitivity field, so that the warning state occurs first.)
      3. In the Sensitivity critical field (red) select the desired sensitivity. (This should always be at least one setting lower than the warning sensitivity field, so that the warning state occurs first.)
      4. In the Season field select the desired season for the data samples.
      5. Repeat these steps for each variable if two variables are present.
      6. (Optional) In the Min Value field set the minimum value that a polled value must be to qualify for anomaly detection.
         • The value entered in this field should be specified in the same base unit displayed in the static threshold configuration, without the prefix (for example: bytes, not megabytes; seconds, not milliseconds). Note: For bandwidth monitoring (only), the value must be specified in bits per second, and not as a percentage.
6. In the "Custom Application Check" section:
   1. In the DESCRIPTION field enter a description for the WebART check. This field is referenced in the alert notification sent when the check fails.
   2. In the ACTION GROUP field select the action group(s) to receive alert notifications when the check enters the CRITICAL state, and at each renotification interval.
   3. In the ESCALATION GROUP field select the action group(s) to receive alert notifications at each renotification interval after escalation.
   4. In the RENOTIFICATION INTERVAL  field enter the number of minutes for Netreo to wait before sending another alert notification if the incident  is not acknowledged by a user.
      • The default value of 1440 minutes (24 hours) is recommended to minimize alert noise.
      • Setting a value of 0 (zero) will disable renotifications (meaning alerts are sent only once).
   5. In the ESCALATION DELAY field enter the number of alert notifications after the first for Netreo to wait before sending alert notifications to the action groups in the ESCALATION GROUP field as well as to the groups in the ACTION GROUP field.
      • The default value of 1 means that a total of 2 alerts must be sent before escalation groups start receiving them.
   6. In the ALARM HOURS field select a time frame during which alerts may be sent.
   7. In the ALERT AFTER field select the number of failures the check is allowed to experience before sending an alert notification (default is 3).
   8. In the NOTES field enter any notes that you would like included in an alert notification about this check.
7. Select Update to save your settings and be returned to the [Application] - Edit page for the WebART check.
8. Proceed to add a synthetic check to the WebART check (see below).
   • One or more synthetic check steps must be added to your WebART check for it to function (see next section).

Availability and performance monitoring won't work until at least one synthetic check that connects to your application has been added (see below).

See Threshold Check to learn about threshold checks and their uses.

See Service Check to learn about service checks and their uses.

Add synthetic checks

Every WebART check must include at least one synthetic check step that accesses your application. This allows Netreo to collect response performance statistics for that application. These performance values may then be monitored using threshold checks (see below). Successfully connecting to your application is also how the WebART check's passive availability service check gets updated.

1. Log in to Netreo as a user with the SuperAdmin access level.
2. Go to the main menu and select Administration > Modules > Web Apps to open the Web Application Administration page.
3. Locate the WebART check you wish to edit and select its edit icon in the ACTIONS column to open the [Application] - Edit page.
4. In the "Synthetic Checks" section select Add Custom Web Check  to begin the synthetic check wizard.
   1. On the Step 1 page:
      1. Enter a name or descriptive term for this step (such as "Login") in the "Description" field, then enter the URL to be retrieved.
      2. Select Next.
         • If the provided URL includes any forms that can be interacted with, Netreo will evaluate them and allow you to select the form tag that you wish to interact with (for example, a login field), if required.
   2. On the Step 2 page (if forms were detected):
      1. (Optional) Select the form tag you wish to use. If you don't wish to interact with a form, leave the selection blank.
      2. Select Next.
   3. On the Step 3 page (if you selected a form tag):
      1. For each variable in the form that can have a value submitted, select from the following three options (variable names are determined by the form itself):
         • Leave blank - This option will leave the variable value empty.
         • Use provided value - This option allows you to enter a value in the field to the right.
         • Use form default value - This option submits the form default value for the respective variable, if one exists.
      2. Once all variables have been addressed, in the "Click or Submit" field, select from the following two options:
         • Click - This option emulates clicking the submit button of the form (this is typically the option you should choose).
         • Submit - This option is provided for backwards compatibility, and submits the form to a URL provided by the form itself. Unless you know that you need this option, you should probably select "Click."
      3. Click Next.
   4. On the Step 4 page:
      • Select a validation option from the following three options (once the form is submitted, these options search the resulting returned page for a specific string of text to validate that the form was submitted correctly):
        • Match text entry using a regular expression - Allows you to use a regular expression to define the search pattern for validating that the correct webpage has been reached.
        • Match text entry exactly - Allows you to enter text that must be matched exactly for validating that the correct webpage has been reached.
        • Match element using an XPath expression - Allows you to use an XPath expression to define the search pattern for validating that the correct webpage has been reached.
   5. Enter the text string or expression to be evaluated in the field provided.
   6. If you have no further steps to add, click Finish to be returned to the [Application] - Edit page of your WebART check and skip the next step.
5. (Optional) Continue building the path your WebART check will take through your application by selecting Add Subsequent Step for each step required. Each step in a WebART check can also have a threshold check added to it to send alert notifications of performance problems.
   • When supplying a URL for subsequent steps, select from the following two options:
     • Text of link - This option looks specifically for hyperlinks in the supplied URL that contain exactly the text as supplied. The supplied text must be the full text of the hyperlink, no partial text is allowed. (Note: this is not the full tag for a link, only the text of the hyperlink as visible on the page.)
     • Exact URL - This option allows you to specify a complete URL address.
6. Select Test Check at the bottom of the [Application] - Edit page to test that all steps in your path are working correctly.
   • Testing your WebART check this way will execute the synthetic check steps in real-time and return the results back to Netreo, letting you know immediately whether or not your check works correctly.

The base check should now display an APPLICATION status of ACTIVE.