Cisco 500-420 Cisco AppDynamics Associate Performance Analyst Exam Practice Test

When analyzing database performance in AppDynamics, the "Queries" tab within the database collector view is where a Performance Analyst should navigate to find slow queries. This tab presents a list of database queries executed by the application, highlighting those with long execution times, which are potential bottlenecks impacting application performance.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Database Monitoring: Details the database collector feature, including how to use the Queries tab to identify and analyze slow database queries.

The permission to enable snapshot archiving in AppDynamics typically falls under advanced operational capabilities, such as those categorized under "Agent Advanced Operation." This permission allows users to archive transaction snapshots for long-term storage and analysis, which is essential for historical performance analysis and auditing purposes.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Role-Based Access Control: Explains the different permissions and roles within AppDynamics, including those related to advanced agent operations and snapshot archiving.

A transaction snapshot in AppDynamics is a detailed report of a single execution of a business transaction. Its primary purpose is to analyze issues with a specific business transaction by providing a comprehensive view of the transaction's execution path, including timing, call graphs, and database queries. This allows performance analystsand developers to drill down into individual transactions to diagnose performance bottlenecks, errors, or anomalies.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Transaction Snapshots: Offers detailed guidance on how to capture and analyze transaction snapshots to troubleshoot and optimize application performance.

To view all captured endpoints by service using the REST interface in AppDynamics, a Performance Analyst would navigate to the Metric Browser and proceed to the "Consumed Endpoints" section. From there, drilling down on specific endpoints within the Metric Browser allows the analyst to explore the services associated with each endpoint. This method enables detailed analysis of endpoint metrics, facilitating the monitoring and optimization of service performance.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Metric Browser: Guides on navigating the Metric Browser to access and analyze various application metrics, including those related to endpoints and services.
• AppDynamics documentation on REST API: Provides information on how to utilize the REST API for retrieving metrics, including endpoint data.

If an agent fails to register with the Controller, a Performance Analyst should check the network/firewall rules to ensure that the agent can communicate with the Controller over the network. Additionally, it is crucial to verify the free license count to confirm thatthere are available licenses for the agent to register. Insufficient licenses or network communication barriers can prevent successful agent registration.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Agent Registration: Describes the prerequisites and troubleshooting steps for agent registration with the Controller.
• AppDynamics documentation on Licensing: Provides details on how the licensing model works, including how to check for available licenses.

When configuring Automatic Cleanup of stale Business Transactions, the "minutes since creation" option is often paired with the "Number of Calls" metric. This setting ensures that business transactions that have not been called within a certain timeframe and have had a negligible number of calls are automatically cleaned up, helping to maintain an organized and relevant set of business transactions in the monitoring system.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Business Transactions: Discusses best practices for managing business transactions, including the automatic cleanup based on time and call volume thresholds.

When creating Information Points in AppDynamics, wildcards can be utilized to select multiple methods or classes, thereby broadening the scope of data collection. This feature is particularly useful for monitoring similar operations across different components of an application, enabling a more efficient and scalable approach to gathering custom metrics.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Information Points: Elaborates on the process of setting up Information Points, including the use of wildcards to capture metrics from multiple methods or classes.

If a Business Transaction stops being displayed on the Business Transaction Dashboard after continuous load, it could be due to the deletion of the Business Transaction Custom Match Rule. Custom Match Rules in AppDynamics are used to define custom business transactions based on specific criteria. If such a rule is deleted, transactions that were previously identified and displayed based on that rule may no longer be recognized as distinct business transactions, leading to their disappearance from the dashboard.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Business Transactions: Provides insights on configuring and managing business transactions, including the use of custom match rules.

In the Browser Real User Monitoring (RUM) Dashboard, the Usage Stats section provides insights into user demographics, including the types of browsers and devices they are using. This section would help the Performance Analyst understand which browsers and devices are affected during a specific time period when there has been an increase in the Business Transaction error rate.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Browser RUM: https://docs.appdynamics.com/21.6/en/end-user-monitoring/browser-monitoring/browser-real-user-monitoring

To share snapshot details from the snapshot window in AppDynamics, the options to "Download PDF" and "Export" are typically used. "Download PDF" allows users to generate a PDF report of the snapshot details, providing a convenient and portable format for sharing and review. The "Export" option enables the extraction of snapshot data in various formats (e.g., CSV, XML), facilitating further analysis or sharing with other tools and stakeholders.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Snapshots: This section covers how snapshots capture detailed performance data for transactions, including how to share and export this information for collaborative analysis.

In AppDynamics, metrics from different applications can indeed be cross-referenced on a single dashboard. This allows for a more holistic view of an organization's application ecosystem, facilitating the comparison and correlation of performance metrics across different applications within the same AppDynamics controller.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Custom Dashboards: Details how to create custom dashboards that can include metrics from multiple applications, enabling cross-referencing and comprehensive performance monitoring.

Errors in a transaction are identified by examining the snapshots that capture the problematic transactions. By setting the appropriate time range, a Performance Analyst can drill down into the snapshots within the Error tab to identify and analyze errors. These snapshots provide detailed diagnostic information, such as stack traces, slow SQL queries, and error logs, which are vital for pinpointing the root cause of transaction errors.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Transaction Snapshots:

To confirm if a memory leak is occurring, one should refer to the Tiers and Nodes section of the AppDynamics Controller UI, navigate to the Memory tab, and observe the Heap Utilization over time in relation to the Heap's Current Usage (MB) versus the Maximum (MB) allocated. Consistent growth in heap utilization or an upward trend that does not decrement even after garbage collection indicates a potential memory leak.References:AppDynamics documentation on Memory Leak Detection and Heap Analysis.

To monitor end-to-end latency performance metrics, a Performance Analyst must first define the end-to-end latency transaction. This involves configuring the business transactions to include the necessary entry and exit points that capture the complete flow of the transaction, thereby enabling the measurement of the total latency.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Business Transactions: https://docs.appdynamics.com/latest/en/application-monitoring/business-transactions

When creating a new database collector in AppDynamics, the essential pieces of information required include the "Database hostname/IP address," "Database Type," and "Port number." These details are crucial for establishing a connection to the database and ensuring accurate monitoring. The hostname/IP address identifies the server where the database is hosted, the Database Type specifies the database management system (e.g., MySQL, Oracle), and the Port number is necessary for network communication with the database server.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Database Visibility: This section explains how to set up database collectors, including the required information for successful configuration.

The primary concern for a Performance Analyst when considering the impact of automatic diagnostic sessions is the application itself. Intensive diagnostic sessions can be resource-heavy, potentially affecting the application's performance. Therefore, it is often necessary to limit the duration and frequency of these sessions to ensure they do not negatively impact the application’s end-user experience.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Diagnostic Sessions: https://docs.appdynamics.com/latest/en/troubleshoot/diagnostic-sessions

In AppDynamics, you can create health rules to monitor various metrics and set up actions based on the thresholds defined for these metrics. For monitoring Java container thread counts, you can set a health rule based on Node Health - specifically on thread pools - to trigger when the thread count exceeds a specific value. The Notification Action can then be configured to send an email to the development team whenever this threshold is breached.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Health Rules: https://docs.appdynamics.com/21.6/en/infrastructure-visibility/health-rules

Development Level Monitoring in AppDynamics is designed for use in a lower volume, non-production environment. For a default configuration, Development Level Monitoring will get automatically disabled if the monitored environment exceeds a threshold, typically a maximum of 1000 calls per minute, and the Maximum heap utilization percentage goes above 95%. These thresholds are in place to prevent excessive overhead in a production environment where such detailed monitoring could impact performance.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Agent Configuration: Provides information on configuration settings for monitoring levels, including when Development Level Monitoring is automatically disabled due to exceeding thresholds.

Backend calls in AppDynamics are the interactions that an application component has with external components or services. These can include calls to databases, remote service calls, and interactions between different tiers of an application.

• A tier-to-tier request refers to any internal call that happens between different tiers (or nodes) within the same application. For example, a web tier calling an API service tier within the same application ecosystem.
• A remote services call is an external call from an application to a service that resides outside of the application's environment, like a call to an external web service, REST API, or a third-party service provider.

References:

• AppDynamics documentation on Backend Detection: https://docs.appdynamics.com/21.6/en/application-monitoring/identify-backends