Extend infrastructure observability with JMX Extensions and additional full-stack metrics

We're extending infrastructure monitoring mode with additional metrics that were previously only available in full-stack mode. Now you can monitor any infrastructure component and backing service that's written in Java with Dynatrace Infrastructure Monitoring 2.0.

Infrastructure exists to support the backing services that are collectively perceived by users to be your web application. Issues that manifest themselves as performance degradation on a user’s device can often be traced back to underlying infrastructure issues.

With Dynatrace Infrastructure Monitoring you get a complete solution for the monitoring of cloud platforms and virtual infrastructure, along with log monitoring and AIOps. Infrastructure monitoring includes automatic visibility, problem detection, and smart alerting across virtual networks, virtual infrastructure, and container orchestration. However, by only monitoring infrastructure, it may be challenging to understand the broader context of your infrastructure in relation to your applications and their underlying services.

To provide you with more value when monitoring hosts in infrastructure mode, we’re extending our infrastructure mode with a range of metrics that have until now only been available in full-stack mode. Thus, with Dynatrace Infrastructure Monitoring, you can now gain a more holistic understanding of the entire software environment that supports your digital business.

Monitor any infrastructure component and backing service that’s written in Java

Until now JMX and PMI extensions were only available in full-stack monitoring mode. Starting with Dynatrace version 1.195 you are able to use and build your own custom JMX and PMI extensions for infrastructure components and use them in infrastructure monitoring mode. This means, you can now monitor any infrastructure component and backing service written in Java when you use Dynatrace in infrastructure mode.

This also means that a long list of existing extensions is now available as part of Dynatrace Infrastructure Monitoring. Backing services like Kafka and ActiveMQ are perfect examples—both technologies are queueing services that are written in Java and can be monitored via JMX.

Very often these backing services reside on hosts that only contain backing services and no applications. Having this functionality in infrastructure mode makes perfect sense and brings more value to you.

Monitor additional metrics

Additionally, we’re further extending our infrastructure mode with runtime metrics for:

• Java
• .NET
• Golang
• Node.js

Also, common web server metrics that are important when you monitor Apache HTTP, Nginx, or Microsoft IIS. All of these metrics are now part of infrastructure mode.

How to get access

Dynatrace Managed customers: Ensure that your cluster is updated to Dynatrace version 1.195.

Dynatrace SaaS customers: If your environment was created after the release of Dynatrace 1.195, you don’t have to do anything. All your infrastructure monitored hosts will automatically benefit from this change.

If your Dynatrace SaaS environment was created prior to Dynatrace version 1.195, or you just updated your Managed Cluster, please go into Settings > Monitoring > Monitored technologies. In the list of supported technologies you’ll find an entry called Java/.NET/Node.js/Golang runtime metrics + WebServer metrics in Infrastructure Mode. Enable this setting and restart all processes on your infrastructure-monitored hosts.

Enabling JMX and PMI extensions

All extensions are disabled by default on infrastructure-monitored hosts (they’re an opt-in feature). To enable extensions via the Dynatrace web UI, go to an individual host, choose Edit and enable the extension on a per-host basis. You can of course also enable extensions at scale via our API.

Easily put these metrics on your dashboard

All metrics are available within the custom chart metric picker and are ready to be placed on your dashboards. Choose any metric, filter the chart to your Management zone or by tags to see the process and hosts that you’re interested in. Then pin the chart to your dashboard.

What’s next

This is only the first of a number of announcements that we’ll share with you this year as part of our Infrastructure 2.0 initiative. Our promise and vision is that any metric that Dynatrace offers, and any metric framework that Dynatrace supports, will be available in both full-stack and infrastructure mode.

Next, we’re working on a broad range of features from public cloud to Kubernetes; from Prometheus to SNMP. So please stay tuned for more Infrastructure 2.0 announcements.