Monitoring by Using Synthetic Transactions

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Applies To: Operations Manager 2007 R2, Operations Manager 2007 SP1

In Operations Manager 2007, synthetic transactions are actions, run in real time, that are performed on monitored objects. You can use synthetic transactions to measure the performance of a monitored object and to see how Operations Manager reacts when synthetic stress is placed on your monitoring settings.

For example, for a Web site, you can create a synthetic transaction that performs the actions of a customer connecting to the site and browsing through its pages. For databases, you can create transactions that connect to the database. You can then schedule these actions to occur at regular intervals to see how the database or Web site reacts and to see whether your monitoring settings, such as alerts and notifications, also react as expected.

The following topics provide detailed information on creating and managing your synthetic transactions:

Watcher Nodes

When you create a synthetic transaction, you select agents to act as watcher nodes. These watcher nodes actually perform the actions of a synthetic transaction, such as connecting to the Web site or querying the database. If you designate more than one watcher node, you can later compare the data from each to see whether the experience of each watcher node is the same.

View a Synthetic Transaction

Although synthetic transactions are created in the Authoring pane, they are displayed in the Monitoring pane. By default, synthetic transactions that monitor Web applications are listed in the Web Applications folder of the Monitoring pane. Synthetic transactions that monitor databases or port activity are listed in the Synthetic Transaction folder.

Available Synthetic Transactions

Before you create the monitoring settings for Operations Manager to use in a synthetic transaction, you should plan the actions that you want the synthetic transaction to perform. For example, if you want to create a synthetic transaction that measures the performance of a Web site, you can plan actions that are typical for a customer, such as logging on, browsing Web pages, and completing a transaction, such as placing an item in a shopping cart and making a purchase.

Web Site Monitoring

Web site monitoring uses synthetic transactions to perform HTTP requests to check availability and to measure performance of a Web page, Web site, or Web application. To create a synthetic transaction for a Web page, Web site, or Web application, first create a Web Application monitoring object by using the Web Application template in the Add Monitoring Wizard and then use the Record option in the Web Application Editor to record actions you want to monitor in the Web page or Web site.

Database Monitoring

Database monitoring using synthetic transactions monitors the availability of a database. To create an OLE DB Data Source synthetic transaction, use the OLE DB Data Source template in the Add Monitoring Wizard.

TCP Port Monitoring

A TCP port synthetic transaction measures the availability of your Web site, service, or application. You can specify the server and TCP port for Operations Manager to monitor. To create a TCP Port synthetic transaction, use the TCP Port template in the Add Monitoring Wizard.