Types of Tools for Monitoring Java Performance

Monitoring your applications' performances is often challenging, no matter what platform you're using.

13:15 09 December 2020

Monitoring Java performance has some additional challenges to overcome. But don’t feel overwhelmed by the process. Instead, start small and work your way up. Knowing more about Java monitoring tools makes the process easier. In this AppOptics blog you can find a guide on Java performance tuning tips, and in this article we’ll be taking a look at the best way to keep an eye on your application.

 

Java Profiling and Tracing

 

If you want to find your memory consumption and CPU, look for JVM Profiles. They offer a lot of raw data to help you find that information. Create an Apache JMeter. For a scaling test, link an endpoint to a profiler and hit it to check the CPU and memory requirements for it. Usually, Java profiling tools focus on how well each method performs on the application. But some focus on how well individual web transactions perform. They can offer more detailed information to aid in Java application monitoring and can help you increase your response time.

 

Real User Monitoring and Java Performance

 

With any web application, it’s critical to provide users with a positive experience. The ability to offer them an interactive experience might depend on several things, like having CSS or JavaScript frameworks, images, and fonts. With real user monitoring (RUM), you can get information on the dependencies of the application. You’ll be able to view data on page rendering time and asset download. Look for APM products that include RUM as an added feature. If you don’t need all the features of an APM tool, you can get standalone RUM products.

 

APMs and Java Performance Monitoring

 

With an application performance management (APM) tool, you can more easily track a system’s requests. It’s essential to provide the correct data in the right way so you do not impact the performance. You’ll aggregate sampling traces and timing statistics to do so. That way, you can add more visibility to the code. One of the best Java tuning tips is to find issues early on. Analyze exceptions and traces to debug the system. However, that can be expensive since not all tools offer support for async queries. If you have an immediate problem, consider signing up for a free trial. That way, you can determine if the provider is for you.

 

Web Server Access Logs

 

If Nginx or Apache sends requests to the server, you can keep an eye on the performance logs. That way, you can find out how long each request takes. To determine the speed of various endpoints, you can aggregate your access logs. Unfortunately, it is often time-consuming to do that with the command line. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with tools and if you are only looking at a small dataset, a desktop product might work. But you might want to look into a hosted logging solution for production or staging environments. Consider monitoring any failed requests as well. You can do that with aggregating your HTTP response codes. The process lets you get information quickly and you can get more detailed data as needed.