SolarWinds Orion Web Performance Monitor Administrator Guide

ADMINISTRATOR GUIDE

Web Performance MonitorVersion 2.2

DDD

Last Updated: Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Retrieve the latest version from: https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Web_Performance_Monitor_(WPM)/WPM_Documentation

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

This PDF is no longer being maintained at this location. View the WPM Administrator Guide.

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Web_Performance_Monitor_(WPM)/Web_Performance_Monitor_Administrator_Guide

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

nigel.richardson

Typewritten Text

Copyright © 2015 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved worldwide.

No part of this document may be reproduced by any means nor modified, decompiled, disassembled,published or distributed, in whole or in part, or translated to any electronic medium or other meanswithout the written consent of SolarWinds. All right, title, and interest in and to the software anddocumentation are and shall remain the exclusive property of SolarWinds and its respective licensors.

SOLARWINDS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS OR OTHER TERMS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, ON SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION FURNISHED HEREUNDER INCLUDINGWITHOUT LIMITATION THE WARRANTIES OF DESIGN, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULARPURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL SOLARWINDS, ITS SUPPLIERS, NOR ITS LICENSORSBE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, WHETHER ARISING IN TORT, CONTRACT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY EVENIF SOLARWINDS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

The SOLARWINDS, the SOLARWINDS & Design, ipMonitor, LANsurveyor, Orion, and other SolarWinds marks,identified on the SolarWinds website, as updated from SolarWinds from time to time and incorporatedherein, are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered or pendingregistration in other countries. All other SolarWinds trademarks may be common law marks or registeredor pending registration in the United States or in other countries. All other trademarks or registeredtrademarks contained and/or mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only and may betrademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Microsoft®, Windows®, and SQLServer® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Version: 2.2 February 24, 2015

page 2

Table of Contents

Introduction 12

WPM and Orion 12

WPM Glossary 13

Installing WPM 15

Installing the WPM Server and Web Console 15

Server hardware requirements 15

Server software requirements 15

SQL database server requirements 17

Requirements for virtual machines and servers 18

Additional required components 19

Antivirus directory exclusions 19

Installation procedure 20

Completing the configuration wizard 21

Licensing 23

Maintaining licenses 24

Installing the Recorder 25

Recorder requirements 25

Configuring settings 26

Recorder login fields and options 26

Installing the Player 27

Recommended Player Requirements 27

Minimum player requirements 28

Configuring settings 29

Server initiated communication fields 30

Player communication type 30

page 3

Deploying the Player remotely 30

Accounts and security requirements 30

Requirements for open ports 31

Supported OS and IE requirements 31

Upgrading Players 31

Additional poller and web site 31

Recording Sequences 33

Creating recordings 33

Running the Recorder for the first time 33

Common recording actions 33

Text matching 34

Creating a recording 35

XY Capture Mode 37

Downloading 39

Downloading checkbox options 39

Image verification 40

Stopping and saving a recording 40

Testing the recording 41

Exporting a recording 42

Managing recordings 42

Importing recordings 44

Exporting recordings 44

Deleting recordings 45

Disabling Windows authentication 46

Step duration calculations 46

Transactions 49

Creating Transactions 49

Good Playback Locations 49

ADMINISTRATOR GUIDE: WEB PERFORMANCE MONITOR

page 4

Cloud Portals 49

Creating a Transaction 50

Adding a location 51

Managing playback locations 52

Failover and the WPM Player 53

What is a proxy? 53

Proxy per location 53

Proxy per transaction 54

Proxy authentication 54

Active Directory authentication against proxy 55

Thresholds 55

Adjusting thresholds for network latency 56

Importing recordings as transactions 56

Adding transactions in Discovery Central 56

Grouping related transactions, transaction steps or locations 57

Managing transactions 57

Managing transactions through the Web Console 58

Managing transactions with the Unmanage Scheduling Utility 59

Transactions and dependencies 61

Creating dependencies when adding a transaction 61

Editing transaction and transaction step dependencies 62

Creating dependencies on the Manage Dependencies page 62

Monitoring your transactions 65

The Transactions Summary views 65

Transaction Summary View 66

Transaction Details 67

Step Details 68

Location Details 68

page 5

Active Transaction/Step/Location Alerts 69

Available customization 69

All Locations 70

Available Customization 70

Defining transaction problems 70

Advanced filtering 70

Managing locations 70

All Transactions 71


Current Screenshot 72


Current Screenshot of Steps 72

Available Customization 72

Duration - Radial Gauge 73


Last XX Events 73


Location Details 74


Min/Max Average Duration 75

Zooming 75


Page Elements Overview 76


Player Load Percentage 76

Zooming 76


Requests with Issues 77


page 6


Recording Custom Properties 78


Screenshots of Last XX Failures 78


Screenshots of Last XX Step Failures 79


Step Application Dependencies 79


Step Availability 80

Zooming 80


Step Details 81


Step Duration 82

Zooming 82


Step Node Dependencies 83


Steps by Status 83


TCP Waterfall Chart 84


Top XX Locations by Duration 85

Zooming 85


Top XX Steps by Duration 86


page 7

Top XX Transactions by Duration 87

Zooming 87


Transaction Availability 88

Zooming 88


Transaction Application Dependencies 88


Transaction Custom Properties 89


Transaction Details 89


Transaction Health Overview 90


Transaction Node Dependencies 91


Transactions by Status 92


The AppStack Environment 94

Introduction to the AppStack Environment View 94

The AppStack Environment View Analogy 94

The AppStack Environment View 97

AppStack categories and data 99

Understanding AppStack 102

Understanding status and colors 102

Status reporting 103

Understanding mixed icons 103

Understanding Quick Links 103


page 8

Understanding Categories 105

Understanding the Category Status Summary 106

Understanding the Overview Bar 106

Understanding filtering options 107

Understanding filter properties 108

Understanding layouts 110

Hiding objects with "up" status 112

Understanding the AppStack resource 112

Navigating to AppStack 113

Using AppStack 114

Customizing the AppStack Environment View 117

Adding AppStack to a NOC View 118

Custom properties 122

Alerts and WPM 125

Creating alerts 125

Viewing alerts 126

Acknowledging alerts 126

Adding alert resources to a view 126

WPM Reports 129

Appendices 131

Troubleshooting and Diagnostics 131

Common debugging scenarios 131

Issues with JavaScript 131

Keyboard input does not work 132

Links do not work 132

Recorder hangs or becomes unresponsive 132

Element not found during playback error 132

Troubleshooting XY capture mode 132

page 9

Status icons 133

Status indicators 133

Status rollup mode 135

WPM alert variables 136

WPM transaction alert variables 136

WPM transaction step alert variables 139

WPM step request alert variables 142

WPM player location alert variables 149


page 10

wiki.page("Success_Center/Reusable_content_-_InfoDev/CSS")

meta.robots("noindex,nofollow");

page 11

IntroductionWeb performance monitoring provides you with an accurate sampling of your web sites and services fromthe viewpoint of your users/customers. SolarWinds' web performance monitor (WPM) actively monitorsweb transactions from the end user's point-of-view without requiring the use of agents, and providesintuitive user experience testing with dashboards to display alerts and graphs for websites on both sidesof the firewall. You can drill into load times, user experience for complete transactions, page load speed bylocation, heaviest page elements, waterfall charts, and images not displaying as intended.



WPM and OrionWPM shares the Orion core engine with other SolarWinds products such as Server and Application Monitor(SAM), Net Performance Monitor (NPM), etc. Some features and functions within WPM are also shared.Therefore, features and functions in WPM may appear to be available when they are not. These featuresand functions are not utilized by WPM as a standalone product.




page 12

WPM GlossaryHere is a list of fundamental terms used within this product with which you should be familiar:

Action An action is considered a single event within a recording. An action can be, but is notlimited to, text input into a field, a mouse click, a download, and so on.

ManagedTransaction

A managed transaction is a transaction currently assigned to a location and activelyreporting statistics to the web console. Managed transactions count against your license.

Player The Player is a Windows service simulating an end-user by playing back the steps of yourtransaction recordings. The results and timings are then reported back to the WPM WebConsole, where the information can be viewed in various transaction resources. Byinstalling the Player on remote computer systems, you form a cloud of Players that cansample the typical experiences of end-users in various locations around the world.

Recorder The Recorder is a Windows program that records web browser steps as your performthem to simulate the typical steps taken by end-users. Typical actions recorded includemouse clicks, text input, file downloads, and matching text strings and images.

Recording A recording is a series of navigational steps that are recorded. Once assigned to a locationfor playback, a recording becomes a transaction. A recording, in and of itself, does notcount against your license.

Step A step is a collection of actions within a transaction. For example, the actions required tonavigate to a specific URL make up one step.

Transaction A transaction is a recording of web browser steps assigned to a specific location. Anassigned recording, or transaction, counts against your license.

UnmanagedTransaction

An unmanaged transaction is a transaction that is currently assigned to a specific location,but is purposely inactive and does not report statistics to the web console. When atransaction is unmanaged, the historical data is retained. Unmanaged transactions countagainst your license.

WPM Serverand WebConsole

The Web Console lets you play back your transactions on a schedule with intervals as shortas one minute. The Web Console also lets you set thresholds on any step in a transactionwhen played back. These thresholds allow the WPM server to compare results and timingsand warn you if a transaction indicates your end-users are experiencing service delays.

page 13



page 14

Installing WPMWPM provides separate installers for its Server, Recorder, and Player components. Installing the Server also installs local copies of the Recorder and Player. You can then install additional copies of the Recorder and Player on other computers as needed.



Installing the WPM Server and Web ConsoleWPM uses a simple wizard-driven interface for the installation process.

Downgrades of SolarWinds products are not supported. If you are upgrading or installing multipleSolarWinds products, confirm that you are installing them in the order given in the upgradeinstructions located in your SolarWinds Customer Portal.

SERVER HARDWARE REQUIREMENTSThe following table lists the minimum software requirements and recommendations:

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

Hard Drive 20 GB

Memory 3 GB

CPU 3 GHz dual-processor, dual-core is recommended.

SERVER SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTSThe following table lists the minimum software requirements and recommendations:

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

OperatingSystems

l Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2 (32-bit & 64-bit)l Windows Server 2008, 2008 SP2, 2008 R2, and 2008 R2 SP1l Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2

Supported operating system languages:

l English (US and UK)


page 15

http://www.solarwinds.com/customerportal/


l Germanl Japanesel Simplified Chinese

FIPS compliant/compatible and UAC features are supported.

IIS and MSMQ must be installed. SolarWinds recommends that SolarWindsadministrators have local administrator privileges to ensure fullfunctionality of local SolarWinds tools. Accounts limited to use of theSolarWinds Web Console do not require administrator privileges.

SolarWinds supports evaluation installations on Windows 7,Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8 (except Win 8 Standard edition), andWindows 8.1 (except Win 8.1 Standard edition). SolarWinds does notsupport production installations of SolarWinds products onWindows 7.

Both the WPM Player and Recorder support Windows 8 andWindows 2012.

TCP/IP Portsl 80 (TCP) open for http trafficl 443 (TCP) open for https trafficl 17777 (TCP) open for SolarWinds trafficl 17782 (TCP) open for player-initiated communications mode

Web Server Microsoft IIS, version 6.0 and higher, in 32-bit mode.

DNS specifications require that hostnames be composed of alphanumericcharacters (A-Z, 0-9), the minus sign (-), and periods (.). Underscorecharacters (_) are not allowed. For more information, see RFC 952.

Warning: The following Windows accounts, as configured by IIS 6.0 onWindows Server 2003 with their default security settings, are required:

l IUSR_<hostname>, as a member of the Guests group ONLY.l IWAM_<hostname>, as a member of the IIS_WPG group ONLY.

Disabling these accounts or changing any default settings of theseaccounts may negatively affect the operation of your SolarWindsinstallation. SolarWinds strongly recommends against altering theseaccounts or their settings.

page 16


SolarWinds neither recommends nor supports the installation ofany WPM product on the same server or using the same databaseserver as a Research in Motion (RIM) Blackberry server.

.NETFramework

.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 through 4.0.3

WebConsoleBrowser

l Microsoft Internet Explorer 8, 9, 10, and 11l Mozilla Firefox, latest two versions at time of shippingl Google Chrome, latest two versions at time of shipping

SQL DATABASE SERVER REQUIREMENTSThe following table lists the software and hardware requirements for the SolarWinds database server.

RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

MicrosoftSQL ServerVersion

SQL server versions:

l SQL Server 2005 SP4l SQL 2008 without SP, 2008 SP1, 2008 SP2, 2008 SP3l SQL 2008 R2 without SP, 2008 R2 SP1, 2008 R2 SP2l SQL 2012, SQL 2012 SP1 (also with AlwaysOn Availability Groups)l SQL 2014 (also with AlwaysOn Availability Groups)

SQL server collations:

l English with collation setting SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_ASl English with collation setting SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CS_ASl German with collation setting German_PhoneBook_CI_ASl Japanese with collation setting Japanese_CI_ASl Simplified Chinese with collation setting Chinese_PRC_CI_AS

SQL version in FullWithSQL package:

l MS SQL server 2008 R2 SP1 - Express Edition

Notes:

l SQL Server Express Edition 3.5 SP2 is only supported for SolarWinds evaluations.


page 17


l Due to latency effects, SolarWinds does not recommend installing your SQL Serverand your SolarWinds server or additional polling engine in different locationsacross a WAN. For more information, see the SolarWinds Knowledge Base article,Can I install my Orion server or Additional Polling Engine and my Orion database(SQL Server) in different locations across a WAN?

l Either mixed-mode or SQL authentication must be supported.l If you are managing your SolarWinds database, SolarWinds recommends you installthe SQL Server Management Studio component.

l If your SolarWinds WPM product installs SQL Server System CLR Types, a manualrestart of the SQL Server service for your SolarWinds database is required.

l Use the following database select statement to check your SQL Server version,service pack or release level, and edition:select SERVERPROPERTY ('productversion'), SERVERPROPERTY ('productlevel'),SERVERPROPERTY ('edition')

CPU Speed 2.0 GHz

Hard DriveSpace

2 GB

The SolarWinds installer needs at least 1GB on the drive where temporary Windowssystem or user variables are stored. Per Windows standards, some common filesmay need to be installed on your server operating system drive.

Memory 2 GB

.NETFramework

Version 4.0 .NET Framework is required.

TCP/IPPorts

1443 (TCP) open for remote SQL client access traffic.

REQUIREMENTS FOR VIRTUAL MACHINES AND SERVERSSolarWinds installations on VMware Virtual Machines and Microsoft Virtual Servers are fully supported ifthe following minimum requirements are met for each VM.

SolarWinds strongly recommends that you maintain your SQL Server database on a separatephysical server.

page 18

http://knowledgebase.solarwinds.com/kb/questions/1809/Can+I+install+my+Orion+server+or+Additional+Polling+Engine+and+my+Orion+database+(SQL+Server)+in+different+locations+across+a+WAN%3F

http://knowledgebase.solarwinds.com/kb/questions/1809/Can+I+install+my+Orion+server+or+Additional+Polling+Engine+and+my+Orion+database+(SQL+Server)+in+different+locations+across+a+WAN%3F

VIRTUALRESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

CPUSpeed

2.0 GHz

Allocated

HardDriveSpace

2GB

Due to intense I/O requirements, SQL Server should be hosted on a separate physicalserver configured as RAID 1+0. RAID 5 is not recommended for the SQL Server harddrive.

Memory 3 GB

NetworkInterface

Each virtual machine on which SolarWinds is installed should have its own, dedicatednetwork interface card.

SolarWinds uses SNMP to monitor your network so if you are unable to dedicate anetwork interface card to your SolarWinds server, you may experience gaps inmonitoring data due to the low priority generally assigned to SNMP traffic.

ADDITIONAL REQUIRED COMPONENTSThe following required x86 components are installed by the SolarWinds Installation Wizard if they are notfound on your SolarWinds database server:

l SQL Server System Common Language Runtime (CLR) Types. SolarWinds products use secure SQLCLR stored procedures for selected, non-business data operations to improve overall performance.

l Microsoft SQL Server Native Clientl Microsoft SQL Server Management Objects

ANTIVIRUS DIRECTORY EXCLUSIONSTo ensure that all Orion products have access to all required files, the following directories, listed byoperating system, should be excluded from anti-virus protection:

l Do not exclude executable filesl C:\ is the default install volume

Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP:

l c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\SolarWinds\

Windows Server 2007, Windows Vista, and Windows 2008:

l c:\ProgramData\SolarWinds\


page 19



INSTALLATION PROCEDURE

To avoid permissions issues, do not install on a domain controller.

1. Log on to your future WPM server as Windows administrator.2. Navigate to your download location, and then launch the executable file.3. If you are prompted to install requirements, click Install, and then complete the installation,

including a reboot, if required.l Downloading and installing Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 may take more than 20minutes, depending on your existing system configuration.

l If a reboot is required, click Install to resume installation after rebooting, and then click Nexton the Welcome window.

4. If you want to use the SolarWinds Improvement Program to send anonymous data about yourusage to SolarWinds, click Send data.

5. Review the Welcome text, and then click Next.6. If the Setup Wizard detects that Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) is not installed, select

Suspend installation to manually install IIS, click Finish, quit setup, and then install IIS.

The Web Console requires that Microsoft IIS is installed on the WPM Server. If you do notinstall IIS at this point, you must install IIS later, and then configure a website for the WebConsole to use.

7. If an IIS installation was required, launch the installer again, and then click Next on the Welcomewindow.

A server reboot may be required after installing IIS.

8. Accept the terms of the license agreement, and then click Next.9. If you want to install WPM in a destination folder other than the default given, click Browse, select

the required installation folder, and then click OK.10. Click Next on the Choose Destination Location window.11. Confirm the current installation settings, and then click Next on the Start Copying Files window.12. Click Finish when the Setup Wizard completes.13. If you are evaluating WPM, click Continue Evaluation.14. If you are installing a production version of WPM, click Enter Licensing Information, and then

complete the following procedure to license your WPM installation:

page 20

a. If you have both an activation key and access to the Internet, select the first option, I haveInternet access and an activation key..., enter your Activation Key, and then click Next.

If you are using a proxy server to access the Internet, check I access the Internet througha proxy server, and then provide the Proxy address and Port.

b. If you do not have access to the Internet from your designated WPM server, select This serverdoes not have Internet access..., click Next, and then complete the steps provided.

COMPLETING THE CONFIGURATIONWIZARD

Using the Configuration Wizard, the following procedure completes and configures your WPM installation.

l Confirm that you have designated a SQL server database instance for WPM.l Confirm that the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager is not open while the ConfigurationWizard is running.

l SolarWinds recommends that you close any and all browsing sessions that may be open to the webconsole before starting the Configuration Wizard.

l During configuration, the SolarWinds polling engine will shut down temporarily with the result that,if you are actively polling, you may lose some polling data. SolarWinds recommends that youperform upgrades during off-peak hours of network usage to minimize the impact of thistemporary polling stoppage.

Configuring WPM:

1. If the Configuration Wizard has not loaded automatically, click Start > All Programs > SolarWindsOrion > Configuration and Auto-Discovery > Configuration Wizard.

2. Click Next on the Welcome dialog of the Configuration Wizard.3. If you are prompted to stop services, click Yes.

To ensure that all updates and changes are installed correctly, you must stop all services.

4. Specify the SQL Server instance to store network data.l If you are using SQL Express, specify your instance as (local) and use a strong password. Formore information about authentication with strong passwords, seehttp://msdn.microsoft.com/ms143705.aspx. SolarWinds recommends against the use of SQLExpress in production environments due to inherent limitations.

l The selected instance must support mixed-mode or SQL authentication with strongpasswords. A strong password must meet at least three of the following four criteria:

o Contains at least one uppercase letter.o Contains at least one lowercase letter.o Contains at least one number.o Contains at least one non-alphanumeric character, e.g., #, %, or ^.

5. Provide credentials, if required, to log into the selected instance.


page 21

http://msdn.microsoft.com/ms143705.aspx

l In general, SolarWinds recommends using SQL Server Authentication to ensure that the WPMserver can always access the SQL Server, even when it is hosted remotely on a separateserver.

l If you are using an existing database, the user account needs only to be in the db_ownerdatabase role for the existing database

l If you are using an existing SQL account, the user account needs only to be in the db_ownerdatabase role for the SolarWinds database

l If you are creating a new database, the user account must be a member of the dbcreatorserver role. The sysadmin role and the sa user account are always members of dbcreator

l If you are creating a new SQL account, the user account must be a member of thesecurityadmin server role

The sysadmin role and the sa user account are always members of securityadmin.

6. Click Next.7. If you are creating a new database, select Create a new database, provide a name for the new

database, and then click Next.

SolarWinds recommends using only alphanumeric characters (abc, 123) in database names.

8. If you are using an existing database, select Use an existing database, type the database name orselect it from the list, and then click Next.

9. If you want to create a new SQL account for the polling engine and Web Console to use foraccessing the database, select Create a new account, provide an account name and password,confirm the account password, and then click Next.

10. If you want to use an existing SQL account to provide database access to the polling engine andWeb Console, select the existing account, provide the appropriate password, and then click Next.

11. If you need to specify a particular IP address for the SolarWinds Web Console, provide the IPaddress of the host web server.

SolarWinds recommends the default of All Unassigned, unless your environment requires aspecific IP address for your SolarWinds Web Console.

12. Specify both the Port through which you want to access the Web Console and the Website RootDirectory into which you want to install Web Console files.

If you specify any port other than 80, you must include that port in the URL used to access theWeb Console. For example, if you specify an IP address of 192.168.0.3 and port 8080, theURL used to access the Web Console is http://192.168.0.3:8080.

page 22

13. If you want to enable automatic login using Windows Authentication, select Yes - Enable automaticlogin using Windows Authentication.

Manual login using Windows Authentication is always available, regardless of whether or notautomatic login is enabled.

14. Click Next.15. If you are prompted to create a new directory, click Yes.16. If you are prompted to create a new website, click Yes.

Choosing to overwrite the existing website will not result in the deletion of any customSolarWinds website settings you may have previously applied.

17. Confirm that all services you want to install are checked.

Typically, all listed services should be selected for installation.

18. Click Next.19. If you are prompted to disable the SNMP Trap Service and enable the SolarWinds Trap Service, click

Yes to disable the Windows SNMP Trap Service and enable the SolarWinds Trap Service.20. Review the final configuration items, and then click Next.21. Click Next on the Completing the SolarWinds Configuration Wizard dialog.22. Click Finish when the SolarWinds Configuration Wizard completes.23. Log in to the SolarWinds Web Console as an administrator.

Until you change your account, you can log in by using the User name, Admin without apassword.



LICENSINGWPM is licensed by the total number of transactions that are implemented, regardless of whether or notthese transactions are managed or unmanaged. The number of licenses used is calculated by multiplyingthe number of recordings by the number of locations assigned.

For example:

l 5 transactions at 1 location = 5 licensesl 5 transactions at 3 locations = 15 licenses


page 23

LICENSE TIER IMPLEMENTED TRANSACTIONS LICENSE

WPM5 5 License with 1st-Year maintenance






WPMX Unlimited, standard playback rate License with 1st-Year maintenance

MAINTAINING LICENSES

SolarWinds License Manager is a free utility that allows you to easily migrate SolarWinds licenses from onecomputer to another without having to contact SolarWinds Customer Service. The following sectionsprovide procedures for installing and using the License Manager:

INSTALLING THE LICENSE MANAGER

Install the License Manager on the computer where you currently have licensed SolarWinds products.

You must install the License Manager on a computer with the correct time. If the time on thecomputer is even slightly off from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), you cannot reset licenses withoutcontacting SolarWinds Customer Service. Time zone settings neither affect nor cause this issue.

Installing the License Manager:

1. Go to Start > All Programs > SolarWinds > SolarWinds License Manager Setup.2. Click I Accept to accept the SolarWinds EULA.3. If prompted to install the SolarWinds License Manager, click Install.

page 24

USING THE LICENSE MANAGER

You must run License Manager on the computer where the currently licensed SolarWinds product isinstalled before you can migrate licenses to a new installation. The following procedure deactivatescurrently installed licenses that can then be transferred to a new installation.

Deactivating Installed Licenses:

1. Go to Start > All Programs > SolarWinds > SolarWinds License Manager.2. Check the products you want to deactivate on this computer, and then click Deactivate.3. Specify your SolarWinds Customer ID and password when prompted, and then click Deactivate.

Once complete, deactivated licenses become available to activate on a new computer. When you havesuccessfully deactivated your products, log on to the computer where you want to install your SolarWindsproducts and begin installation. When asked to specify your licenses, provide the appropriate information.The licenses you deactivated earlier are then assigned to the new installation.



Installing the RecorderThe WPM Recorder is a Windows application that you can install on any computer that meets the followingsystem requirements:

RECORDER REQUIREMENTS


CPU 1.0 GHz

Memory 2 GB

Operating System Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 2012, Server 2003, Server 2008, Server 2012


page 25


TCP/IP Ports 80 (TCP) open for http traffic

443 (TCP) open for https traffic

17777 (TCP) open for SolarWinds traffic

Web Browser Internet Explorer 9 or higher

Due to a known issue in Internet Explorer 8, Recorder breaks when IE8is used.

Installing the Recorder:

1. Run the TransactionRecorder.exe installer from your WPM package or download and run theTransactionRecorder.exe installer from the Web Console by navigating to: Settings > WPMSettings > Manage Recordings > Download recorder locally.

2. Follow the installer instructions.

During installation, any required prerequisites such as .Net Framework 4 will also be installed.

CONFIGURING SETTINGSWhen you run the Recorder, you are asked to specify the connection details of the WPM server. If youcheck the Remember Me checkbox, the connection details are saved for future Recorder sessions .

RECORDER LOGIN FIELDS ANDOPTIONS

User name Enter your username to log into the WPM server. If you have not configured any additionalWPM users, use the default user name of admin.

page 26

The SolarWinds WPM user selected must have WPM administrator rights to create andmanage recordings. Users who are not WPM administrators should consider using the WorkOffline mode.

You cannot use Active Directory authentication with the WPM recorder.

Password Enter the password associated with the username. If you have not configured anyadditional WPM users, leave the password of the admin user blank.

IP orhostname

Enter the IP address or the hostname of the WPM server. The administrator should be ableto provide this.

Rememberme

Check this box to have the Recorder remember your credentials for future logins.

Connect Click to connect to the WPM server and run the Recorder.

WorkOffline

Click to run the Recorder offline. In offline mode, recordings cannot be saved or loaded tothe WPM server, but must instead be exported and imported to and from your local disk as(XML) .recording files.

To save an offline recording to the WPM server, you must use the WPM Web Console'sImport function on the WPM Settings > Manage Recordings page.

If you have another Recorder available that can connect to the WPM server, import the fileinto that Recorder and then save it to the WPM server.

Once you have successfully logged in, or have chosen to work offline, therecorder is launched.



Installing the PlayerThe WPM Player is a Windows service that you can install on any computer that meets the systemrequirements.

RECOMMENDED PLAYER REQUIREMENTSThe recommended requirements allow a single Player to monitor up to 50 transactions of 30-secondduration at 5-minute intervals. The minimum is 1 minute.


page 27

RESOURCE REQUIREMENT

CPU 2.0 GHz Quadcore

Memory 3 GB

Operating System Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, Server 2003, Server 2008, or Server 2012




17781 (TCP) open for server-initiated communication mode


MINIMUMPLAYER REQUIREMENTSThe minimum Player requirements allow up to two 30-second transactions to be monitored at 1-minuteintervals.

The Player that is installed on the SolarWinds WPM server is configured to work as a minimum-resource player in the interest of conserving the system resources of your SolarWinds WPM server.

RESOURCE REQUIREMENT

CPU 2.0 GHz single core. Virtual Machine okay.

Memory 2 GB

Operating System Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, 7, Server 2003, Server 2008 or Server 2012.




17781 (TCP) open for server-initiated communication mode


To avoid permissions issues, do not install on a domain controller.

page 28

Installing the Player:

1. Run the PlaybackPlayer.exe installer from your WPM package or download and run thePlaybackPlayer.exe installer from the Web Console. The download link is located at Settings >WPM Settings > Manage Player Locations > Download player.

2. Follow the installer instructions.

CONFIGURING SETTINGSAfter installing the Player, you must configure its settings. Later on, you will copy these settings into yourWPM server when you define your Playback locations so that the server knows how to connect and relaycommands to this particular Player.

Configure the Player:

1. Click Start > All Programs > SolarWinds Orion > Web Performance Monitor > WPM > PlaybackPlayer Settings.The following screen appears:


page 29

SERVER INITIATED COMMUNICATION FIELDS

This default option waits for requests from the WPM server on a specified port. This requires firewall/NATconfigurations on each player computer.

PlayerPassword

This is an optional password to protect against unauthorized connections to your Player.

PlayerPort

This is the port the WPM server uses to connect to the Player. This port must be open onyour Player firewall. This must be set to 17781.



PLAYER COMMUNICATION TYPEWPM offers two choices of configuration setup for how the player communicates with the WPM player.

Server-initiatedcommunication

The server-initiated player is passive and waits for requests from the WPM server on aspecified port. This requires firewall/NAT configurations on each Agent machine.

Player-initiatedcommunication

Selecting this option allows the player to actively initiate communication with the WPMserver on port 17782. Firewall/NAT configuration is simplified because the active agentactively connects to the poller server using a HTTP(S) protocol. MSPs and largerdistributed deployments may prefer this option.



DEPLOYING THE PLAYER REMOTELYThe following requirements must be met for remote deployment to be successful:

ACCOUNTS AND SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

l Accounts must have access to the remote administrator sharel Updated Root Certificatesl For Windows Vista Windows 7 computers in a workgroup, UAC must either be disabled or the builtin Administrator account must be used for deployment

page 30

REQUIREMENTS FOROPEN PORTS

135 Microsoft EPMAP (DCE/RPC Locator service)

445 Microsoft-DS SMB file sharing

SUPPORTED OS AND IE REQUIREMENTS

l Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012l Internet Explorer 8, or higher

During the deployment process, all prerequisites will be installed automatically, (e.g. VC Redistributables,.NET Framework, and so on).

The remote machine may be restarted at the end of the deployment process.

Upgrading PlayersUpgrading players simply requires you to install the new player over the previous version. The new playerretains all information, self-registers and your current transactions begin to poll again.

If you uninstall players, transactions will go into a state of Unknown. Transactions are polled again whenyou install a new player on the same machine with the same settings.



ADDITIONAL POLLER ANDWEB SITEIf deploying WPM into an existing SolarWinds environment that uses additional pollers or web sites, youmust update the existing additional pollers and web site using the files provided:

Additional Poller update:

l SolarWinds-WPM-v2.2-Poller.exe

Additional Web Console update:

l SolarWinds-WPM-v2.2-WebOnly.exe


page 31



page 32

Recording SequencesThis section discusses the following topics:

l How to record and save action sequencesl How to edit recorded action sequences



Creating recordingsThe Recorder window is split into two panes:

l The left-hand pane records your browser actions.l The right-hand pane is the Time Line that shows you what actions have been recorded. It alsoallows you to edit your actions while still recording.

When a recording is being captured, a red box surrounds what is being recorded.

WPM does not record the contents of XML pages.

RUNNING THE RECORDER FOR THE FIRST TIME

l The Recorder uses the Internet Explorer settings including web proxy. The Recorder web browseruses the settings and security level of the Internet Explorer browser of the computer it is installedon.

l If your web site requires the browser to accept cookies, or if you need to connect to the Internetthrough a web proxy, these are settings you must make in Internet Explorer.

l If the security level of the browser is too high, the Recorder will ask for permission to lower thesecurity settings to the recommended level.

l Disable browser integration for Adobe Acrobat Reader if it is installed. If it is installed, the recorderwill prompt you to disable the browser integration type.

l If you use Internet Explorer 9.0, change the .zip Windows file association. Internet Explorer 9.0handles .zip files in a manner that is incompatible with the Recorder. As a workaround, install athird-party .zip utility such as WinZip or 7zip to change the .zip file association.

COMMON RECORDING ACTIONSDepending on which action is enabled, you will see different options available in the recorder menu.

Menu during a recording:


page 33

1. Record2. Stop3. Add Wait Time4. X, Y Capture Mode5. Start Conditional Block6. Text Verification7. Image Verification8. Image Verification with click sequence

Menu when recording is stopped:

1. Record2. Play Recorded Sequence3. Play Step-By-Step4. Insert Wait Time5. Insert Text Verification6. Insert Image Verification



TEXTMATCHINGMonitoring is not only about playing back sequences, but also about verifying that the results are what youexpect. For example, after recording a login sequence, you may want to add a check on the next web pageto find any text that says "Login successful," "Welcome," or some other keyword indicating that the loginaction was successful.

If the match is not successful, WPM will set the transaction status to Down. Typically, you want to make thetext matching action the first action on the page that is loaded after logging in.

Setting a "Success means (a Page Contains Certain Text)" verification:

page 34

1. Click the text verification icon: .

2. Enter the text to search for in the Enter Text to Match box.3. Click Page Contains Text.4. Click OK.

You can also verify that a page does not contain certain text, for example, "Error" or "Not found".

Setting a "Success means (a Page Does not Contain Certain Text)" verification:

1. Click the text verification icon: .

2. Enter the text to search for in the Enter Text to Match box.3. Click Page Does not Contain Text.4. Click OK.



CREATING A RECORDINGCreating a record is simple. Just start the recorder and perform the browser steps you would expect youruser or customer to do. You can edit these at any point.

Starting the Recording:

1. Click Start > SolarWinds Orion > Web Performance Monitor > Recorder.Note: You be asked if you want to lower your security settings in order the run the recorder.

2. Enter the URL for the page from which you want to start recording, and press Enter or click OK.

3. Click Record and begin the sequence. All your browser actions are now recorded and listed in theTime Line pane on the right side of the Recorder, as shown below:

Making Corrections While Recording:


page 35

1. Click Undo as many times as necessary to step back through any incorrect actions in the TimeLine.

2. Correct your mistakes by right-clicking the step in the Time Line, and selecting the appropriatemenu option.

New steps can be added between two existing actions or at the end of the last step in the recording.

Adding Waits:

The default timeout threshold for pages is 30 seconds. If you need to specify a longer time to wait, you caninsert a Wait command before or after a step. These Wait times are not included in the recorded time forthe transactions.

1. Right-click on the step before or after which you want to insert a pause.2. Select Insert Wait above or Insert Wait below.3. Select the time to wait, and click OK.

Removing Unnecessary Actions in the Time Line:

1. Select the unnecessary action, and press the Delete key.

Correcting Errors in Text Field Actions:

page 36

1. Double-click the text field action in the Time Line pane.

2. Enter the corrected text in the Simple Text Input box, or enter the multi-variant text in the Multi-Variant Text Input box, and then click OK.



XY CAPTURE MODEXY Capture Mode records the coordinates clicked within dynamic web pages. This applies to pagescontaining non-html elements, such as Flash and Silverlight based content. This feature works by startinga recording, then toggling on/off the XY mode as needed during a recording.

When you toggle on the XY Capture Mode, all mouse actions are converted from global coordinates to localbrowser coordinates and recorded. The Image Match action will then verify that the content is properlyloaded before playback continues.


page 37

It is possible to add an Image Match into a recording after it has finished.

Configuring XY Capture Mode:

1. Start your recording.

2. Enable the XY Capture mode by clicking the coordinate's icon .

3. Mouse click on the page as needed.

4. Click Image Match and then drag your mouse over a region of the image.

5. On mouse-up, the Match Image button will appear asking you to confirm the imagematch.

6. Stop the recording by pressing Stop .

7. Verify that the recorded clicks and actions were successful by clicking Play .

8. If needed, edit from the timeline by right-clicking on a step.

l Actions are recorded at the user's speed. If you have an unnecessary delay in your recording,double-click on the recorded action and change the recorded delay to another value.

l Image Matching on animated objects is not recommended. During playback, animatedobjects may be in a different phase of animation, which will result in not being able to findthe exact recorded image.

l Select small regions. Image Match actions are CPU intensive. Select only small regions orportions of the image to improve the performance of playback.

l Do not use the Recorder on screen resolutions greater than 1920 x 1200 pixels as operatingsystem limitations do not allow the WPM Playback Player to function above this resolution.

l Image matching: as soon as the image is found on the page, the timer is stopped and thenext step begins. Image matching time is measured and added to the overall step duration.


page 38


DOWNLOADINGIf you download a file during your recording, the following dialog box appears:

DOWNLOADING CHECKBOX OPTIONS

Include downloadtime in statistic

Check to include the time required to download the file in the overall time forrecording this step.

Stop downloadafter specified sizeis downloaded

Check to stop the download when it reaches the specified file size.

Note: Due to a known issue, a navigation action is required between each"partial" download or else the transaction playback will stop playingcorrectly.

Verify name: Check to compare the names of the recorded filename against the actual filenamebeing downloaded at the time of playback. If the names do not match, thistransaction step will be considered Down.

Verify size Check to compare the size of the recorded downloaded file against the size of thefile being downloaded at the time of playback. If the sizes do not match, thistransaction step will be considered Down.




page 39

IMAGE VERIFICATIONWPM can perform image verifications during a recording. Image matches can also be used in conjunctionwith XY Capture mode to record non-html page elements. The page becomes grayed-out once ImageVerification is enabled.

In XY Capture mode, select a small region on the page by holding down the left mouse button anddragging the mouse. Once you have the portion of the image captured, click the Match Image button whichappears on mouse-up.

During playback, the image is matched. If the image is not found, the search is repeated until the definedtime elapses.

Enabling Image Verification:

1. Click the Image Verification icon.2. Click and hold the left mouse button while dragging the mouse to select the image to match.3. Click the Match Button.4. Verify the image in the picture and click OK. Allow for extra time if the image is dynamically

generated.5. Save the recording.

Enabling Image Verification with Click:

WPM allows you enable image verification (described above) with a click. This is useful if an image isattached with a hyperlink.

1. Click the Image Verification with click icon.2. Click and hold the left mouse button while dragging the mouse to select the image to match.3. Click the Match and Click Image button.4. Verify the image in the picture and click OK. Allow for extra time if the image is dynamically

generated.5. Save the recording.



STOPPING AND SAVING A RECORDINGWhen you have completed your action sequence, you need to stop, test and save it.

page 40

Stopping the Recording:

1. Click Stop .

TESTING THE RECORDING

You can play the entire recording or step through it. During the playback, the Player times how long ittakes each steps to run. This information is used later to calculate typical timings for the recording.

The Recorder automatically tests the recording when you save it.

Playing the recording:

l Click Play . The recorder will play the entire sequence.

Playing the recording step-by-step:

l Click Step . The recorder will play the next action in the sequence and then pause. Repeat foreach step.

Saving the Recording:

If you are connected to the WPM server, you can save your recordings directly to the server.

The Recorder automatically tests the recording by playing it back when you save it. The Recorder alsopresents you with the option to open the Web Console to create a transaction from your new recording.

Saving a Recording to the WPM server:

1. Click Save .

2. Enter the name of this recording in the Recording Name text box.3. Click Save.

Saving Changes to a Recording:

l Click Save .

Saving Changes as a New WPM Recording:

1. Click File > Save As.2. Enter the name of this recording in the Recording Name text box.3. Click Save.


page 41

EXPORTING A RECORDING

If you are in offline mode, you can export your recordings to the local disk as a .recording file that youcan later transfer and import into WPM.

1. Click File > Export.2. To password-protect the recording:

a. Click Yes.b. Enter the password in the Password and Confirm Password text fields.c. Click OK.

3. Enter the file name for the recording, and then click Save. (Saving creates an XML file.)



MANAGING RECORDINGSIn the Web Console, the only change you can make to a recording is to change its name. However, the WPMRecorder enables you to make additional changes.

While you cannot add new browser actions, you can delete existing actions, change the text input of textfield actions, and edit or insert new Match Content actions as required.

You must either save or export the recording to retain your changes.

If the recording you want to edit is on the WPM server, you must first load it into the Recorder.

Loading a Recording from the WPM Server:

1. Click Open .

2. Select the recording, and then click Open.

Deleting an Action:

1. Select the action.2. Press the Delete key.

Changing the Text in Text Field Actions:

1. Double-click the text field action in the Time Line pane.2. Enter the corrected text in the text box, and then click OK.

Changing the Text in Match Content Actions:

page 42

1. Double-click the Match Content action in the Time Line pane.2. Enter the corrected text in the Enter text to match box, and then click OK.

Changing the Name of a Step or Insert a Step Below a Step:

l Right-click on a step in the timeline and make your selection from the popup menu.

Adding wait time to steps creates an artificial pause in the recording. To add wait time to a step:

1. Click Add Wait Time .

2. Edit the time as needed, and click OK.




page 43

IMPORTING RECORDINGSIn offline mode, you cannot retrieve recordings directly from the WPM server. You can, however, open anyrecordings that have been exported as .recording files.

1. To import a recording using the Web Transaction Recorder, click File > Import.2. To import a recording using the Web Console, click Settings > WPM Settings > Manage Recordings.3. Browse and select the .recording file, and then click Open4. If the recording is password-protected, enter the password, and then click OK.





EXPORTING RECORDINGSIt may not always be possible to establish a connection between the recorder and the WPM server. Theway to transfer recordings between a remote recorder and the WPM server is to export the recordings to.recording files on the local disk, and to then transfer them to their destination using e-mail, FTP, orsome other means.

Exporting a Recording:

1. Click File > Export.2. Enter the file name for the recording, and then click Save.

Exporting a Recording from WPM Server.

1. Log on to the WPMWeb Console.2. Click the Web tab.3. Click WPM Settings.4. Click Manage Recordings.

page 44

5. Select the check box next to the recording and then click Export.

6. To password-protect the recording:a. Select Yes, password protect this recording.b. Enter the password in the Password and Confirm Password fields.

7. Click Export.8. The web browser begins downloading your .recording file. It is saved under the name,

NameOfRecording.recording.



DELETING RECORDINGSYou can delete recordings from the Manage Recordings page of the Web Console. All transactions usingthe deleted recording will also be deleted.

1. Log on to the Web Console.2. Click Settings > WPM Settings > .3. Click Manage Recordings.4. Select the check boxes next to the recording or recordings you want to delete.5. Click Delete.




page 45

DISABLINGWINDOWS AUTHENTICATIONIf you find that Players are having authentication problems when playing back recordings, check whetherthe recorded web site uses Windows authentication for its login process. Some computer systems are setup to pass-through Windows credentials without prompting for a username and password, and if youcreate a recording on such a computer, the username and password required for the web site will not besaved with the recording. This may result in an authentication problem when the recording is played backon a different computer.

To ensure that the Recorder always asks for a username and password for web sites protected byWindows authentication:

1. Run the recorder under a local user account instead of a domain account.2. Uncheck Enable Integrated Windows Authentication on the Advanced tab of IE Internet Options

settings. This option requires a restart of Internet Explorer.



STEP DURATION CALCULATIONSThe times taken for navigation to new page, file download, and image match / text match are all used inthe calculation of step duration.

page 46

Ajax calls are not used in step duration calculations. For example, page content loaded dynamically byAjax. To partially measure such dynamic behavior, you can use text match / image match, but the return ofthis method is not as precise as the return of direct request measurement.


page 47



page 48

TransactionsA transaction is a recording of web browser steps assigned to a specific location. However, transactions aremore than just recordings and locations. A transaction can also be assigned customizable timingthresholds so that the WPM server alerts you if any transactions are taking longer to run than they should.

This chapter discusses the following topics:

l How to create transactions from your recordingsl How to register Players as playback locationsl How to find good locations for Player agentsl How to interpret transaction and step statusl How to link transactions statuses together



Creating TransactionsTransactions are created in the Web Console. Every transaction requires:

l a recording, created using the Transaction Recorder and saved on the WPM serverl a Transaction Player that is installed on a computer

GOOD PLAYBACK LOCATIONSWeb Performance Monitoring is used to get an accurate sampling of your web sites and services from theviewpoint of your users/customers. You should place WPM players in the same geographical locations asthe majority of your users in order to get data that is truly representative.

Possible locations include:

l A server in a co-location hosting servicel A workstation in a satellite officel A virtual machine hosted by a cloud computing service

CLOUD PORTALSWPM enables you to monitor transactions from locations around the world using a VM cloud instance. Ifyou do not have your own infrastructure, consider renting servers from co-location hosts and or virtualmachines from cloud computing services.


page 49

For help on using Amazon Cloud Services to host a player, see the SolarWinds Knowledgebase article:Using Amazon Cloud Services as a Playback Location.

CREATING A TRANSACTIONSelecting a recording and assigning it to a location:

1. Log into the Web Console.2. Click the Web tab.3. Click WPM Settings.4. Click Add a Transaction Monitor.5. Select the Recording Name for the recording you want to monitor, and then click Next.

l If you need to import the recording you want to monitor, click Import, browse to the file, andclick Import. Then select and click Next.

6. Select the Location Name for the location where you want this recording to be played, and thenclick Next.

l If you need to add a location, see Adding a location.

When you have selected a recording and assigned it to a location, you can define the properties for thetransaction.

Defining properties:

1. Enter a Description for the transaction.2. Select the Playback interval to specify how frequently you want this transaction to be played.3. Select the Thresholds for each step in the transaction. For more information, see Thresholds4. To use a Proxy URL, click Advanced, and enter the proxy server address in the Proxy URL field. A

proxy server acts as an intermediary for requests from clients. A proxy server passes requests andresponses to the client application. For more information, see What is a proxy?

5. To enable screenshot capturing, click Advanced, and check Enabled.6. Click Next.

Transaction status troubleshooting:

1. Advanced users can select the Improve transaction troubleshooting by associating nodes orapplications to this web transaction, and add nodes and applications for transactions and steps.For further information, see Transactions and dependencies.

2. Click Save Monitor.3. The transaction is now added to the Transaction Monitor list.4. You can play the monitor immediately by selecting its checkbox and clicking Play now.


page 50

http://knowledgebase.solarwinds.com/kb/questions/3004/Using+Amazon+Cloud+Services+as+a+Playback+Location


ADDING A LOCATIONLocations are simply places on the web where you can install the WPM player. They need to be registeredwith the WPM server. Location information is displayed in the resources on the WPM Location view,particularly the Location Details resource.

1. From the Add Transaction - Location page, click Add Location.2. Select the method of adding the location. You can add the location on your network, on the cloud,

or use an existing location.

Adding a location on your network:

1. Select Install location on my network and click Next.2. Either:

l Enter the IP Address or Hostname of the location, click Add to List.

Or:

l Select a location from the list of existing nodes.

You can select multiple locations if required.

3. Click Next.4. Either:

l Select Use default settings, and enter a Player Name if you do not want it to be the same asthe Location Name.

Or:

l Select Use advanced settings, and enter a Player Name, Player Port number, and PlayerPassword, as required.

5. Click Next.6. The location is shown with default credential. Here you have the option to:

l Click Assign Credentials, to open the Assign Credential window where you can choose analternative credential, or click <New Credential> to set up a new credential.

l Click Test Credentials, to test the selected credential is valid.7. Click Deploy Player, to use the selected credential.8. The location is added to the list of locations. Select the location and click Next. The Defining

properties: tab of the Add Transaction page is displayed.

Adding a location on the cloud:


page 51

1. Select Add a location in the cloud, and click Next.2. Select the appropriate vendor from the list displayed, and then click Next.3. Enter the Access key and Secret key for the cloud account.4. Supply the information requested on the screen until the location is added. Since this depends

upon the Cloud provider, you should refer to the help provided by the vendor.

For help on using Amazon Cloud Services to host a player, see the SolarWinds Knowledgebasearticle: Using Amazon Cloud Services as a Playback Location.

5. Once the location has been added to the list of locations, you can select it and click Next. TheDefining properties: tab of the Add Transaction page is displayed.

Using an existing location:

1. Select Add an existing location, and click Next.2. Enter a name for the player in the Name for player at this location field.3. To use server initiated communication, where the server-initiated player is passive and waits for

requests from the WPM server on a specified port:a. Select Server initiated communication, and enter the IP Address or hostname where the

player is located.b. Click Advanced if you need to add a Player Password, want to change the Player port from the

default of 17781, and/or Use proxy.

4. To use player initiated communication, which allows the player to actively initiate communicationwith the WPM server on port 17782:

a. Select Player initiated communication, and select the Player from the dropdown.b. Click Advanced, if you want to assign this player to a poller.

Firewall/NAT configuration is simplified because the player actively connects to thepoller server using a HTTP(S) protocol. MSPs and larger distributed deployments mayprefer this option.

5. Click Submit.6. Once the location has been added to the list of locations, you can select it and click Next. The

Defining properties: tab of the Add Transaction page is displayed.



MANAGING PLAYBACK LOCATIONSThe Manage Transaction Locations page lets you add, edit, and delete playback locations.

page 52

http://knowledgebase.solarwinds.com/kb/questions/3004/Using+Amazon+Cloud+Services+as+a+Playback+Location

Opening the Managing Playback Locations Page:

1. Log in to the Web Console.2. Click the Web tab.3. Click Web Settings.4. Click Manage Player Locations.

5. Hover over a Location Name to see the Location tool tip, or click the location to see the LocationDetails view.

FAILOVER AND THEWPM PLAYER

On failover, the WPM Player continues to point to the primary Orion server, and communication fails. Whenthis occurs, you must switch back to the primary computer to regain player function.



WHAT IS A PROXY?A proxy server acts as an intermediary for requests from clients. A proxy server passes requests andresponses to the client application.

PROXY PER LOCATION

You can set your WPM server to communicate with a player location through a proxy server from the EditTransaction Location page, as shown below:

Enter a URL for the Proxy Server used to connect the WPM server to the WPM remote player's location.


page 53

You can update remote player passwords and ports by editing the location details page:

Select a location to edit and then select Update player settings.

PROXY PER TRANSACTION

You can set your transactions to be played using a connection through a proxy server. A player locationuses the proxy setting to connect to the remote website that has to be monitored.

The group policy Proxy Settings per User must be allowed for transaction proxies to work. This is allowedby default on the computer where the WPM player is running. Use the following steps to check whether ornot the settings are correct:

1. Run Gpedit.msc2. In the left pane, expand Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows

Components.3. Select Internet Explorer.4. In the right pane, double-click Make proxy settings per-machine (rather than per-user).5. Select Disabled and then click OK.6. Run Gpupdate /force.7. Restart the WPM player service.

PROXY AUTHENTICATION

Proxy credentials cannot be provided on the Transaction Settings page. Credentials must be captured inthe recording. Only the proxy URL can be set on the Transaction Settings page.

To ensure that the recorder always prompts for a username and password for sites behind a proxy thatrequires authentication, take the following steps:

1. Run the recorder under a local user account instead of a domain account.2. Disable integrated Windows Authentication Internet Explorer's settings. Note: This requires a

restart of Internet Explorer.

More detailed information can be found in the following KB article: Windows Authentication problems whenplaying back a recording.

page 54

http://knowledgebase.solarwinds.com/kb/questions/3214/Windows+Authentication+problems+when+playing+back+a+recording

http://knowledgebase.solarwinds.com/kb/questions/3214/Windows+Authentication+problems+when+playing+back+a+recording

Credentials do not need to be captured in the recording if the player is using Active Directoryaccounts for worker processes, but these accounts must have permission to access the proxy.

ACTIVE DIRECTORY AUTHENTICATION AGAINST PROXY

Using this method, credentials are not required to be included in recordings.

In order for this to be possible, the player location worker processes must use domain accounts. Also,Integrated Windows Authentication must be enabled on the remote website.

To enable domain accounts for player worker processes, you must manually configure theSolarWinds.SEUM.Agent.Service.exe configuration file in the WPM player installation folder.

A transaction with proxy settings employed can be played on any of the available workers. All of theaccounts used for worker processes must be allowed access to the proxy.



THRESHOLDSThe default threshold timing values for a transaction are based on the step timings measured when arecording was saved:

l Typical Value: the initial step timingl Warning: Twice the initial step timingl Critical: Four times the initial step timing

The Warning and Critical thresholds are used to trigger alerts. The Typical Value is plotted as a benchmarkon resource charts that you can use to compare with actual timings.

You can change the default values if required.

1. From the Home tab, navigate to Home.2. Click a transaction in the All Transactions group.3. Click Edit on the Management line.

The Edit Transaction Monitor page is displayed, where you can edit the thresholds.


page 55

ADJUSTING THRESHOLDS FOR NETWORK LATENCY

There may be a need to set different timing thresholds for transactions that are played back fromdrastically different geographical locations.

For example: If you use a recording to create a transaction that will play back on a Player that is 100 milesaway from the original recording location, the default threshold timings are probably sensible. However, ifthe Player is 2,000 miles away, you will need to raise the timing thresholds to account for the addednetwork latency.

Thresholds are not required to create a transaction.



IMPORTING RECORDINGS AS TRANSACTIONSTo add a recording that cannot connect to the WPM server, you must export the recording from theRecorder as a .recording file and then transfer it to a computer that can access the WPM Web Console.Transfer the file by e-mail, FTP, Flash Drive, or some other method.

After transferring the .recording file, you can use the Import command on the Add Transaction page toadd the recording to the WPM server.



ADDING TRANSACTIONS IN DISCOVERY CENTRALDiscovery Central provides an alternative method of setting up transactions. Navigate to Settings >Discovery Central and follow the instructions shown under Adding Transactions in Discovery Central.



page 56

GROUPING RELATED TRANSACTIONS, TRANSACTION STEPS ORLOCATIONSGroups give you the ability to logically organize monitored objects, regardless of device type or location foralerting or reporting purposes. Groups can contain any SolarWinds objects that report a status, includingtransactions and even other groups. You create, delete, and modify groups from the Manage Groups page.

Nesting a group within another does not create a strict parent/child relationship. You can includeany group as a member in any number of other groups.

1. Log on to the web console.2. Click Settings in the top right of the web console.3. Click Manage Groups in the Node & Group Management grouping of the Website Administration

page.4. Click Add New Group.5. Enter a Name and Description for the transaction group.6. Select Transactions from the Show Only dropdown, and select [No Grouping] from the Group by

dropdown.7. Check the transactions to be added to the group.

you can use the same procedure for creating groups of Transaction Steps or Player Locations bychanging the selection made in step 6.

For further information on using the Manage Groups settings, please see the Managing Groups andDependencies chapter of the Orion Common Components Administrator Guide.



Managing transactionsYou may want your transactions to be played only at certain times for any number of reasons, includingavoiding scheduled maintenance, retrieving data only for normal business hours, and so on. Whentransactions are stopped, you are not be alerted when transactions fail and you will not have down timeassociated with scheduled maintenance.

You can manage your transactions via the Web Console as needed, or on a regular schedule using theSolarWinds Unmanage Scheduling Utility. By unmanaging a transaction, you stop its playback. Remanaginga transaction reenables transaction playback.


page 57

http://www.solarwinds.com/documentation/helploader.aspx?topic=OrionCoreAGManagingGroupsDependencies.htm

http://www.solarwinds.com/documentation/helploader.aspx?topic=OrionCoreAGManagingGroupsDependencies.htm

MANAGING TRANSACTIONS THROUGH THEWEB CONSOLEManaging transactions from the web console is recommended if you need to stop a playback immediatelyor for a single occurrence. For transactions to be stopped and started on a schedule, use the UnmanageScheduling Utility.

From the web console, navigate to Settings > WPM Settings > Manage Transaction Monitors to be taken tothe following page:

Stopping a transaction from being played:

1. Select the transaction by checking the box next to the transaction name.2. Click Unmanage.3. From the dialog box, choose the time period for the transaction to be stopped.4. Click OK.

Starting playback of a stopped transaction:

1. Select the unmanaged transaction by clicking the check box next to the transaction name.2. Click Remanage.



page 58

MANAGING TRANSACTIONS WITH THE UNMANAGE SCHEDULINGUTILITYStarting and stopping transactions on a schedule is done using the Unmanage Scheduling Utility.

You must be an Administrator to schedule transactions to be stopped. To do so, in your user account, scrollto the bottom under WPM Settings and change from User to Administrator in the drop-down menu.

Scheduling transactions to be stopped:

1. To access the Unmanage Scheduling Utility, navigate to Start > All Programs > SolarWinds Orion >Advanced Features > Unmanage Scheduling Utility.

2. Select either Create New Task, or open an existing task by clicking Edit Existing Task.3. Click Add Items.4. If required, group your transactions by selecting a filter from the Group by drop-down menu.5. Click on the Transactions tab.6. Select the transactions you want to schedule to be unmanaged by checking the check boxes next to

the transaction names.7. Click Add.8. Select the length of time you would like the selected transactions to be stopped.9. Click OK.10. Optionally, you can click Save Task to save these selections for future use.


page 59

Once you have selected transactions to be stopped on a schedule, those transactions will appear in the leftpane of the following screen.

To view the details of a selected transaction's schedule, check its box and its details will appear in the TaskItem Properties pane on the right.

From this view, you can change the settings of transaction's schedule by selecting a transaction andclicking Set Duration. Additionally, you can delete transactions from the unmanage schedule by selectingthem and clicking Delete Checked Items.

page 60

It is possible to create a conflict of schedules if you choose the same transaction to be stoppedusing both the web console and the Unmanage Scheduling Utility with different durations.



Transactions and dependenciesThe SolarWinds Orion Manage Dependencies feature enables you to associate objects in a parent-childrelations that shows one object has a dependency on another. WPM lets you set dependencies ontransaction steps as well as transactions, providing you with an increased level of granularity to isolatedependencies at the level of single browser actions.

For the purposes of Web Performance Monitoring, dependencies are useful in conjunction with NPM andSAM for tying nodes and applications to transactions and transaction steps to facilitate troubleshooting.This means that you can view the status of nodes and applications associated with a transaction ortransaction step using the Transaction Application Dependencies, Transaction Node Dependencies, StepApplication Dependencies and Step Node Dependencies resources in the Transaction Details and StepDetails views to see how their performances are affecting the transaction or an individual step.

Setting up dependencies can also be for avoiding unnecessary alerts from child objects when only theparent object is actually experiencing problems. For example, if you had 50 devices at a remote siteconnected to one server, you would not want to be swamped with 50 alert messages from these if theserver went down. By specifying that each device is dependent on the server, these devices would beshown as Unreachable if the parent server went down, and any alerts triggered by Down status wouldtherefore be suppressed for these devices.

There are two ways to set up dependencies:

l Creating dependencies when adding a transactionl Creating dependencies on the Manage Dependencies page



CREATING DEPENDENCIES WHEN ADDING A TRANSACTIONYou can create dependencies between transactions and nodes or applications when setting uptransactions.


page 61

1. Create a transaction, as described in Creating Transactions.2. When you reach the Transaction status troubleshooting option, select Improve troubleshooting by

associating nodes or applications to this web transaction.3. Click Add nodes.4. Select the node or nodes you want to associate with this transaction, and click Save.5. Click Add applications.6. Select the application or applications you want to associate with this transaction, and click Save.7. If you want to add nodes and applications to individual steps in this transaction, click Set individual

dependencies for steps.8. Click Save Monitor.9. The Manage Transaction Monitors page is displayed, showing the related nodes and related

applications.

EDITING TRANSACTION AND TRANSACTION STEP DEPENDENCIES

Transaction and Transaction Step Dependencies created this way are shown on the Manage Dependenciespage. By default they are created with "Transaction dependency" and "Transaction Step dependency" asthe Dependency Name, and with the node or application as the Parent and the transaction or transactionstep as Child.

These dependencies can then be managed or edited in the same way as other dependencies as describedin Managing Dependencies in the Orion Common Components Administrator Guide.



CREATING DEPENDENCIES ON THE MANAGE DEPENDENCIESPAGEThe Manage Dependencies page enables you to create a parent-child dependency between any two Orionobjects, including Player locations, transactions and transaction steps.

To create a dependency:

1. Click Settings in the top right of the web console.2. Click Manage Dependencies in the Node & Group Management grouping.3. Click Add new dependency.4. On the Select Parent page, complete the following steps:

page 62

http://www.solarwinds.com/documentation/helploader.aspx?topic=OrionCoreAGManagingDependencies.htm

a. Use the Show only: and Group by: selection fields to customize the list of displayed objectsand groups.

The properties listed in the Group by: selection field are dynamic.

b. Select the parent object or group in the main pane, and then click Next.

If you want to define a dependency so that the reported states of child objects aredependent on the status of multiple parent objects, create a group including all parentobjects, and then select it on this view.

5. On the Choose Child page:a. Edit the Dependency name, as appropriate.b. Use the Show only: and Group by: selection fields to customize the list of displayed objects

and groups.

Properties listed in the Group by: selection field are dynamically dependent on theselection in the Show only: field.

c. Select the child object or group in the main pane, and then click Next.

If you want to define a dependency so that the reported states of multiple child objects aredependent on the status of one or more parent objects, create a group including all childobjects, and then select it on this view.

6. On the Review Dependency page, review the current settings for the configured dependency.l If any advanced alerts are configured on parent or child objects, they will be listed on thisview. Click + to expand alert details.

l In the event that a parent object is down, alerts configured on any child objects in adependency will not trigger because the child object status is Unreachable.

7. Click Submit to accept the dependency definition.

For complete documentation, see Managing Dependencies in the Orion Common ComponentsAdministrator Guide.


page 63

http://www.solarwinds.com/documentation/helploader.aspx?topic=OrionCoreAGManagingDependencies.htm



page 64

Monitoring your transactionsThis section provides a complete list of WPM-specific resources available in the Transaction Summary view,the Transaction Details view, the Transaction Step Details view and the Location Details view. It alsoprovides information about several of the resources. For information about a specific resource, click Helpin the upper right corner of the resource.

To add a resource to a view:

1. Select the view to which you want to add the resource, and then click Customize Page.2. Click the green plus icon, +, next to the column in which you want to display the resource.3. To add a WPM-related resource, select Feature from the Group by dropdown, and then click Web

from the list displayed.4. Select the resource or resources you want to add, and then click Add Selected Resources.5. Click Preview.6. To edit the title and subtitle for this resource, click Edit in the resource title bar.

Some resources have additional options on the Edit Resource page.

7. Amend the default information displayed.8. Click Submit.

In addition to the WPM-specific resources, you also have access to the standard resources and thosesupplied with other SolarWinds products. For further information on adding and managing the resourcesshown in a view, see Editing Views in the Orion Common Components Administrator Guide.



The Transactions Summary viewsThe WPM Web Console provides both overviews and detailed views to present a wide array of informationabout the transactions you have created.

Each view is made up of graphs, charts or tables pertaining to that view. These resources can be added,removed, edited or deleted to present the view in a way that shows the information you want in the waymost useful to you. You can add tabs to a view if you need to organize it in to smaller pages.

For information on customizing views, see Customizing Views in the Orion Common ComponentsAdministrator Guide.


page 65

http://www.solarwinds.com/documentation/helploader.aspx?topic=OrionCoreAGEditingViews.htm

http://www.solarwinds.com/documentation/helploader.aspx?topic=OrionCoreAGCustomizingViews.htm

The overview view is known as the Transactions Summary view. If you require more detail about anylocation, transaction or step listed on this view, click the location, step or transaction name in any resourceto open the appropriate details view.

To view the Web Transactions Summary view in the Web Console, go to Web > Transaction Summary.



TRANSACTION SUMMARY VIEWThis overview displays information about all your WPM transactions, and can be used to drill down intodetails about individual transactions, transaction steps and locations. If you require more detail about anytransaction, step or location listed , click the step, transaction or location name within any resource to openthe appropriate details view.

You can customize this view by adding or removing resources, adding or removing columns in which theseresources are displayed, changing the title of the view or any of the resources on it, adding navigation tabs,and adding view limitations.

For information on customizing views, see Customizing Views in the Orion Common ComponentsAdministrator Guide.

The following WPM resources are available in this view:

l Active Transaction/Step/Location Alertsl All Locationsl All Transactionsl Last XX Eventsl Steps by Statusl Top XX Steps by Durationl Top XX Transactions by Durationl Transactions by Statusl Transaction Health Overview



page 66

http://www.solarwinds.com/documentation/helploader.aspx?topic=OrionCoreAGCustomizingViews.htm

TRANSACTION DETAILSThis view is used to display information about a selected transaction, and can be used to drill down intodetails about individual transaction steps and the player location. Click the step or location name withinany resource to see the appropriate details view.

You can customize this view by adding or removing resources, adding or removing columns in whichresources are displayed, changing the title of the view or any of the resources on it, adding navigation tabs,and adding view limitations.

For information on customizing views, see Editing Views in the Orion Common Components AdministratorGuide.


l Active Transaction/Step/Location Alertsl All Locationsl All Transactionsl Current Screenshot of Stepsl Duration - Radial Gaugel Last XX Eventsl Min/Max Average Durationl Recording Custom Propertiesl Screenshots of Last XX Failuresl Step Durationl Steps by Statusl Top XX Locations by Durationl Top XX Transactions by Durationl Transaction Application Dependenciesl Transaction Availabilityl Transactions by Statusl Transaction Custom Propertiesl Transaction Detailsl Transaction Health Overviewl Transaction Node Dependencies




page 67


STEP DETAILSThis view is used to display information about a selected transaction step.


For information on customizing views, see Editing views in the Orion Common Components AdministratorGuide.


l All Locationsl Active Transaction/Step/Location Alertsl All Transactionsl Current Screenshot of Stepsl Duration - Radial Gaugel Min/Max Average Durationl Page Elements Overviewl Screenshots of Last XX Failuresl Step Availabilityl Step Detailsl Step Durationl Steps by Statusl TCP Waterfall Chartl Top XX Locations by Durationl Top XX Steps by Durationl Top XX Transactions by Durationl Transaction Health Overviewl Transactions by Status



LOCATION DETAILSThe Location Details view is used to display information about a specific player location.

page 68



For information on customizing views, see Editing Views in the Orion Common Components AdministratorGuide.


l Active Transaction/Step/Location Alertsl All Locationsl All Transactionsl Last XX Eventsl Location Detailsl Player Load Percentagel Steps by Statusl Top XX Steps by Durationl Top XX Transactions by Durationl Transaction Availabilityl Transaction Health Overviewl Transactions by Status



Active Transaction/Step/Location AlertsThis resource lists all currently active transaction, step or location alerts. The table lists the time, objectname, and message for each active alert.

l Highlight an Object Name to show popup details of the corresponding location, step or transactionl Click an Object Name in the list to navigate to the specific location, step or transaction details viewrelating to this alert.

AVAILABLE CUSTOMIZATIONClick Edit to:

l Change the Title and Subtitle of this resourcel Show or hide acknowledged alerts


page 69




All LocationsThe All Locations resource shows all the locations where transaction players exist, with the followingcolumns:

l Location Name (with status icon):l Highlight the location to show pop-up location informationl Click on the location name to show the Location Details view

l Number of Managed Transactions, highlighting how many have problemsl The Version of the playerl The percentage Current Player Load

AVAILABLE CUSTOMIZATIONYou can change the Title and Subtitle of this resource by clicking Edit and editing the appropriate fields.

DEFINING TRANSACTION PROBLEMS

Click Edit to display the "Transactions with Problems" checkboxes. Here you can select the states (Warning,Critical, Down, Unreachable and Unknown) that you want to be included in the number of problems shownin the Managed Transactions column.

ADVANCED FILTERING

Advanced users can create their own filters to show or hide the locations displayed using SWQL. ClickProperties available for filtering to display the properties you can use.

MANAGING LOCATIONS

Click Manage Locations to open the Manage Transaction Locations screen. For further information, seeManaging playback locations



page 70

All TransactionsThe All Transactions resource provides a tree view of your transaction monitors, allowing you to see thestatus of the transactions and whether any are unresponsive.

l Expand transactions to show steps in the tree view.l Click a transaction, step or location to navigate to the corresponding transaction, step or locationdetails view.

Click Manage Transactions to add, edit, enable, disable, or delete transaction monitors. For furtherinformation, see Managing transactions.

AVAILABLE CUSTOMIZATION

Title/Subtitle The title and the subtitle of the resource.

Group by Groups the items in the tree by None, Location, Playback Interval, Recording, or Status

Groupstatus rolluptype

Determines the status of the group or transaction (parent) if the group members or theindividual steps (child items) do not all share the same status.

l Mixed: sets the parent status to Warning if the child items do not all have the samestatus.

l Worst: sets the parent status to the child item with the worst status.

l Best: sets the parent status to the child item with the best status.

Order by Sorts the items in the tree by Name or Status.

RememberExpandedState

Check to remembers which tree items you expanded in the resources and restores theirexpanded viewing state any time the view is reloaded.

AlwaysExpand RootLevel

Check to show tree expanded to show transactions.

ShowDurations

Check to display how long it took to playback each transaction monitor or step.

HideUnmanagedTransactions

Check to hide all transactions marked as unmanaged.

Filter (SWQL) Here you can enter a (SWQL) query using transaction properties to limit the scope oftransaction monitors shown in this resource. For example, to only display transactionsthat have a location name starting with 'Japan', use:


page 71

Transactions.Location LIKE 'Japan%'

Propertiesavailable forfiltering

Click + to expand the list of transaction properties you can use in the Filter (SWQL) field.



Current ScreenshotThis resource displays the latest screenshot resulting from this step.

l To see a full-size image of the screenshot, click View screenshot full screenl To view the HTML of the page as it appeared at the time of the screenshot, click View HTML


l Click Edit to change the Title and Subtitle of this resource



Current Screenshot of StepsThis resource displays screenshots taken of the steps within this transaction at the indicated date andtime.

l To see a full-size image of a screenshot, click View screenshot full screen beneath itl To view the HTML of a page at the time of the screenshot, click View HTML beneath it


l Click Edit to:l Change the Title and Subtitle of this resourcel Change the Maximum Number of Items to Displayl Filter the screenshots shown using an SWQL statement.


page 72


Duration - Radial GaugeThis resource shows the current duration of the transaction or step as a radial gauge.

AVAILABLE CUSTOMIZATIONClick Edit to change the following resource attributes:


GaugeRange

Select a method for determining the largest value the gauge can indicate:

l Dynamic: You provide a series of indicator ranges, and the limit that is chosen isthe one that best fits the highest value seen in the data. Enter your comma-delimited series of custom limits in the Limits for Dynamic Range in Seconds field.

l Static: Define the largest indicated value in the Maximal Value in Seconds field.l Thresholds dependent: Defines the largest indicated value by multiplying thehighest threshold duration by a multiplier. Enter the multiplier in the UpperThreshold Multiplier field.

If there are no thresholds defined, the dynamic method is used.

Select Stylefor Gauges

Select a style for the gauge. Alternately, you can click on Available Styles and click on theimage of the required gauge type.

Gauge Size30% to 250%

This field contains the scaling percentage of the gauge display. You can enter a scalingfactor from 30 to 250. 100 is the default scaling value.

AvailableStyles

Click the [+] to see the available styles for gauges.



Last XX EventsThis resource lists the most recent events that have occurred for Locations, Transactions and TransactionSteps. For each event, the date and time of the event, the event Status icons, and event description isdisplayed.


page 73

AVAILABLE CUSTOMIZATIONClick Edit to open the Edit Resource page. Here you can:

l Edit the Title of this resourcel Specify the Maximum Number of Events to be displayedl Select the Time Period for the list to cover



Location DetailsThe Location Details resource presents a table of general operational and administrative information forthe selected location.

Management Click Edit to go to the Transaction Location page where you can set upand manage location players.

For further information, see Managing playback locations

Status Displays a green check icon if the location is running within theoperating thresholds, or critical, warning, or down icons if not.

Location Name The location name.

Communication type Shows whether this is "Server initiated communication (passive)" or"Player initiated communication".

DNS name The DNS name of this location.

Hostname The hostname of this location.

IP address The IP address of this location.

Assigned to poller The name of the poller assigned to this player location.

Version The version of the player at this location.

Current player load The current percentage load for this player.

Transactions The transactions assigned to this player. For each, the status icon,transaction name, most recent step duration and status is displayed.


page 74

Title/Subtitle: The title and the subtitle of the resource.



Min/Max Average DurationThe Min/Max Average Duration Chart is located on both the Transaction Details page and the Step Detailspage. This chart lets you compare the average amount of time an individual transaction or step takes withthe longest and shortest times that the transaction or step takes to complete.

This chart is interactive. Hovering over any part of the chart will provide detailed information for a selectedperiod. You can check or uncheck either box in the legend to add or remove that element from the chart.

ZOOMINGUse the Zoom buttons to display data for 1 hour, 12 week, or 24 hours, or use the slider handles below thechart to create your own period. You can move the selected period to any point in the available data rangeusing the slider bar.


Title andSubtitle

Rename the title and subtitle of this resource as required.

TimePeriod

Here you can select the default period of data displayed, the amount of historical dataavailable and the sample interval. If the sample interval is greater than the playback interval,the data within the sample will be summarized.

Advanced Here you can change the chart title and subtitle from the defaults of $(Caption) and$(ZoomRange).




page 75

Page Elements OverviewThe Page Elements Overview displays a breakdown of elements contained in the navigated URL as a piechart. Each category shows the number of requests and overall size of downloaded data in both thelegend and the tool-tips.

Click an item in the legend of the Page Elements Overview to toggle the corresponding pie section'svisibility.


l Change the Title and Subtitle of the resourcel Use the count of elements as the chart value instead of their size

The Page Elements Overview chart shows only data from the last playback for this transaction.



Player Load PercentageThe Player Load Percentage Chart shows the load percentage of an individual player at any given time.

If you notice the load percentage is high, you should consider increasing the time intervals betweenpolls and/or adding more players to a given location. Adding more players will help reduce the loadby distributing the load more evenly.

This chart is interactive. Hovering over any part of the chart will provide detailed information about theload percentage.

ZOOMINGYou can display data for 1 hour, 12 week, or 24 hours, or use the sliders below the chart to select your ownperiod. You can also move the selected period to any point in the available data range.


Title andSubtitle

Rename the title and subtitle of this resource as required.

page 76

CalculatedSeries

Check the checkbox to show a trend line on the chart showing the overall trend of the loadpercentage.

TimePeriod

Here you can select the default period of data displayed, the amount of historical dataavailable and the sample interval. If the sample interval is greater than the playbackinterval, the data within the sample will be summarized.




Requests with IssuesThe Requests with Issues resource, lists the specific URLs of requests that have caused errors, showing theelement type requested and status code.

l Click the URL to open this location in a new browser tab.l Click any status code to display a full explanatory list of status codes.l To export this list, click Export CSV, then click Open or Save to view or save as a Comma-SeparatedValues (CSV) file.


Displayrequests withstatus code

Check the status codes requests must return to be listed.

Filter Advanced users can create their own filters to show or hide the requests displayedusing SWQL. Click Properties available for filtering to display the properties you canuse.




page 77

Recording Custom PropertiesThe Recording Custom Properties resource shows any custom properties set up for a recording.

If recording properties have already been set up, you can edit or create custom properties by clicking EditCustom Properties Values on this resource. Otherwise go to Settings > Manage Custom Properties.

For more information, see Managing Custom Properties in the Orion Common Components AdministratorGuide.





Screenshots of Last XX FailuresThis resource displays the screenshots taken during the most recent step failures. It shows the time ofeach failure, the step name, the error message, and a thumbnail of the screenshot.

l Click View screenshot full screen under the thumbnail to see a full-size image of the screenshot.l Click View HTML under the thumbnail to view the HTML of the page as it appeared at the time ofthe screenshot.


l Change the Title and Subtitle of this resourcel Change the Maximum Number of Items to Displayl Filter the screenshots shown using an SWQL statement



page 78

http://www.solarwinds.com/documentation/helploader.aspx?topic=OrionCoreAGCustomProperties.htm

Screenshots of Last XX Step FailuresThis resource displays the screenshots taken during the most recent transaction failures. It shows the timeof each failure, the step name, the error message, and a thumbnail of the screenshot.

l To view the details page for a step, click the step namel To see a full-size image of the screenshot, click View screenshot full screen under the thumbnaill To view the HTML of the page as it appeared at the time of the screenshot, click View HTML underthe thumbnail


l Change the Title and Subtitle of this resourcel Change the Maximum Number of Items to Displayl Filter the screenshots shown using an SWQL statement.



Step Application DependenciesThe Step Application Dependencies resource lists any applications that have been associated with thistransaction step.

Step Dependencies enable you to apply dependencies at the level of a transaction step, thereforeallowing the greatest degree of granularity for troubleshooting. If you do not require a separatedependency for each step in a transaction, you should use Transaction Dependencies instead.

To edit or add dependencies, click Edit in the Step Details resource.

For each node in the list, the current response time and percentage packet loss is displayed.





page 79


Step AvailabilityThe Step Availability Chart, lets you see the percentage of time a transaction step is in a particular state,such as Up, Down, Warning, Critical, or Unknown. The state of the transaction step at a given time can bedetermined by referencing the color-coding of the chart and the legend below the chart.

Move the mouse over the main chart to reveal a tool tip with more detailed information for a time slicewithin the period.




Default ZoomRange

Select the default zoom range to be shown when this resource is viewed.

Amount ofhistorical data toload

Select the period of historical data you want to be available for this resource.

Sample Interval Select a predefined sample interval. There may be gaps in the chart if you select asample interval shorter than your transaction playback interval.

Chart Width Set the width of the chart in pixels. A value of 0 lets the chart automaticallydetermine the best chart width.

Chart Height Set the height of the chart in pixels. A value of 0 lets the chart automaticallydetermine the best chart height.



page 80

Step DetailsThe Step Details resource presents a table of general operational and administrative information for theselected step.

The Management row provides direct links to the following management actions:

l Edit - allows you to directly edit the transaction to which this step belongs.l Play entire transaction now - initiates an immediate, unscheduled playback of the transaction thestep belongs to.

The remaining table rows describe the following information:

Status Displays a green up icon if the step is running within the operating thresholds, or critical,warning, or down icons if it is not.

Page name The title of the web page accessed by the step.

URL The URL of the web page accessed by the step.

Duration The amount of time it took to play back this step.

RecordingName

The recording used to create the transaction.

Location The location used to create the transaction.

Playbackinterval

The period of time between successive playbacks of the transaction.

Last played The date and time this step was last played.

Nextplayback

The date and time at which the step will be played again. If it is currently being played, itwill read Now.

Actions The browser actions that comprise this step.



Show Actions List Click to toggle whether or not actions are displayed for this step.



page 81


Step DurationThe Step Duration Chart, located on the Transaction Details page, lets you see the time individual steps ofa transaction takes to complete.

Note: AJAX calls are not included in step duration calculations.

This chart is interactive. Hovering the mouse over the chart will show each step duration for the selectedtime.

Beneath the chart the individual steps of the transaction are listed, showing the optimal threshold and95% percentile for each step.

l The optimal threshold (or typical value) can be edited on the Edit Transaction Monitor page.l The 95% percentile is a statistical concept indicating that for 95% of the time the step duration wasbelow this figure.




Time Period Here you can select the default period of data displayed, the amount of historical dataavailable and the sample interval. If the sample interval is greater than the playbackinterval, the data within the sample will be summarized.




page 82

Step Node DependenciesThe Step Node Dependencies resource lists any nodes that have been associated with this transactionstep.


Step Dependencies enable you to apply dependencies at the level of a transaction step, thereforeallowing the greatest degree of granularity for troubleshooting. If you do not require a separatedependency for each step in a transaction, you should use Transaction Dependencies instead.

To edit or add dependencies, click Edit in the Step Details resource.






Steps by StatusThis resource lists transaction steps by their status.

You can configured and rename this resource to display steps with a particular set of statuses. Forexample, it is often renamed "Steps with Problems," and filtered to show steps that have a status ofWarning, Critical, Down, and Unknown.

To view the details page for a step or a transaction, click the step or transaction name.



Statuses to filterby

The resource displays only the steps that have the selected statuses. Your selectionmay include Up, Warning, Critical, Down, and Unknown statuses.

Filter (SWQL) Enables you to enter an SWQL query using transaction step properties to limit thesteps displayed.


page 83


Click + to expand the list of transaction properties you can use in the Filter (SWQL)field.



TCP Waterfall ChartThe TCP Waterfall Chart displays data for a transaction both cumulatively and sequentially. The benefit ofthis view is that you can see how each requested element affects page load performance, which elementsare slowing things down and why. The stub at the left of the chart shows the element of the transactionbeing loaded, while the times for each element are shown to the right, color-coded in graphical form.

By default, only 20 requests are shown in the resource. To see all requests, click show xxx remainingrequests to show the chart in full screen.

You can also expand the chart by clicking Show this chart in full screen.

The TCP Waterfall Chart only shows data from the last playback.

DNSlookup

The time it takes for the browser to look up the domain name of the requested object.

Connection This represents the time for establishing a TCP connection, at which point data can startbeing transferred. (Also known as the "three-way handshake.")

Send The time for sending the request to the server. Good for measuring POST data.

Time tofirst byte

This is the time between when the request is sent to the server and the first response dataare received from the server. In another words it is the time the browser spends waiting onthe web server to send the data back. This time is usually higher for the dynamically-generated content (such as aspx/php/jsp pages).

Contentdownload

This is time it takes for the whole content to be sent from server to the browser.

3xx HTTPStatusCodes

Indicates a requests that resulted in the return of a 3xx HTTP status code. 3xx codesindicate that automatically forwarding or redirection to another resource (URL) withoutinteraction of the user.

page 84

4xx, 5xxHTTPStatusCodes

Indicates a requests that resulted in the return of a 4xx or 5xx HTTP status code. 4xx codesare received in the server response when there is an error in the request from the client.5xx codes are returned by the web server when it encounters a problem during processingof the requested resource by the client.

l This chart is interactive. Clicking any item in the stub of the TCP Waterfall Chart will take you to thatitem, be it a graphic, web page, JavaScript element, and so on. Hovering your mouse over any itemin the chart will bring up a tool-tip with detailed information about that particular item.

l There may be a slight discrepancy between the numbers found in the tool-tips and those shown onthe chart. This is due to rounding.



Maximum Number of Items toDisplay

Enables you to specify the maximum number of items to display inthe resource.



Top XX Locations by DurationThe Top XX Locations by Duration chart is located on both the Transaction Details and Step Details page.This chart will display the duration of a transaction or step as it is played from multiple locations. With thisview, you can easily see which locations are performing poorly for a given transaction or step. The worst, orslowest performing locations, are shown from the top down.

This chart is interactive. Move the mouse over the main chart to reveal a tool tip with more detailedinformation for a time slice within the period.

A list of the transactions appears below the chart, showing the current and average duration of eachtransaction. (The average is calculated using the selected amount of historical data loaded.) Click anytransaction to display its Transaction Details view.



page 85


Title/Subtitle Edit the title and subtitle for this resource if required.

MaximumNumber ofItems toDisplay

Enter the maximum number of locations to be displayed.

Time Period Here you can select the default period of data displayed, the amount of historical dataavailable and the sample interval. If the sample interval is greater than the playbackinterval, the data within the sample will be summarized.




Top XX Steps by DurationThis resource lists the steps with the longest running duration during the latest playback of thetransaction. For each step, this resource displays the step name, the transaction it belongs to, the durationfor the step in seconds, and the percentage of optimal duration this represents.

Click any step, transaction or location name to view its details page.



Maximum Number ofItems to Display

Enables you to set the maximum number of items to display in the resource.

Filter (SWQL) Enables you to enter a (SWQL) query using transaction properties to limit thescope of transaction monitors shown in this resource.

Properties availablefor filtering

Click [+] to expand the list of transaction properties you can use in the Filter(SWQL) field.

page 86



Top XX Transactions by DurationThe Top XX Transactions by Duration Chart, located on the Location Details page, lets you see the amountof time an entire transaction took to complete.

This chart is interactive. Hovering over any part of the chart will provide detailed information about thetransaction.

A list of the transactions appears below the chart, showing the current and average duration of eachtransaction. (The average is calculated using the selected amount of historical data loaded.) Click anytransaction to display its Transaction Details view.




Maximum Number ofItems to Display

Enables you to specify the maximum number of items to display in theresource.

Filter (SWQL) Enables you to enter a (SWQL) query using transaction properties to limit thescope of transaction monitors shown in this resource.

Properties availablefor filtering

Click [+] to expand the list of transaction properties you can use in the Filter(SWQL) field.




page 87

Transaction AvailabilityThe Transaction Availability Chart, lets you see the percentage of time a transaction is in a particular state,be it Up, Down, Warning, Critical or Unknown. The state of the transaction at a given time can bedetermined by referencing the color-coding of the chart and the legend below the chart. By hovering themouse over the chart you can display a pop-up of further information.




Default ZoomRange

Select the default zoom range to be shown when this resource is viewed.

Amount ofhistorical data toload

Select the period of historical data you want to be available for this resource.

Sample Interval Select a predefined sample interval. There may be gaps in the chart if you select asample interval shorter than your transaction playback interval.

Chart Width Set the width of the chart in pixels. A value of 0 lets the chart automaticallydetermine the best chart width.

Chart Height Set the height of the chart in pixels. A value of 0 lets the chart automaticallydetermine the best chart height.



Transaction Application DependenciesThe Transaction Application Dependencies resource lists the applications that have been associated withthis transaction.

page 88

Dependencies in WPM allow you to tie together a transaction or transaction step to a resource in atype of parent-child relationship. A transaction level dependency applies to the whole transaction -if an event occurs anywhere during the transaction, the alert is triggered. if you want totroubleshoot your transaction on a more granular level you should use Step Dependencies.

To edit or add dependencies, click Edit in the Transaction Details resource.





Transaction Custom PropertiesThe Transaction Custom Properties resource shows any custom properties set up for a transaction.

If recording properties exist, you can edit or create transaction custom properties, click Edit CustomProperties Values on this resource. Otherwise go to Settings > Manage Custom Properties.

For more information, see Managing Custom Properties in the Orion Common Components AdministratorGuide.


Title/Subtitle The title and the subtitle of this resource.



Transaction DetailsThe Transaction Details resource presents a table of general operational and administrative informationfor the selected transaction.

The Management row provides direct links to the following management actions:


page 89

http://www.solarwinds.com/documentation/helploader.aspx?topic=OrionCoreAGCustomProperties.htm

l Edit: opens the Edit Transaction Monitor page, allowing you to directly edit the transaction.l Unmanage: launches the Unmanage Monitor window, enabling you to suspend the playing of thistransaction for a specified period of time.

l Play now: initiates an immediate, unscheduled playback of the transaction.

The remaining table rows describe the following information:

Status Displays a green up icon if the transaction is running within operating thresholds, orcritical, warning, or down icons if it is not.

RecordingName

The recording used to create the transaction.

RecordingID

The internal reference number of this transaction.

Location The location and the status of the location for this transaction.

Playbackinterval

The period of time between successive playbacks of the transaction.

Last played The date and time this transaction was last played.

Nextplayback

The date and time at which the transaction will be played again. If it is currently beingplayed, it will read Now.

Description The description for this transaction.

Steps A list of the steps in this transaction, showing the latest step duration and current status.





Transaction Health OverviewThis resource displays a pie chart overview showing the statuses of all your transactions. The legendbeneath the chart can be expanded to list transactions by status.

page 90


Title and Subtitle The title and the subtitle of the resource.

RememberExpanded State

Checking this checkbox will automatically open tree structure of transactions,grouped by status, every time the user accesses this page.

Hide UnmanagedTransactions

Checking this checkbox will hide any transactions that have been marked asunmanaged.

Filter (SWQL) Enables you to form a (SWQL) query using transaction properties to limit the scopeof transaction monitors shown in this resource.


Click + to expand the list of transaction properties you can use in the Filter (SWQL)field.

Advanced Click to edit the Chart Title and Chart Subtitle.



Transaction Node DependenciesThe Transaction Node Dependencies resource lists the nodes that have been associated with thistransaction.


Dependencies in WPM allow you to tie together a transaction or transaction step to a resource in atype of parent-child relationship. A transaction level dependency applies to the whole transaction -if an event occurs anywhere during the transaction, the alert is triggered. if you want totroubleshoot your transaction on a more granular level you should use Step Dependencies.

To edit or add dependencies, click Edit in the Transaction Details resource.




page 91



Transactions by StatusThis resource shows a list of transaction names and their durations in seconds. The duration of atransaction is the sum of all its step durations.

You can configure and rename this resource to display transactions with a particular set of statuses. Forexample, it is often renamed "Transactions with Problems", and filtered to show transactions that have astatus of Warning, Critical, Down, and Unknown.

To view the details page for a transaction, click the transaction name.



Statuses to filterby

The resource displays only the transactions that have the selected statuses. Yourselection may include Up, Warning, Critical, Down, and Unknown statuses.

Filter (SWQL) Enables you to form a (SWQL) query using transaction properties to limit the scope oftransaction monitors shown in this resource.


Click [+] to expand the list of transaction properties you can use in the Filter (SWQL)field.

page 92



page 93

The AppStack EnvironmentThe Application Stack, or AppStack, is a term used to describe the various layers that make up a complexapplication delivery infrastructure. The AppStack Environment view is an interactive visual mapping withinOrion that provides an in-depth perspective through the entire environment to help identify the root causeof performance and availability issues.

AppStack will automatically gather information about objects in your environment, as well as theirrespective relationships, and display them. Some relationships, such as groups and dependencies can bedefined by the user.

Important: As a standalone product, AppStack is available in the software versions listed below. If you ownone or more of the listed products in addition to Web Performance Monitor 2.2, AppStack will not functionproperly unless each version of the software is upgraded to the versions listed:

l Server & Application Monitor 6.2l Storage Resource Monitor 6.0l Virtualization Manager 6.2



Introduction to the AppStack Environment ViewThe AppStack Environment view is designed to provide you with a powerful layer of troubleshootingvisibility by exposing all participating objects in your environment, as well as their relationships to oneanother. This view is useful in assessing the overall health of your environment, as well as troubleshootingspecific and related problems.

To help you better understand how this visualization of your environment can be used for troubleshooting,the following analogy was designed to provide you with a simple, high-level overview of how AppStackprocesses and displays information.

THE APPSTACK ENVIRONMENT VIEW ANALOGYImagine you work for a company comprised of many employees that work in various departments. In thisexample, you work in the Engineering department as an engineer:


page 94

Now imagine you call in sick and are unable to work for two weeks. Certain employees in variousdepartments will be affected by your absence. Others will not be affected. The illustration below highlightsthe employees who will be affected by your absence by fading those who are not affected.

page 95

Focusing on only the people who are affected by your absence can be beneficial from a task managementperspective. Therefore, completely hiding those not affected by your absence will give a clean and conciseview, displaying only the necessary information.

Now, instead of employees, imagine we are talking about your entire IT environment. The goal of theAppStack Environment view is to help you quickly assess the impact a given object has on its relatedobjects. This relational view is the AppStack Environment view found in the web console.


page 96

THE APPSTACK ENVIRONMENT VIEWThe AppStack Environment, shown below, displays the status of individual objects in your IT environmentthrough the Orion web console. Objects are categorized and ordered from left to right, with the worststatus being shown on the left side of the view.

Clicking an object shows everything related to that object by fading unrelated objects, as shown:

page 97

Clicking Spotlight removes the faded, unrelated objects from the view entirely.


page 98

Clicking the selected object at the top, or double-clicking it in the view, will take you to the Details page forthat object for further investigation.



AppStack categories and dataThe following matrix outlines all of the categories associated with the AppStack Environment view.Different categories are available with each SolarWinds product, as indicated in the Product column

CATEGORY DEFINITION PRODUCTS

Groups Groups enable you to more effectively manage yourenvironment by giving you the ability to logically organizemonitored objects, regardless of device type or location.

l SRMl SAMl VManl WPM

Applications In SAM, an application is a collection of component monitorsgrouped together to collect specific metrics concerning theapplication as a whole.

l SAM

Transactions A transaction is a recording of web browser steps assigned to aspecific location.

l WPM

Steps A step is a collection of actions. For example, the actionsrequired to navigate to a specific URL make up one step.

l WPM

Servers A server is a computer capable of accepting requests from theclient and giving responses accordingly. The server makesservices, as access to data files, programs, and peripheraldevices, available to workstations on a network.

l SAMl VMan

Hosts A Host is defined as a server running a Hypervisor forvirtualization. (E.g. It hosts multiple virtual machines.)

l SAMl VMan

VirtualClusters

Virtual clusters are built with VMs installed at distributedservers from one or more physical clusters. The VMs in avirtual cluster are logically connected by a virtual networkacross several physical networks. Each virtual cluster is formedwith physical machines or a VM hosted by multiple physical

l SAMl VMan

page 99


clusters.

VirtualDatacenters

A virtual datacenter is a centralized virtual repository for thestorage, management, and dissemination of data andinformation organized around a particular body of knowledgeor pertaining to a particular business.

l SAMl VMan

VirtualCenters

A VMware virtual center (vCenter) server is a centralizedmanagement application that lets you manage virtualmachines and ESXi hosts centrally. The vSphere client is usedto access vCenter Server and ultimately manage ESXi servers.

l SAMl VMan

Data Stores A data store is a repository of a set of data objects. Theseobjects are modeled using classes defined in a databaseschema. A data store is a general concept that includes not justrepositories like databases, but also simpler store types suchas flat files. Some data stores represent data in only oneschema, while other data stores use several schemas for thistask.

l VMan

Volumes A volume, or logical drive, is a single accessible storage areawith a single file system, typically resident on a single partitionof a hard disk.

l SRMl SAM

LUNS A Logical Unit Number, or LUN, is a number used to identify alogical unit, which is a device addressed by the SCSI protocol orStorage Area Network protocols which encapsulate SCSI, suchas Fibre Channel or iSCSI. A LUN may be used with any devicewhich supports read/write operations, such as a tape drive, butis most often used to refer to a logical disk as created on aSAN.

l SRM

NAS Volumes Network-attached storage (NAS) is a type of dedicated filestorage device that provides local-area network (LAN) userswith centralized, consolidated disk storage through a standardEthernet connection.

l SRM


page 100


Pools A storage pool (also called a RAID array ) is a collection of diskdrives that become a logical entity. When you create a storagepool, you select the desired capacity (number of disk drives)and assign a RAID level to it which will provide a redundancylevel.

l SRM

VServers A virtual storage server (VServer) contains data volumes andone or more LIFs through which it serves data to the clients. AVServer can either contain one or more FlexVol volumes, or asingle Infinite Volume.

A VServer securely isolates the shared virtualized data storageand network, and appears as a single dedicated server to itsclients. Each VServer has a separate administratorauthentication domain and can be managed independently bya VServer administrator.

In a cluster, a VServer facilitates data access. A cluster musthave at least one VServer to serve data. VServers use thestorage and network resources of the cluster. However, thevolumes and LIFs are exclusive to the V-Server. MultipleVservers can coexist in a single cluster without being bound toany node in a cluster. However, they are bound to the physicalcluster on which they exist.

l SRM

Storage Arrays Storage Arrays consist of two or more disk drives built into astand-alone unit. Storage arrays provide increased availability,resiliency, and maintainability by using existing components(controllers, power supplies, fans, and so on) often up to thepoint where all single points of failure are eliminated from thedesign.

l SRM



page 101

Understanding AppStackThe AppStack Environment view will help you find the root cause of application issues in a glance. Thisview provides automated and contextual visibility across applications, databases, physical servers, yourvirtual infrastructure, as well as storage resources.

The AppStack Environment view contains multiple tools and features to aid you in root cause analysis. Thefollowing sections provide detailed descriptions for each of these tools and features:

l Understanding status and colorsl Understanding Quick Linksl Understanding Categoriesl Understanding the Overview Barl Understanding filtering optionsl Understanding filter propertiesl Understanding layoutsl Understanding the AppStack resource



UNDERSTANDING STATUS AND COLORSObjects in the AppStack Environment view are colored based on their current status, providing you a quicksummary of your environment. Objects will be in one of the following states, represented by its icon's colorand shape that corresponds to the following table:

STATUS COLOR EXAMPLE

Down Red

Critical Pink

Warning Yellow

Unknown Gray

Unreachable Black

Up Green

Other Blue -

External Purple -


page 102

Statuses only become available for filtering when an object in your environment is in that state. Forexample, if no objects have a status of Down, the Down status will not be available when filtering.

STATUS REPORTING

Servers can only provide an Up or Down status. To check CPU, memory, or hardware health status, hoverthe mouse over the server icon to view the detailed tool-tip. The reported status for applications and LUNsis based on performance thresholds.

UNDERSTANDINGMIXED ICONS

The AppStack Environment view offers a parent/child relationship. (Parents can be either servers or hosts.)This relationship is represented as a mixed icon. The parent is the larger of the two icons that is hostingthe child. For example, the following illustration graphically shows that an application (child) is Down on anode (parent) that is Up.



UNDERSTANDING QUICK LINKSThe Quick Links bar allows you to quickly open and close all visible object categories. Additionally, you cantoggle whether or not to show the names of objects that have a distressed status.

l Expand All: Opens all categories, revealing the visible objects within each category.Note: Each category can be individually expanded and collapsed by clicking [+] and [-] next to thecategory name.

page 103

l Collapse All: Closes all categories, hiding the objects within each category.Note: Each category can be individually expanded and collapsed by clicking [+] and [-] next to thecategory name.


page 104

l Show/Hide Names: Allows you to toggle between showing and hiding the names for each objectthat is in a distressed state.Note: If more objects exist than are allowed to be displayed on the screen, the category name willdisplay the number of displayed objects followed by the total number of objects. For example, (87of 111), meaning only 87 objects of 111 total objects in this category are being displayed. Thisprovides a numerical summary of your environment. Clicking More (located after the last visibleobject in the category) will display, by default, an additional 50 objects that are hidden from view.Related objects may be found by clicking More. The default number of 50 can be changed in theSettings page. For more information, see Customizing the AppStack Environment View.



UNDERSTANDING CATEGORIESBy default, the following AppStack Environment categories are available within Web PerformanceMonitoring.

l Groupsl Applications

page 105

l Serversl Transactionsl Steps

Notes:

l Other Orion Core products offer additional categories.l Empty categories can be hidden via the Change Layout Settings option in the drop down menu.

UNDERSTANDING THE CATEGORY STATUS SUMMARY

The Category Status Summary (located to the right of each category) parses, enumerates, and displays thenumber of objects in a given category, emphasizing the status as indicated by the colors. The CategoryStatus Summary can be toggled to either be displayed at all times, or only when categories are collapsed.This option exists under the Change Layout Settings drop down option.

If no objects in a category exist with a particular status, that status will not show in the summary.



UNDERSTANDING THE OVERVIEW BARThe Overview Bar summarizes your environment in a compact space. If your view is currently filtered, thefiltered objects will be displayed above the Overview Bar, as shown. Individual filtered objects can beremoved by clicking the [X] next to each object. To remove all filtered objects, click Clear All.

The doughnut chart in the Overview section graphically displays the ratio of objects to one another in allpossible states using indicative colored slices. The total number of objects in your environment is alsodisplayed.

Objects under the Issues header are parsed and enumerated according to status. Objects shown here willbe in one of the following distressed states: Down, Critical, Warning, Unknown and Unreachable. An iconand count will only appear if at least one object is currently in that state.


page 106



UNDERSTANDING FILTERING OPTIONSBy default, every object is displayed when you enter the AppStack Environment view. If you are concernedonly about objects with a certain status, you can filter the view by selecting one or more statuses and thenapplying the filter. Additionally, you can filter objects based on various properties, as well as one or morekeywords. The illustration below details each tool and feature of the filtering sidebar:

Statuses only become available for filtering when an object in your environment is in that state. Forexample, if no objects have a status of Down, the Down status will not be available when filtering.


page 107


UNDERSTANDING FILTER PROPERTIESThe AppStack Environment allows you to filter what is displayed in this view, allowing you to see only theobjects you want to see.

To filter the AppStack Environment view, take the following steps:

1. From the web console, navigate to Home > Environment.

2. Click [+] Add Filter Properties, as shown:


page 108

3. From the pop-up menu, select an object from the Orion Object drop down list:

Note: Multiple items can be added.4. When done, click Add column.5. The new filter appears in the filter column, as shown:

page 109

If no relations are shown in the AppStack resource on the Group Details view, then it is likely thatthis group contains no objects represented within the AppStack, such as switches, routers, and soon. If you have created a group that contains only objects which have no representation within theAppStack environment (e.g.: Nodes that are switches, routers, wireless access points, interfaces, andso on) then they will not have relationships and the only item displayed within the AppStackresource on the Group Details view is the group itself. This is normal behavior. Servers and virtualservers are the only node types that are represented within the AppStack environment. Groupsmade up of other object types which are not supported by the AppStack environment will notappear within the AppStack resource.

For more information, see Understanding filtering options .



UNDERSTANDING LAYOUTSA Layout is a user-defined filter (view-limitation), along with settings, that can be saved and recalled laterwithin the AppStack Environment view. User-defined layouts can be used to tailor the AppStackEnvironment view to specific objects of interest. A default layout is provided and contains all objects visiblein the AppStack Environment that is currently being monitored. The default layout cannot be modified.

New layouts are created by first filtering your environment, and then saving the changes via the Save AsNew Layout action in the Layout menu.

For example, to create a Layout where only IIS objects in the AppStack Environment view are shown, addthe IIS filter property, apply the filter, and then save it as a new layout, naming the layout appropriately.


page 110

Once saved, the layout is added to the drop down menu, allowing you to easily navigate to that layout withits defined filter and settings. The dot to the left of the name of the layout in the menu represents thelayout currently in use, as shown:

Modifying Filter Properties of a Saved Layout

To change the filtering properties of the current layout, take the following steps:

1. Make changes to the filter.2. Click Apply Filter, and then click Save (or Save as New Layout...) in the drop down menu.

Modifying Settings of a Saved Layout

To change the settings of the current layout, take the following steps:

1. Click Change Layout Settings from the drop down menu.2. Click Save (or Save as New Layout...).

page 111

Deleting a Saved Layout

To delete a layout, take the following steps:

1. Select the layout from the drop down menu and then click Delete this Layout.

For more information, see Customizing the AppStack Environment View



HIDING OBJECTS WITH "UP" STATUSIf you are not concerned about objects that are healthy and have an Up status, you can set up your displayto limit the number of Up objects shown by default within each category. This is useful in troubleshootingsituations, allowing you to only see objects in distress while limiting the visible number of objects that arehealthy.

Additionally, you can hide the number of Up objects by changing the value to 0.

An environment with a large number of objects that are not in an Up state may benefit from using thislimited view option.

For more information, see Understanding AppStack.



Understanding the AppStack resourceThe full AppStack Environment view is designed to provide you with a powerful layer of troubleshootingvisibility by exposing all participating objects in your environment, as well as their relationships to oneanother. By comparison, the AppStack resource only displays objects related to the target of the currentDetails page.


page 112

In essence, this resource displays the related objects you would see in the full AppStack Environment viewafter an object had been selected and then highlighted by clicking, Spotlight.



Navigating to AppStackNavigating to the AppStack Environment view:

1. From the web console, navigate to Home > Environment.

page 113

2. You will be taken to the AppStack Environment view, as shown:



Using AppStackUsing AppStack as a troubleshooting tool is fairly straightforward. Simply navigate to the AppStackEnvironment view, and then click on an object to see what is related to that object. To investigate further,navigate to the Details page of the object or any related object.

For example, the illustration below displays all objects in the current environment. The application,MSSQLSERVER, is in a critical state, as indicated by its icon. To see what this application is related to, clickthe MSSQLSERVER icon.


page 114

To see objects related to an object, take the following steps:

1. From the web console, navigate to the AppStack Environment view by clicking Home >Environment.

2. Click any object, in this example, MSSQLSERVER.3. Once an object is selected, related objects will be highlighted by the fading of unrelated objects, as

shown:

To hide the unrelated objects completely from view, take the following step:

page 115

1. Once an object is selected, click Spotlight in the upper right-hand corner of the view.

To navigate to the details page of an object for further investigation:

1. Click the icon of the selected object to the left of the doughnut chart, or double-click the larger iconin the main view.

2. From the details page, you can now investigate the cause for the Critical status.




page 116

Customizing the AppStack Environment ViewAdministrators can customize this view by clicking Change Layout Settings in the Layout drop down menuof the AppStack page.

The following options are available:

RefreshRate

Change the time between AppStack refreshes.

Limit onUpObjectsShownperCategory

Objects in the AppStack Environment view are ordered from left to right, with the worststatus being shown on the left side of the view. Limiting the number of Up objects canprovide more room for objects needing attention. Additionally, limiting the number of Upobjects displayed can improve AppStack performance.

ObjectNames

Highlights distressed objects by displaying the names of these objects.

AlignObjects

By default, all objects are left-aligned. This can be changed by selecting either Center orRight-Aligned.

page 117

ShowCategoryStatusSummary

The Category Status Summary are the colored numbers to the right of each category,indicating the number of objects in a particular state. This can visible at all times, or onlywhen categories are collapsed.

EmptyCategories

Selecting this option hides categories with no objects, giving the view a cleaner look.



Adding AppStack to a NOC ViewViewing the AppStack Environment in a NOC view can only be achieved by first adding a new NOC view,and then creating and applying an AppStack filter for this new view. Once complete, the AppStack resourcewill become part of the NOC view with the filter already applied.

To add the AppStack Resource to a NOC view, take the following steps:

1. From the web console, click Customize Page in the upper right-hand corner.2. If not already done so, check Enable Left Navigation.3. Click Add Tab.4. Add a name for the tab in the field provided, then click Update. The new tab appears in the column

to the left.


page 118

5. Add the AppStack Environment resource to a column by clicking the green [+], then selectingAppStack Environment from the pop-up dialog, as shown:

6. Click Add Selected Resources.7. If not already done so, check Enable NOC view mode, then click Done.

8. Navigate to Home > Environment.

9. Filter your AppStack Environment according to you needs. When done, click Apply Filter.

page 119

10. Save the Layout as AppStack Environment, which was added in Step 5.

11. View the NOC by navigating to Home > Show in NOC Mode.


page 120



page 121

Custom propertiesCustom properties are user-defined fields such as country, building, asset tag, serial number, etc., that youcan define, associate with monitored network objects, and store in your SolarWinds database. Afterproperties are added, they are available for use throughout the Orion Web Console.

For WPM, you can associate custom properties with transactions and recordings to add specificinformation for your specific requirements. These can then be used in the same way that other customproperties are used.

To create a custom property for WPM:

1. Log on to the Orion Web Console as an administrator.2. Click Settings in the top right corner of the web console.3. Click Manage Custom Properties in the Node & Group Management grouping.4. Click Add Custom Property.5. Select Transaction or Recording, and click Next.

The dropdown list will show only the object types available for the SolarWinds Orion productsyou have installed.

6. To create a property based on a predefined template, click the appropriate Property Template.

Property templates provide generic suggestions in the Property Name and Description fieldsand an appropriate custom property Format.

7. Edit the Property Name and Description fields, as appropriate.

Property names must be unique for an object type. For example, you can have separateComment properties for both Transactions and Recordings.

Property names are not case-sensitive. You cannot, for example, have properties calledComment and comment for the same object type.

8. Select the Format for the property. If Text is selected, you can click Edit to specify a maximumlength.

9. Check the Required property box if this property must be provided for all objects.10. To restrict the values that other, non-administrative users can select for the property, check Restrict

values, and enter values, as follows:a. Enter an appropriate Value.b. Click Add Value.c. Repeat until you have entered all valid property values.d. To delete a property value, click X next to the property to delete.

11. Click Next.


page 122

12. Click Select <Objects>, then, using one of the following methods, sort the objects to which theproperty can be applied:

l Select an appropriate Group by: criterion, and click the group that includes the objects towhich you want to apply this property

l Use the search tool to search for the objects to which you want to apply the selected property13. Check the objects to which you want the selected custom property to apply.

Click > to expand listed objects to view available child objects.

14. Click Add to add the checked objects to the Selected <Objects> list.15. In the Selected <Objects> list, check the objects to which you want the selected property to apply,

and click Select <Objects>.16. For the selected objects, enter or select the required value.17. If you are editing a property with restricted values, and want to add a new property value, select

Add new value from the drop-down menu, and enter the New value.18. To apply the selected property to a different group of objects, click Add more, select objects as

indicated above, and click Submit.

For complete information on creating and managing custom properties, see Custom properties in theSolarWinds NPM Administrator Guide.

page 123

https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Network_Performance_Monitor_(NPM)/NPM_Administrator_Guide/160_Custom_properties



page 124

Alerts and WPMAn alert is an automated notification that a network event has occurred, such as a server becomingunresponsive. The network event that triggers a particular alert to activate is determined by conditions setup when you configure your alert.

Since Alerts can be created for any object in your Orion network, this includes WPM Locations,Transactions and Transaction Steps. For example, you could create a custom alert that is triggered when aspecific location is unavailable for more than ten minutes.

Creating alertsThe following procedure shows how to quickly set up a simple alert, and assumes that default alert actionshave already been set up. For complete documentation, see the Create Alerts in the SolarWinds NPMAdministrator Guide.

1. Click Settings.2. Under Alerts & Reports, click Manage Alerts.3. Click Add New Alert.4. Enter a Name and Description for the alert and click Next.5. Select the object type you want to use to trigger this alert from the I want to alert on drop-down list.

For WPM purposes this will likely be Player Location, Transaction or Transaction Step.6. Set The scope of the alert. You can either apply it to all objects of this type or set up conditions to

specify a set of objects.7. Create the trigger condition that must be true or false for the alert to be triggered. You can create

complex triggers using multiple AND/OR/NOT conditions, if required. A simple example triggerwould be:

Object type: Location

Field: Status

Condition: is equal to

Value: Down

8. Click Next.9. Leave the Reset Condition as is, and click Next.10. Leave the Time of Day as is, and click Next.11. Enter the message that you want to be displayed on the Alert resource and Alert details page when

this alert is triggered.12. To use variables in your message, such as Connection Status, Host Name or Transaction ID,

position the cursor where you want to insert it and click Insert Variable.


page 125

https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Network_Performance_Monitor_(NPM)/NPM_Administrator_Guide/0O0_Create_new_alerts_to_monitor_your_environment

a. Select the type of variable you want to insert and how to group them from the drop-downlists on the left. You can display Global variables, Alert variables or those specific toLocations, Step Requests, Transactions or Transaction Steps. The alert variables specific toeach WPM object are listed in the Appendix: WPM alert variables. Global Variables andvariables for other Core modules are listed in similar appendices in the Orion CoreAdministration Guide and appropriate Administrator Guides.

b. The "Select variables to insert" popup window is displayed.c. Select the variable or variables you want to insert. When you select a variable, the SWIS code

is displayed.d. Click Insert Variable to insert the selected variable(s) into your message.

You can add further trigger actions such as sending an email, playing a sound, executing anexternal program or sending a GET or POST request to a web server.

13. Click Next.14. Leave the Reset Action as it is and click Next.15. Scroll down to the bottom of the Summary and click Submit.

The alert is now added to the Manage Alerts page.

Viewing alertsWhen set up, alerts are only displayed on the web console if they are active. Active Alerts are shown on theHome > Alerts view, on the Active Alerts resource and, in the case of transaction alerts, on the ActiveTransaction Alerts resource.

Clicking on the Alert name will open the Active Alert Details page for this alert.

Acknowledging alertsOn the Home > Alerts page, each active Alert has an Acknowledge button in the Acknowledged by column.Clicking this will halt any further escalation actions for this alert, and allow you to enter any relevantinformation in a notes popup.

Adding alert resources to a viewTo add the All Active Alerts or Active Transaction Alerts:

1. Go to the View to which you want to add this resource, and click Customize Page.2. Click + by the column to which you want to add the resource.3. Check Active Alerts or Active Transaction Alerts in the Resource name column and click Add

Selected Resources.4. Click Done.

page 126

5. Click the Edit button for the resource you have just added.6. Change the Title and add a Subtitle, if required.7. If you want to display alerts that have been acknowledge, check the Show Acknowledge Alerts box.

Otherwise, alerts will be hidden once they have been acknowledged on the Alerts page.8. Click Submit.


page 127



page 128

WPM ReportsFull documentation on reports can be found in Manage reports in the SolarWinds NPM AdministratorGuide. This includes scheduling reports, customizing the reports supplied with Orion modules such asWPM, and creating your own reports.

1. On the Orion Web Console, select Home > Reports.2. Select Products from the Group by drop-down list.3. Select WPM Reports.4. The following reports are available:

l WPM Player Location Availability - Last Monthl WPM Player Location Availability - This Monthl WPM Player Location Availability - This Yearl WPM Recording Durations per Locationl WPM Transaction Availability - Last Monthl WPM Transaction Availability - This Monthl WPM Transaction Availability - This Yearl WPM Transaction Statisticsl WPM Transaction Step Availability - Last Monthl WPM Transaction Step Availability - This Monthl WPM Transaction Step Availability - This Yearl WPM Transaction Step Statisticsl WPM Transaction Step Variance - Last 30 Daysl WPM Transaction Step Variance - Last 7 Daysl WPM Transaction Step Variance - This Monthl WPM Transaction Step Variance - This Year

5. To view a report, click on its title and click View Report.


page 129

https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Network_Performance_Monitor_(NPM)/NPM_Administrator_Guide/1B0_Create_schedule_export_and_import_reports



page 130

AppendicesThis Appendix contains the following sections:

l Troubleshooting and Diagnosticsl Status iconsl WPM alert variables



Troubleshooting and DiagnosticsOn occasion, you may encounter a problem with the Recorder or the Player that prevents you fromcreating or playing back a recording. This troubleshooting section discusses some of the known issues andworkarounds that may help you get back on track:

l Common debugging scenariosl For further troubleshooting topics, please see the SolarWinds Knowledge Basehttp://knowledgebase.solarwinds.com/kb/



COMMON DEBUGGING SCENARIOS

ISSUESWITH JAVASCRIPT

You may encounter the following issues while performing actions in the Recorder:

l JavaScript menu items are not recognized.l Clicks on <div> structures are not recognized.l OnMouseOver events are not recognized.

Hold CTRL+SHIFT while performing the problem action. This adds additional data to the Recording thatmay allow access to the problematic element.


page 131

http://knowledgebase.solarwinds.com/kb/

Use CTRL+SHIFT only to record the actions that are giving you problems. The additional data addedto the recording may slow down playback considerably.

KEYBOARD INPUT DOES NOTWORK

Try using mouse clicks instead of keyboard navigation in the webpage.

LINKS DO NOTWORK

Try to find an alternative method. For example, if the Compose email link on a page does not work, perhapsthe same action can be accomplished by clicking the Inbox button.

RECORDER HANGS OR BECOMES UNRESPONSIVE

If the Recorder hangs or becomes unresponsive, restart the Recorder program and recreate yourrecording.

ELEMENT NOT FOUND DURING PLAYBACK ERROR

If the element was not found during playback, recreate both the recording and the transaction.



TROUBLESHOOTING XY CAPTUREMODE

Following is a checklist that can help you diagnose common problems:

l If you are using proxy with authentication, ensure the credentials to the proxy are properlycaptured in the recording and/or the player is configured to use Active Directory accounts.

l Try adding steps to the recording to better identify the action on which the playback failed. Bydoing this, you will be breaking down the transaction to multiple steps. Now you can go step bystep and examine the screenshots to see which action was not performed properly.

l Run the transaction in the recorder and ensure that all necessary items were loaded duringplayback. The object to be clicked on must be in place and active before the click action isexecuted.

l If page content is slow to load, try to insert a Wait action before the XY action. This will allow thecontent to load completely before executing the XY action.

l Try to re-record the recording on the same machine where the player is installed.l If the playback is failing on the Image Match action, try the following:l Examine the screenshot page to see if the image is present on the page.l Ensure that the same version of Internet Explorer is used during both recording and playback.

page 132

l Image Matching may be affected by font smoothing settings. You should not use Image Matchingon plain text. For text matches, use the Match Content action.

Image Matching on animated objects is not supported.



Status iconsOrion modules, including WPM, use the following icons as status indicators in System Manager and WebConsole resources. For alerts and events, additional information is provided with the icon in the resource.

STATUS INDICATORSThe following table lists Orion icons with associated status indications, status types, and numerical statusidentifiers:

Status levels of type Ignore are not displayed in any status roll-up mode.

ICON STATUS INDICATION

Node or Interface is Down (Polling request timed-out) Error 2

Shutdown Error 4

Lower Layer Down Error 8

Unreachable Error 12

Node is in a Warning state (dropped packets or downinterface)

Warning 3

Critical Warning 14

Mixed Availability Warning 15

Misconfigured Warning 16

Could Not Poll Warning 17


page 133


Unconfirmed Warning 19

Polling Engine Shutdown, Monitoring Stopped, SystemError, or Fail Over

Warning --

System Warning; Node, Interface, or Volume Changed;Interface Reappeared; Network Baseline Started/Finished

Warning --

Node or Interface is Up OK 1

Dormant OK 6

Active OK 22

Inactive OK 24

Expired OK 25

Unknown Ignore 0

Node or Interface is Unmanaged Ignore 9

Interface is Unplugged but not Down Ignore 10

Node is defined as External

(Node is not monitored by Orion NPM, but an applicationon the node may be monitored by Orion APM.)

Ignore 11

Monitoring Disabled Ignore 26

Disabled Ignore 27

Not Licensed Ignore 28

Informational; Volume Reappeared N/A --

Monitoring Started, NPM Service Started, or Fail Back N/A --

Node, Interface, or Volume Removed

Interface Shutdown

N/A --

page 134


Node Added

Interface or Volume Added (System Manager)

N/A --

Interface or Volume Added (Web Console) N/A --

Node Rebooted N/A --

Interface Enabled N/A --

Interface Remapped N/A --

Volume Remapped N/A --

Interface or Volume Disappeared N/A --

STATUS ROLLUP MODEIn the Web Console, the Status Roll-up Mode designates how the availability status of a group of nodes isdisplayed. Three options are available for the case when there are objects at different status levels in aselected group:

Show Best Status is most useful for displaying groups that are defined as collections of redundant orbackup devices. The following table indicates how the Show Best Status option operates:

Note: Compare Group Status results under the Show Best Status option with results for the same groups ofobjects under the Show Worst Status option.

OBJECT STATES GROUP STATUS

(Up, Warning, Down) (Up)

(Warning, Down) (Up)

(Warning, Down, Unknown) (Warning)

Show Worst Status ensures that the worst status in a group of objects is displayed for the whole group.The following table indicates how the Show Worst Status option operates:


(Up, Warning, Down) (Down)

(Warning, Down) (Warning)


page 135


(Warning, Down, Unknown) (Down)

Mixed Status shows Warning ensures that the status of a group displays the worst warning-type state inthe group. If there are no warning-type states, but the group contains a mix of up and down states, then aMixed Availability ( ) warning status is displayed for the whole group. The following table indicates howthe Mixed Status shows Warning option operates:


(Critical)

(Critical)

(Mixed Availability)



WPM alert variablesThis section contains the variables that can be used when creating Alert messages for WPM objects:

l WPM transaction alert variablesl WPM transaction step alert variablesl WPM step request alert variablesl WPM player location alert variables



WPMTRANSACTION ALERT VARIABLES

Description Variable

Average Load Percentage (Last 30 minutes)(Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.AvgLoadPercentageLast30min}

page 136


Average Load Percentage (Last 60 minutes)(Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.AvgLoadPercentageLast60min}

Connect Status (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.ConnectionStatus}

Critical Threshold ${N=SwisEntity;M=CriticalThreshold}

Description ${N=SwisEntity;M=Description}

Description (Agent Connection Status) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.ConnectionStatusInfo.Description}

Description (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.Description}

Description (Recording CustomProperties) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Recording.CustomProperties.Description}

Description (Recording) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Recording.Description}

Description (Transaction CustomProperties) ${N=SwisEntity;M=CustomProperties.Description}

DNSName (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.DNSName}

Hostname (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.Hostname}

In Cloud (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.InCloud}

IP Address (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.IP}

Is Managed Again ${N=SwisEntity;M=IsEnabled}

Is Player Initiated Communication (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.IsActiveAgent}

Last Duration ${N=SwisEntity;M=LastDuration}

Last ErrorMessage ${N=SwisEntity;M=LastErrorMessage}

Last Played ${N=SwisEntity;M=LastPlayedUtc}

Load Percentage (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.LoadPercentage}

Name ${N=SwisEntity;M=Name}

Name (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.Name}

Name (Recording) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Recording.Name}

Number of Managed Transactions (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.NumManagedTransactions}

Number of Transactions (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.NumAllTransactions}

OS Version (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.OSVersion}

Password (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.Password}


page 137


Playback Interval ${N=SwisEntity;M=Frequency}

Player Location ID ${N=SwisEntity;M=AgentId}

Player Location ID (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.AgentId}

Player Version (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.AgentVersion}

Port (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.Port}

Proxy Password (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.ProxyPassword}

Proxy URL (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.ProxyUrl}

Proxy Username (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.ProxyUserName}

RDP Enabled (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.RDPEnabled

Recording CustomProperty ${N=SwisEntity;M=Recording.CustomProperties.custom_property_name}

Recording ID ${N=SwisEntity;M=RecordingId}

Recording ID (Recording) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Recording.RecordingId}

Requires Interactive Session ${N=SwisEntity;M=Recording.RequiresInteractiveSession}

Short Description (Agent Connection Status) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.ConnectionStatusInfo.ShortDescription}

Status ${N=SwisEntity;M=Status}

Status (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.Status}

Status Description ${N=SwisEntity;M=StatusDescription}

Status Description (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.StatusDescription}

Status ID (Agent Connection Status) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.ConnectionStatusInfo.StatusId}

Transaction CustomProperty ${N=SwisEntity;M=CustomProperties.custom_property_name}

Transaction ID ${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionId}

Unmanage From ${N=SwisEntity;M=UnManageFrom}

Unmanage From (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.UnManageFrom}

Unmanage To ${N=SwisEntity;M=UnManageUntil}

Unmanage To (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.UnManageUntil}

Unmanaged ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.UnManageUntil}

Unmanaged (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.Unmanaged}

page 138


Url (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.Url}

Uses Proxy (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.UseProxy}

Uses Proxy Authentication (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Agent.UseProxyAuthentication}

Warning Threshold ${N=SwisEntity;M=WarningThreshold}



WPMTRANSACTION STEP ALERT VARIABLES


Average Load Percentage (Last 30minutes) (Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.AvgLoadPercentageLast30min}

Average Load Percentage (Last 60minutes) (Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.AvgLoadPercentageLast60min}

Connect Status (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.ConnectionStatus}

Connection StatusMessage (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.ConnectionStatusMessage}

Critical Threshold ${N=SwisEntity;M=CriticalThreshold}

Critical Threshold (Recording step) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Step.CriticalThreshold}

Critical Threshold (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.CriticalThreshold}


Description (Agent Connection Status) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.ConnectionStatusInfo.Description}

Description (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.Description}

Description (Recording CustomProperties)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Recording.CustomProperties.Description}

Description (Recording CustomProperties)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Step.Recording.CustomProperties.Description}

Description (Recording) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Recording.Description}

Description (Recording) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Step.Recording.Description}

Description (Transaction Custom ${N=SwisEntity;M=CustomProperties.Description}


page 139


Properties)

Description (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Description}

DNSName (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.DNSName}

Hostname (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.Hostname}

In Cloud (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.InCloud}

IP Address (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.IP}

Is Managed Again ${N=SwisEntity;M=IsEnabled}

Is Player Initiated Communication(Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.IsActiveAgent}

Last Duration ${N=SwisEntity;M=LastDuration}

Last Duration (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.LastDuration}

Last ErrorMessage ${N=SwisEntity;M=LastErrorMessage}

Last ErrorMessage (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.LastErrorMessage}

Last Played ${N=SwisEntity;M=LastPlayedUtc}

Last Played (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.LastPlayedUtc}

Load Percentage (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.LoadPercentage}

Name (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.Name}

Name (Recording Step) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Step.Name}

Name (Recording) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Recording.Name}

NameRecording) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Recording.Name

Name (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Step.Recording.Name}

Number of Managed Transactions(Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.NumManagedTransactions}

Number of Transactions (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.NumAllTransactions}

Optimal Threshold ${N=SwisEntity;M=OptimalThreshold}

OS Version (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.OSVersion}

Password (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.Password}

Playback Interval ${N=SwisEntity;M=Frequency}

page 140


Player Location ID (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.AgentId}

Player Location (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.AgentId}

Player Version (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.AgentVersion}

Port (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.Port}

Proxy Password (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.ProxyPassword}

Proxy URL (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.ProxyUrl}

Proxy Username (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.ProxyUserName}

RDP Enabled (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.RDPEnabled

Recording CustomProperty ${N=SwisEntity;M=Recording.CustomProperties.custom_property_name}

Recording ID ${N=SwisEntity;M=RecordingId}

Recording ID (Recording Step) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.AgentId}

Recording ID (Recording) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Recording.RecordingId}

Recording ID (Recording) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Recording.RecordingId}

Recording ID (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.RecordingId}

Recording Step ID ${N=SwisEntity;M=StepId}

Requires Interactive Session(Recording)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Recording.RequiresInteractiveSession}

Requires Interactive Session(Recording)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Step.Recording.RequiresInteractiveSession}

Short Description (Agent ConnectionStatus)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.ConnectionStatusInfo.ShortDescription}


Status (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.Status}

Status (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Status}


Status Description (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.StatusDescription}

Status Decription (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.StatusDescription}

Status ID (Agent Connection Status) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.ConnectionStatusInfo.StatusId}

Status ID (Recording Step) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Step.StepId}


page 141


Transaction CustomProperty ${N=SwisEntity;M=CustomProperties.custom_property_name}


Transaction ID (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.TransactionId}

Transaction Step ID ${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStepId}


Unmanage From (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.UnManageFrom}

Unmanage From (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.UnManageFrom}


Unmanage To (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.UnManageUntil}

Unmange To (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.UnManageUntil}

Unmanaged ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.UnManageUntil}

Unmanaged (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.Unmanaged}

Unmanaged (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.UnManaged}

Url (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.Url}

Url (Recording Step) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Step.Url}

Uses Proxy (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.UseProxy}

Uses Proxy Authentication (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.Agent.UseProxyAuthentication}

Warning Threshold ${N=SwisEntity;M=WarningThreshold}

Warning Threshold (Recording Step) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Step.WarningThreshold}

Warning Threshold (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=Transaction.WarningThreshold}



WPMSTEP REQUEST ALERT VARIABLES


Average LoadPercentage (Last 30

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.AvgLoadPercentageLast30min}

page 142


minutes) (PlayerLocation)

Average LoadPercentage (Last 60minutes) (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.AvgLoadPercentageLast60min}

Blocked Duration ${N=SwisEntity;M=BlockedDurationMs}

Connection Begin ${N=SwisEntity;M=ConnectionBeginMs}

Connection Duration ${N=SwisEntity;M=ConnectionDurationMs}

Connect Status(Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.ConnectionStatus}

Connection StatusMessage (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.ConnectionStatusMessage}

Critical Threshold(Recording step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Step.CriticalThreshold}

Critical Threshold(Transaction Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.CriticalThreshold}

Critical Threshold(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.CriticalThreshold}


Description (AgentConnection Status)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.ConnectionStatusInfo.Description}

Description (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.Description}

Description(Recording CustomProperties)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Recording.CustomProperties.Description}

Description(Recording CustomProperties)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Step.Recording.CustomProperties.Description}

Description(Recording Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Step.Description}

Description ${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Recording.Description}


page 143


(Recording)

Description(Recording)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Step.Recording.Description}

Description(Transaction CustomProperties)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.CustomProperties.Description}

Description(Transacription Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Description}

Description(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Description}

DNS Begin ${N=SwisEntity;M=DNSBeginMs}

DNSName (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.DNSName}

DNS ResolutionDuration

${N=SwisEntity;M=DNSResolutionDurationMs}

Download Duration ${N=SwisEntity;M=DownloadDurationMs}

Hostname (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.Hostname}

In Cloud (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.InCloud}

IP Address (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.IP}

Is Managed Again(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.IsEnabled}

Is Player InitiatedCommunication(Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.IsActiveAgent}

Last Duration(Transaction Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.LastDuration}

Last Duration(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.LastDuration}

Last ErrorMessage(Transaction Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.LastErrorMessage}

page 144


Last ErrorMessage(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.LastErrorMessage}

Last Played(Transaction Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.LastPlayedUtc}

Last Played(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.LastPlayedUtc}

Load Percentage(Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.LoadPercentage}

MimeType ${N=SwisEntity;M=MimeType}

Name (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.Name}

Name (RecordingStep)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Step.Name}

Name (Recording) ${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Recording.Name}

NameRecording) ${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Step.Recording.Name}

Name (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Name}

Number of ManagedTransactions (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.NumManagedTransactions}

Number ofTransactions (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.NumAllTransactions}

Optimal Threshold(Transaction Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.OptimalThreshold}

OS Version (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.OSVersion}

Password (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.Password}

Playback Interval(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Frequency}

Player Location ID(Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.AgentId}

Player Location ${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.AgentId}


page 145


(Transaction)

Player Version (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.AgentVersion}

Port (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.Port}

Proxy Password(Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.ProxyPassword}

Proxy URL (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.ProxyUrl}

Proxy Username(Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.ProxyUserName}

RDP Enabled (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.RDPEnabled

Recording CustomProperty

${N=SwisEntity;M=Recording.CustomProperties.recording_property_name}

Receive Begin ${N=SwisEntity;M=ReceiveBeginMs}

Receive End ${N=SwisEntity;M=ReceiveEndMs}

Recording ID(Recording Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Step.RecordingId}

Recording ID(Recording)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Recording.RecordingId}

Recording ID(Recording)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Step.Recording.RecordingId}

Recording ID(Transaction Step)Step Request

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Recording.RecordingId}

Recording ID(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.RecordingId}

Recording Step ID(Transaction Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.StepId}

Request Begin ${N=SwisEntity;M=RequestBeginMs}

Request Index ${N=SwisEntity;M=RequestIndex}

Requires InteractiveSession (Recording)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Recording.RequiresInteractiveSession}

page 146


Requires InteractiveSession (Recording)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Step.Recording.RequiresInteractiveSession}

Send Begin ${N=SwisEntity;M=SendBeginMs}

Send Duration ${N=SwisEntity;M=SendDurationMs}

Send End ${N=SwisEntity;M=SendEndMs}

Short Description(Agent ConnectionStatus)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.ConnectionStatusInfo.ShortDescription}

Size ${N=SwisEntity;M=Size}

Status (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.Status}

Status (TransactionStep)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Status}

Status (Transaction) ${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Status}

Status Code ${N=SwisEntity;M=StatusCode}

Status Description(Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.StatusDescription}

Status Description(Transaction Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.StatusDescription}

Status Decription(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.StatusDescription}

Status ID (AgentConnection Status)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.ConnectionStatusInfo.StatusId}

Step Full Name ${N=SwisEntity;M=StepFullName}

Step ID (RecordingStep)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Step.StepId}

Step Order (RecorderStep)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Step.StepOrder}

Time to First Byte ${N=SwisEntity;M=TimeToFirstByteDurationMs}

Total Duration ${N=SwisEntity;M=TotalDurationMs}

Transaction CustomProperty

${N=SwisEntity;M=CustomProperties.transaction_property_name}


page 147



Transaction ID(Transaction Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.TransactionId}

Transaction ID(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.TransactionId}

Transaction Step ID ${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStepId}

Transaction Step ID(Transaction Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.TransactionStepId}

Transaction Step ID(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStepRequestId}

Transaction StepRequest ID

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStepRequestId}

Unmanage From(Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.UnManageFrom}

Unmanage From(Transaction Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.UnManageFrom}

Unmanage From(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.UnManageFrom}

Unmanage To (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.UnManageUntil}

Unmanage To(Transaction Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.UnManageUntil}

Unmanage To(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.UnManageUntil}

Unmanaged (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.Unmanaged}

Unmanaged(Transaction Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.UnManaged}

Unmanaged(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.UnManaged}

Url ${N=SwisEntity;M=Url}

Url (Player Location) ${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.Url}

page 148


Url (Recording Step) ${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Step.Url}

Uses Proxy (PlayerLocation)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.UseProxy}

Uses ProxyAuthentication(Player Location)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.Agent.UseProxyAuthentication}

Warning Threshold(Recording Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Step.WarningThreshold}

Warning Threshold(Transaction Step)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.WarningThreshold}

Warning Threshold(Transaction)

${N=SwisEntity;M=TransactionStep.Transaction.WarningThreshold}



WPMPLAYER LOCATION ALERT VARIABLES


Average Load Percentage (Last 30 minutes) ${N=SwisEntity;M=AvgLoadPercentageLast30min}

Average Load Percentage (Last 60 minutes) ${N=SwisEntity;M=AvgLoadPercentageLast60min}

Connect Status ${N=SwisEntity;M=ConnectionStatus}

Connection StatusMessage ${N=SwisEntity;M=ConnectionStatusMessage}


Description (Agent Connection Status) ${N=SwisEntity;M=ConnectionStatusInfo.Description}

DNSName ${N=SwisEntity;M=DNSName}

Hostname ${N=SwisEntity;M=Hostname}

In Cloud ${N=SwisEntity;M=InCloud}

IP Address ${N=SwisEntity;M=IP}

Is Player Initiated Communication ${N=SwisEntity;M=IsActiveAgent}

Load Percentage ${N=SwisEntity;M=LoadPercentage}


page 149


Name ${N=SwisEntity;M=Name}

Number of Managed Transactions ${N=SwisEntity;M=NumManagedTransactions}

Number of Transactions ${N=SwisEntity;M=NumAllTransactions}

OS Version ${N=SwisEntity;M=OSVersion}

Password ${N=SwisEntity;M=Password}

Player Location ID ${N=SwisEntity;M=AgentId}

Player Version ${N=SwisEntity;M=AgentVersion}

Port ${N=SwisEntity;M=Port}

Proxy Password ${N=SwisEntity;M=ProxyPassword}

Proxy URL ${N=SwisEntity;M=ProxyUrl}

Proxy Username ${N=SwisEntity;M=ProxyUserName}

RDP Enabled ${N=SwisEntity;M=RDPEnabled

Short Description (Agent Connection Status) ${N=SwisEntity;M=ConnectionStatusInfo.ShortDescription}



Status ID (Agent Connection Status) ${N=SwisEntity;M=ConnectionStatusInfo.StatusId}



Unmanaged ${N=SwisEntity;M=Unmanaged}

Url ${N=SwisEntity;M=Url}

Uses Proxy ${N=SwisEntity;M=UseProxy}

Use Proxy Authenticity ${N=SwisEntity;M=UseProxyAuthentication}

page 150