500-430 Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer(CAPI) Questions and Answers

According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the minimum recommended number of nodes for a redundant Events Service is three ©. The Events Service is a distributed database that stores and processes the analytics data collected by the AppDynamics platform. The Events Service cluster consists of multiple nodes that share the data load and provide fault tolerance and high availability. The minimum number of nodes for a functional Events Service cluster is one, but this is not recommended for production environments, as it does not provide any redundancy or resilience. The minimum number of nodes for a redundant Events Service cluster is three, as this allows the cluster to tolerate the failure of one node without losing any data or availability. The recommended number of nodes for a redundant Events Service cluster is five or more, as this provides better performance and scalability12.

The incorrect options are:

• 1 (A): This is not a valid option because a single-node Events Service cluster does not provide any redundancy or resilience. If the node fails, the cluster becomes unavailable and the data is lost. A single-node Events Service cluster is only suitable for testing or development purposes, not for production environments12.
• 2 (B): This is not a valid option because a two-node Events Service cluster does not provide sufficient redundancy or resilience. If one node fails, the cluster becomes unstable and may lose data or availability. A two-node Events Service cluster is not recommended for production environments12.
• 4 (D): This is not a valid option because a four-node Events Service cluster is not optimal for redundancy or resilience. A four-node Events Service cluster has an even number of nodes, which may cause a split-brain scenario, where the cluster is divided into two equal partitions that cannot communicate with each other. This may result in data inconsistency or unavailability. A four-node Events Service cluster can be improved by adding a fifth node to avoid the split-brain scenario12.

References:

• 1: Events Service Deployment - AppDynamics
• 2: Events Service Requirements - AppDynamics

The Health Rule REST API allows you to create, configure, update, and delete health rules for multiple applications simultaneously. To use this API, you need to specify the application in the URL string. You can use either the application ID or the application name for this purpose. The application ID is a unique numeric identifier for each application in the Controller. The application name is the display name of the application in the AppDynamics UI. You cannot use the application alias, GUID, or REGEX for the Health Rule REST API. References: Health Rule API and Retrieve All Business Applications in the AppDynamics documentation.

To upgrade an EUM Server that is currently in production, the administrator should follow these steps:

• Stop the EUM Server before the upgrade. This ensures that the EUM Server does not process any incoming data from the EUM agents during the upgrade process. The administrator can use the eum.sh or eum.bat script to stop the EUM Server gracefully1.
• Run the new installer on the EUM host machine. The installer will detect the existing EUM Server installation and prompt the administrator to upgrade it to the latest version. The installer will also migrate the EUM data from the old version to the new version, if needed. The administrator should follow the instructions on the installer wizard to complete the upgrade2.

The other options are not necessary or correct for upgrading the EUM Server. The administrator does not need to stop or upgrade the EUM agents, as they are compatible with the new version of the EUM Server. The administrator does not need to update the EUM Server access key, as it remains the same after the upgrade. The administrator does not need to install MySQL, as it is bundled with the EUM Server installation package2. References: Upgrade the Production EUM Server and Start and Stop the EUM Server in the AppDynamics documentation.

According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the two valid ways to confirm that the upgraded Java Agent is running successfully are:

• Verify that the node within the Controller UI indicates the app agent is reporting. (B) This is a valid way because the Controller UI is a web-based application that allows users to monitor and manage the performance of the applications, tiers, nodes, and other entities that are instrumented by the AppDynamics agents. The Controller UI displays the status of the nodes within each tier, and indicates whether the app agent is reporting or not. If the app agent is reporting, the node icon is green and shows the agent version. If the app agent is not reporting, the node icon is gray and shows the last time the agent reported. The user can also hover over the node icon to see more details, such as the agent type, the agent version,the agent runtime directory, and the agent properties file. The user can verify that the upgraded Java Agent is running successfully by checking that the node icon is green and shows the latest agent version12.
• Verify the Java Agent Version metric for that node in the Metric Browser. © This is a valid way because the Metric Browser is a feature of the Controller UI that allows users to view and analyze the metrics collected by the AppDynamics agents. The Metric Browser displays the metrics in a hierarchical tree structure, where each node represents a metric category, a metric name, or a metric value. The user can expand or collapse the nodes, and select or deselect the metrics to view them in a chart. The user can also apply filters, time ranges, baselines, and other options to customize the chart. The user can verify that the upgraded Java Agent is running successfully by navigating to the Java Agent Version metric for that node in the Metric Browser. The Java Agent Version metric shows the version number of the Java Agent that is running on the node. The user can compare the metric value with the expected agent version, and check that the metric is updated after the upgrade34.

The incorrect options are:

• Verify that the application log contains a message indicating success. (A) This is not a valid way because the application log does not contain any message indicating the success of the Java Agent upgrade. The application log is a file that records the events and messages that occur in the application server, such as the startup, shutdown, errors, warnings, and debug information. The application log does not record the events and messages that occur in the Java Agent, such as the installation, upgrade, configuration, or reporting. The Java Agent has its own log file, which is located in the <agent_home>/logs directory, and which contains the messages indicating the success or failure of the Java Agent upgrade .
• Verify that the Java Agent log contains a message indicating the agent started successfully. (D) This is not a valid way because the Java Agent log does not contain any message indicating the agent started successfully after the upgrade. The Java Agent log is a file that records the events and messages that occur in the Java Agent, such as the installation, upgrade, configuration, or reporting. The Java Agent log contains a message indicating the agent started successfully when the application server is started, not when the Java Agent is upgraded. The Java Agent log does not contain any message indicating the success or failure of the Java Agent upgrade. The Java Agent log is located in the <agent_home>/logs directory, and the message indicating the agent started successfully is “Agent Startup Complete” .

References:

• 1: Tiers and Nodes - AppDynamics
• 2: Tier Dashboard - AppDynamics
• 3: Metric Browser - AppDynamics
• 4: Java Agent Metrics - AppDynamics
• [5]: Java Agent Logs - AppDynamics
• [6]: Troubleshoot the Java Agent - AppDynamics

As an AppDynamics Controller grows beyond supporting 500 agents, network throughput becomes more important. This is because the Controller needs to handle a large volume of data from the agents, as well as serve requests from the UI and API clients. Network throughput is the measure of how much data can be transferred over a network in a given time. A low network throughput can cause delays, errors, or timeouts in the communication between the Controller and the agents or clients. Therefore, it is recommended to monitor the network throughput of the Controller and ensure that it meets the minimum requirements for the expected load123. References: Controller System Requirements, Performance and Controller Sizing Guidelines, How to Run AppDynamics in Microsoft Azure

The most important factor in determining sizing for AppDynamics Controller is the projected metric load per minute on the Controller. This is because the metric load represents the actual workload on the Controller, which depends on the nature of the application, the AppDynamics configuration, and the usage patterns. The number of agents, the type of agents, the number of administrators/end users, and the number of AppDynamics applications are only rough estimates that can vary greatly depending on the specific scenario. Therefore, it is recommended to test the performance of the system in a staging environment and verify the Controller sizing using the metric upload rate before deploying to production. References: Controller System Requirements, Performance and Controller sizing guidelines, How to Run AppDynamics in Microsoft Azure, Platform Requirements

The REST query that could be used to verify the availability of an AppDynamics Controller is1:

• http://:/controller/rest/ping

This query returns a simple text response of “pong” if the Controller is up and running, or an error message if the Controller is down or unreachable1. This query does not require any authentication or parameters, and can be used as a quick and easy way to check the Controller status1. References: Ping the Controller

To install a .NET Agent patch, which is a minor update to the existing .NET Agent version, you do not need to uninstall the old agent or restart the machine. You only need to follow these steps:

• Download the .NET Agent patch from the AppDynamics Download Center.
• Launch an elevated command prompt with full administrator privileges.
• Execute the Installer.bat file from the patch archive. The batch file installs the patch and starts the AppDynamics Agent Coordinator service.
• Restart the instrumented applications, such as IIS, Windows services, or standalone applications.

References: .NET Agent and How do I deploy a .NET Agent? in the AppDynamics documentation and community.

To upgrade the AppDynamics Java Agent, you need to copy the existing agent directory to a backup location and replace it with the new agent directory. You also need to copy any configuration file changes made in the old directory to the new agent directory. After that, you need to restart the application JVM where the Java Agent is installed, so that the new agent can take effect. Restarting the application JVM is the only required step for the upgrade to succeed. You do not need to restart the host machine, the Machine Agent, or the AppDynamics Controller12. References: Upgrade the Java Agent, Release Upgrade Checklist for Java Agents

According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the two reasons that would require an administrator to install the Events Service cluster manually are:

• Security concerns with passwordless SSH (B): This is a valid reason because the automated installation of the Events Service cluster requires passwordless SSH access to the target hosts. Passwordless SSH allows the Enterprise Console to execute commands on the remote hosts without prompting for a password. However, some organizations may have security policies that prohibit passwordless SSH access, as it may pose a risk of unauthorized access or malicious attacks. In such cases, the administrator can install the Events Service cluster manually, by following the steps described in the Manual Installation of the Events Service Cluster document1.
• Security requirements to install using a non-root user account ©: This is a valid reason because the automated installation of the Events Service cluster requires root privileges on the target hosts. Root privileges allow the Enterprise Console to create directories, change permissions, and install packages on the remote hosts. However, some organizations may have security policies that restrict root access, as it may pose a risk of accidental or intentional damage to the system. In such cases, the administrator can install the Events Service cluster manually, by following the steps described in the Manual Installation of the Events Service Cluster document1. The administrator can use a non-root user account that has sudo privileges to perform the manual installation.

The incorrect options are:

• Installation on SUSE Linux (A): This is not a valid reason for manual installation, because the automated installation of the Events Service cluster supports SUSE Linux as one of the compatible operating systems. The Enterprise Console can install the Events Service cluster on SUSE Linux hosts using the automated installation process, as long as the hosts meet the prerequisites described in the Events Service Requirements document2.
• Installation on Windows (D): This is not a valid reason for manual installation, because the Events Service cluster does not support Windows as an operating system. The Events Service cluster can only run on Linux hosts, as it is based on Apache Cassandra, which is a Linux-based distributed database. The Events Service cluster cannot be installed on Windows hosts, either manually or automatically2.

References:

• 1: Manual Installation of the Events Service Cluster - AppDynamics
• 2: Events Service Requirements - AppDynamics

The AppDynamics .NET Agent can instrument both 32-bit and 64-bit processes, as long as they are running on a supported .NET Framework version and operating system. The agent automatically detects the process architecture and loads the appropriate profiler DLL. You can also specify the process architecture manually in the agent configuration file1. The AppDynamics .NET Agent also supports instrumentation of multiple instances of the same application, such as Windows services or standalone applications. You can configure the agent to assign different tier and node names for each instance, based on the process name, process ID, or command line arguments. This allows you to monitor the performance and health of each instance separately2.

The other statements are false because:

• A. AppDynamics .NET Agent does support instrumenting processes running multiple App domains. The agent can monitor multiple App domains within a single process, as long as they are running the same .NET Framework version. The agent can also monitor multiple applications within a single App domain, by using the Standalone Applications element in the agent configuration file3.
• B. AppDynamics .NET Agent does not automatically discover all the Windows services to be instrumented. The agent automatically instruments IIS applications only. For Windows services or standalone applications, you need to manually configure the agent by editing the agent configuration file and adding the Windows Services or Standalone Applications element. You also need to provide the executable name, tier name, and node name for each service or application4.
• D. AppDynamics .NET Agent does not require that the Windows services are running under the “App.pool identity user” account. The agent can instrument Windows services running under any user account, as long as the account has sufficient permissions to load the agent profiler DLL and access the agent configuration and log files. The “App.pool identity user” account is only required for IIS applications that run in an application pool5.

References: .NET Agent Configuration Properties, Configure the .NET Agent for Windows Services and Standalone Applications, Instrument the DefaultDomain for Standalone Applications, Install the .NET Agent for Windows, Administer the .NET Agent

According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the two symptoms that occur if an AppDynamics Controller is not scaled correctly are:

• The Controller’s metric reporting is 7 to 10 minutes behind the current time. (D) This is a valid symptom because the AppDynamics Controller collects, processes, and stores metrics from the agents that monitor the applications, tiers, nodes, and other entities. If the Controller is not scaled correctly, it may not have enough resources, such as CPU, memory,disk space, or network bandwidth, to handle the incoming metrics data. This may result in a backlog of metrics data that causes the Controller to lag behind the current time. The Controller’s metric reporting delay can affect the accuracy and timeliness of the performance analysis and troubleshooting12.
• The Controller UI performs slowly. (E) This is a valid symptom because the AppDynamics Controller UI is a web-based application that allows users to access, visualize, and interact with the performance data and configuration settings of the AppDynamics platform. If the Controller is not scaled correctly, it may not have enough resources, such as CPU, memory, disk space, or network bandwidth, to serve the UI requests. This may result in a slow or unresponsive UI that affects the user experience and productivity12.

The incorrect options are:

• Snapshots are not available after 2 weeks. (A) This is not a valid symptom because the AppDynamics Controller does not store snapshots for more than 2 weeks by default. Snapshots are detailed records of the execution context and call graphs of the business transactions that are monitored by the AppDynamics platform. Snapshots are useful for diagnosing performance issues and errors, but they also consume a lot of disk space. The AppDynamics Controller automatically purges the snapshots that are older than 2 weeks, unless the retention policy is changed by the user. The availability of snapshots is not affected by the Controller scaling, unless the disk space is exhausted34.
• Health rule violations occur more frequently. (B) This is not a valid symptom because the AppDynamics Controller does not cause health rule violations to occur more frequently. Health rule violations are triggered when the performance or availability metrics of the monitored entities exceed the thresholds that are defined by the user. Health rule violations indicate the presence of performance issues or errors in the monitored applications, tiers, nodes, or other entities, not in the Controller itself. The frequency of health rule violations is not affected by the Controller scaling, unless the Controller fails to collect or process the metrics data5 .
• The average response times of tiers are higher than normal. © This is not a valid symptom because the AppDynamics Controller does not affect the average response times of tiers. The average response time of a tier is the average time that the tier takes to process the incoming requests from the business transactions that are monitored by the AppDynamics platform. The average response time of a tier is influenced by the performance and behavior of the application code, the infrastructure, the dependencies, and the workload of the tier, not by the Controller itself. The average response time of a tier is not affected by the Controller scaling, unless the Controller fails to collect or process the metrics data .

References:

• 1: Controller System Requirements - AppDynamics
• 2: Controller Sizing Guidelines - AppDynamics
• 3: Transaction Snapshots - AppDynamics
• 4: Configure Data Retention - AppDynamics
• 5: Health Rules - AppDynamics