Channel Operations Test
Teams are made up of channels, which are the conversations you have with other members in your organization. Each channel is dedicated to a specific topic, department, or project. Channels are where the work actually gets done - where text, audio, and video conversations open to the whole team happen, where files are shared, and where tabs are added.
One of the reasons why users opt for a channel in Microsoft Teams is that it enables them to quickly and securely retrieve/update the properties of the channel, list/retrieve one/more members, and update the role of a member in a channel from anywhere through any desktop/device. However, at runtime, if Microsoft Teams is unable to deliver the high-quality experience it promises while users are accessing the channels, IT administrators will be forced to hunt for alternatives. To avoid such an outcome, administrators should make sure that the guaranteed Microsoft Teams service levels are delivered at all times. For this, administrators will have to periodically check the time it takes to update the channel, retrieve the channel properties, list and update the role of the members in the channel created on Microsoft Teams, isolate bottlenecks proactively, and plug the holes before users complain. The Channel Operations test helps administrators in this exercise.
At configured intervals, this test emulates an update to the properties of the channel, retrieve the member collection of the channel and update the role of a member in the channel and reports the time it takes to perform each of these operations. This provides administrators with early indicators of problem conditions, thus enabling them to resolve the problem before any irrepairable damage is done.
Note:
This test uses the Microsoft Graph API. Tests that use Microsoft Graph API may not start reporting metrics right away. Sometimes, they may go without reporting metrics for over 48 hours. This is normal behavior, and it occurs because, Microsoft does not collect/refresh the metrics as frequently as the test executes.
Target of the test : Domain-Microsoft Teams
Agent deploying the test : A remote agent
Outputs of the test : One set of results for the monitored Domain-Microsoft Teams
| Parameters | Description |
|---|---|
|
Test period |
How often should the test be executed |
|
Host |
The host for which the test is to be configured. By default, this is portal.office.com |
|
Port |
The port at which the specified Host listens to. By default, this is NULL. |
|
O365 User Name, O365 Password, and Confirm Password |
For execution, this test requires the privileges of an O365 user who has been assigned the Service support admin role and is vested with the View-Only Audit Logs and Team administrator permissions. Configure the credentials of such a user against O365 User Name and O365 Password text boxes. Confirm the password by retyping it in the Confirm Password text box. While you can use the credentials of any existing O365 user with the afore-said privileges, it is recommended that you create a special user for monitoring purposes using the Office 365 portal and use the credentials of that user here. To know how to create a new user using the Office 365 portal and assign the required privileges to that user, refer to Creating a New User in the Office 365 Portal. |
|
Domain Name, Domain User Name, Domain Password, and Confirm Password |
These parameters are applicable only if the eG agent needs to communicate with the Office 365 portal via a Proxy server. In this case, in the Domain text box, specify the name of the Windows domain to which the eG agent host belongs. In the Domain User Name text box, mention the name of a valid domain user with login rights to the eG agent host. Provide the password of that user in the Domain Password text box and confirm that password by retyping it in the Confirm Password text box. On the other hand, if the eG agent is not behind a Proxy server, then you need not disturb the default setting of these parameters. By default, these parameters are set to none. |
|
Proxy Host, Proxy Port, Proxy User Name, Proxy Password and Confirm Password |
These parameters are applicable only if the eG agent needs to communicate with the Office 365 portal via a Proxy server. In this case, provide the IP/host name and port number of the Proxy server that the eG agent should use in the Proxy Host and Proxy Port parameters, respectively. If the Proxy server requires authentication, then specify the credentials of a valid Proxy user against the Proxy User Name and Proxy Password text boxes. Confirm that password by retyping it in the Confirm Password text box. If the Proxy server does not require authentication, then specify none against the Proxy User Name, Proxy Password, and Confirm Password text boxes. On the other hand, if the eG agent is not behind a Proxy server, then you need not disturb the default setting of any of the Proxy-related parameters. By default, these parameters are set to none. |
|
Tenant Name |
This parameter applies only if you want the eG agent to use Azure AD Certificate-based Authentication for accessing and monitoring an O365 tenant and its resources. Azure AD certificate-based authentication (CBA) enables customers to allow or require users to authenticate with X.509 certificates against their Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) for applications and browser sign-in. When monitoring highly secure Office 365 environments, you can configure the eG agent to identify itself to a tenant using a valid X.509 certificate, so that it is allowed secure access to the tenant and its resources. By default, the value of this parameter is none. This means that, by default, the eG agent does not use certificate-based authentication to connect to an O365 tenant. On the other hand, if you want the eG agent to use this modern authentication technique to securely access a tenant's resources, you should do the following:
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| Measurement | Description | Measurement Unit | Interpretation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Get channel status |
Indicates whether/not retrieval of the properties and relationships of a channel was successful. |
|
The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:
Note: By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed in the table above. However, in the graph of this measure, the retrieval status of the properties and relationships of a channel is indicated using the numeric equivalents only. |
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|
Time taken to get channel |
Indicates the time taken by this test to retrieve the properties and relationships of the channel. |
Seconds |
Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. A high value is indicative of a poor user experience while accessing the team. The reasons for the same should be investigated. |
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|
Update channel status |
Indicates whether/not the update to the properties of the channel was successful. |
|
The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:
Note: By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed in the table above. However, in the graph of this measure, the update status of the properties of the channel is indicated using the numeric equivalents only. |
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|
Time taken to update channel |
Indicates the time taken by this test to update the properties of the channel. |
Seconds |
Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. A high value is indicative of a poor update experience with the channel. The reasons for the same should be investigated. |
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|
Get member status |
Indicates whether/not the retrieval of a member from the channel was successful. |
|
The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:
Note: By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed in the table above. However, in the graph of this measure, the retrieval status of a member from the channel is indicated using the numeric equivalents only. |
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|
Time taken to get member |
Indicates the time taken by this test to retrieve a member from the channel. |
Seconds |
Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. A high value is indicative of a poor user experience with the channel. The reasons for the same should be investigated. |
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|
List members status |
Indicates whether/not the retrieval of member collection of the channel was successful. |
|
The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:
Note: By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed in the table above. However, in the graph of this measure, the retrieval status of member collection of the channel is indicated using the numeric equivalents only. |
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|
Time taken to list members |
Indicates the time taken by this test to retrieve the members of the channel. |
Seconds |
Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. A high value is indicative of a poor user experience with the channel. The reasons for the same should be investigated. |
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|
Update member status |
Indicates whether/not updating the role of a member in the channel was successful. |
|
The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:
Note: By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed in the table above. However, in the graph of this measure, the status of updating the role of a member in the channel is indicated using the numeric equivalents only. |
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|
Time taken to update member |
Indicates the time taken by this test to update the role of a member in the channel. |
Seconds |
Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. A high value is indicative of a poor user experience with the channel. The reasons for the same should be investigated. |
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|
Send message status |
Indicates whether/not sending a chat message in the channel was successful. |
|
The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:
Note: By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed in the table above. However, in the graph of this measure, the status of sending a chat message in the channel is indicated using the numeric equivalents only. |
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|
Time taken to send message |
Indicates the time taken by this test to send a chat message in the channel. |
Seconds |
Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. A high value is indicative of a poor user experience with the channel. The reasons for the same should be investigated. |
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|
Reply message status |
Indicates whether/not sending a reply message to a chat message in the channel was successful. |
|
The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:
Note: By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed in the table above. However, in the graph of this measure, the status of sending a reply message to a chat message in the channel is indicated using the numeric equivalents only. |
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|
Time taken to reply message |
Indicates the time taken to send a reply message to a chat message in the channel. |
Seconds |
Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. A high value is indicative of a poor user experience with the channel. The reasons for the same should be investigated. |
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|
Get message reply status |
Indicates whether/not retrieving a single message or a message reply in the channel was successful. |
|
The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:
Note: By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed in the table above. However, in the graph of this measure, the status of retrieving a single message or a message reply in the channel is indicated using the numeric equivalents only. |
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|
Time taken to get message reply |
Indicates the time taken by this test to retrieve a single message or a message reply in a channel. |
Seconds |
Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. A high value is indicative of a poor user experience with the channel. The reasons for the same should be investigated. |
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|
List message replies status |
Indicates whether/not listing all the replies to a message in the channel was successful. |
|
The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:
Note: By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed in the table above. However, in the graph of this measure, the status of listing all the replies to a message in the channel is indicated using the numeric equivalents only. |
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|
Time taken to list message replies |
Indicates the time taken by this test to list all the replies to a message in the channel. |
Seconds |
Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. A high value is indicative of a poor user experience with the channel. The reasons for the same should be investigated. |
