Node.js Business Transactions Test

How often should the test be executed.

The host for which this test is to be configured.

The port at which the target Host listens to. By default, this is 3000.

By default, this test automatically 'names' the business transactions that are monitored, based on the number of URL segments that are configured for monitoring against Max URL Segments. For instance, if the Max URL Segments parameter is set as 2,3, then the default naming policy will automatically name transactions to a retail banking web site as /banking/IMPS-fund-transfer, /banking/NEFT-fund-transfer, /banking/Services, and so on. In this case therefore, the static URL segment names become transaction names and are displayed as the descriptors of the test. If you want to use the default naming policy, then set the Business Transaction Naming Rules parameter to None.

As part of detailed diagnosis, eG Node.js BTM displays two columns, namely - User Name and Business Context. By default, these two columns will not display any values. This has been done so that administrators can use these columns to display any additional information that they deem useful for troubleshooting transaction slowness. For instance, administrators can configure eG Enterprise to capture the name of the user who initiated each transaction and display the same in the User Name column for every transaction URL in the Detailed Diagnosis page. Likewise, administrators can also tweak eG Enterprise to capture and display information such as transaction ID, product ID etc,. against Business Context. Such custom information can also be captured for specific transaction URLs or URL patterns alone.

If you do not want detailed diagnosis to report user name / business context, then set the UserName / Business Context Configuration parameter to None. On the other hand, to capture the user name and business context into detailed diagnosis, refer to Configuring User Name and Business Context.

By default, this test does not track requests to the following URL patterns:

*.ttf,*.otf,*.woff,*.woff2,*.eot,*.cff,*.afm,*.lwfn,*.ffil,*.fon,

*.ttf, *.otf, *.woff, *.woff2, *.eot, *.cff, *.afm, *.lwfn, *.ffil, *.fon, *.pfm, *.pfb, *.std, *.pro, *.xsf, *.jpg, *.jpeg, *.jpe, *.jif, *.jfif, *.jfi, *.jp2, *.j2k, *.jpf, *.jpx, *.jpm, *.jxr, *.hdp, *.wdp, *.mj2, *.webp, *.gif, *.png, *.apng, *.mng, *.tiff, *.tif, *.xbm, *.bmp, *.dib, *.svg, *.svgz, *.mpg, *.mpeg, *.mpeg2, *.avi, *.wmv, *.mov, *.rm, *.ram, *.swf, *.flv, *.ogg, *.webm, *.mp4, *.ts, *.mid, *.midi, *.rm, *.ram, *.wma, *.aac, *.wav, *.ogg, *.mp3, *.mp4, *.css, *.js, *.ico, *.cur, *.avif,/egurkha*

If required, you can remove one/more patterns from this default list, so that such patterns are monitored, or can append more patterns to this list in order to exclude them from monitoring.

From the detailed diagnosis of slow/stalled/error transactions, you can drill down and perform deep execution analysis of a particular transaction. In this drill-down, the methods invoked by that slow/stalled/error transaction are listed in the order in which the transaction calls the methods. By configuring a Method Exec Cutoff, you can make sure that methods that have been executing for a duration greater the specified cutoff are alone listed when performing execution analysis. For instance, if you specify 5 here, then the Execution Analysis window for a slow/stalled/error transaction will list only those methods that have been executing for over 5 milliseconds. This way, you get to focus on only those methods that could have caused the slowness, without being distracted by inconsequential methods. By default, the value of this parameter is set to 250 ms.

Typically, from the detailed diagnosis of a slow/stalled/error transaction on a Node.js node, you can drill down to view the SQL queries (if any) executed by that transaction from that node and the execution time of each query. By configuring a SQL Execution Cutoff (MS), you can make sure that queries that have been executing for a duration greater the specified cutoff are alone listed when performing query analysis. For instance, if you specify 5 here, then for a slow/stalled/error transaction, the SQL Queries window will display only those queries that have been executing for over 5 milliseconds. This way, you get to focus on only those queries that could have contributed to the slowness. By default, the value of this parameter is set to 10 ms.

By default, this flag is set to No. This means that eG will not collect detailed diagnostics for those transactions that are healthy. If you want to enable the detailed diagnosis capability for healthy transactions as well, then set this flag to Yes.

This parameter is applicable only if the Healthy URL Trace flag is set to ‘Yes’. Here, specify the number of top-n transactions that should be listed in the detailed diagnosis of the Healthy transactions measure, every time the test runs. By default, this is set to 10, indicating that the detailed diagnosis of the Healthy transactions measure will by default list the top-10 transactions, arranged in the descending order of their response times.

Specify the number of top-n transactions that should be listed in the detailed diagnosis of the Slow transactions measure, every time the test runs. By default, this is set to 10, indicating that the detailed diagnosis of the Slow transactions measure will by default list the top-10 transactions, arranged in the descending order of their response times.

Specify the number of top-n transactions that should be listed in the detailed diagnosis of the Stalled transactions measure, every time the test runs. By default, this is set to 10, indicating that the detailed diagnosis of the Stalled transactions measure will by default list the top-10 transactions, arranged in the descending order of their response times.

Specify the number of top-n transactions that should be listed in the detailed diagnosis of the Error transactions measure, every time the test runs. By default, this is set to 10, indicating that the detailed diagnosis of the Error transactions measure will by default list the top-10 transactions, in terms of the number of errors they encountered.

If you want the detailed diagnosis of this test to report the HTTP response code that was returned when a transaction URL was hit, then set this flag to Yes. This will enable you to instantly identify HTTP errors that may have occurred when accessing a transaction URL. By default, this flag is set to No, indicating that the HTTP status code is not reported by default as part of detailed diagnostics.

An HTTP cookie is a small piece of data sent from a website and stored on the user's computer by the user's web browser while the user is browsing. Most commonly, cookies are used to provide a way for users to record items they want to purchase as they navigate throughout a website (a virtual "shopping cart" or "shopping basket"). To keep track of which user is assigned to which shopping cart, the server sends a cookie to the client that contains a unique session identifier (typically, a long string of random letters and numbers). Because cookies are sent to the server with every request the client makes, that session identifier will be sent back to the server every time the user visits a new page on the website, which lets the server know which shopping cart to display to the user. Another popular use of cookies is for logging into websites. When the user visits a website's login page, the web server typically sends the client a cookie containing a unique session identifier. When the user successfully logs in, the server remembers that particular session identifier has been authenticated, and grants the user access to its services. If you want to view and analyze the useful information that is stored in such HTTP response cookies that a web server sends, then set this flag to Yes. By default, this flag is set to No, indicating that cookie information is not reported by default as part of detailed diagnostics.

HTTP headers allow the client and the server to pass additional information with the request or the response. A request header is a header that contains more information about the resource to be fetched or about the client itself. If you want the additional information stored in a request header to be displayed as part of detailed diagnostics, then set this flag to Yes. By default, this flag is set to No indicating that request headers are not displayed by default in the detailed diagnosis.

To optimize transaction performance and conserve space in the eG database, many restraints have been applied by default on the agent’s ability to collect and report detailed diagnostics. Depending upon how well-tuned your eG database is and the level of visibility you require into transaction performance, you may choose to either retain these default settings or override them. If you choose not to disturb the defaults, then set the Advanced Settings flag to No. If you want to modify the defaults, then set the Advanced Settings flag to Yes.

This parameter will appear only if the Advanced Settings flag is set to ‘Yes’. By default, when reporting the detailed diagnosis of a transaction on a particular Node.js node, this test reports the execution time of only the first 1000 non-POJO method calls (which includes JMS, JCO, HTTP, Java, SQL, etc.) that the target Node.js node makes for that transaction. This is why, the Non-POJO Method Tracing Limit parameter is set to 1000 by default. If you want, you can change the tracing limit to enable the test to report the details of more or fewer non-POJO method calls made by a Node.js node. While a high value for this parameter may take you closer to identifying the non-POJO method that could have caused the transaction to slowdown on a particular Node.js node, it may also marginally increase the overheads of the transaction and the eG agent.

This parameter will appear only if the Advanced Settings flag is set to ‘Yes’. A recursive method is a method that calls itself. By default, when reporting the detailed diagnosis of a transaction on a particular Node.js node, this test reports the execution time of only the first 1000 recursive method calls (which includes JMS, JCO, HTTP, Java, SQL, etc.) that the target Node.js node makes for that transaction. This is why, the Recursive Method Tracing Limit parameter is set to 1000 by default. If you want, you can change the tracing limit to enable the test to report the details of more or fewer recursive method calls made by a Node.js node. While a high value for this parameter may take you closer to identifying the recursive method that could have caused the transaction to slowdown on a particular Node.js node, it may also marginally increase the overheads of the transaction and the eG agent.

Profiling errors/exceptions in business transactions can be an overhead-intensive exercise for eG Node.js BTM, particularly when the target business application is transaction-heavy. To keep monitoring overheads at an acceptable level, eG Node.js BTM only traces a maximum of 1000 errors/exceptions per transaction, by default. In other words, the first 1000 errors/exceptions per transaction will only be traced by default. This is why, this parameter is set to 1000 by default. If your application is sized with more processing power, then you may want to increase this value. If not, you can decrease it further.

When tracing exceptions, eG Node.js BTM collects and reports the stacktrace for those exceptions, along with the exception name, and description. Pulling all these details from eG Node.js BTM for every exception per transaction can significantly strain the eG remote agent. Also, the same could take up considerable space in the eG database. To keep its processing overheads under check and to conserve database space, the eG agent will, by default, pull stacktrace information only for a maximum of 5 exceptions/errors traced by eG Node.js BTM per transaction. In other words, the eG agent will, by default, pull stacktrace information for only the first 5 errors/exceptions per transaction from eG Node.js BTM. This is why, this parameter is set to 5 by default. For these 5 (default) exceptions/errors, the eG agent will pull their name and message as well. You can increase/decrease this value depending upon the processing power of the eG agent and how well-sized and well-tuned the eG database is in your environment.

When tracing exceptions, eG Node.js BTM collects and reports the stacktrace for those exceptions, along with the exception name, and description. Pulling all these details from eG Node.js BTM for every exception per transaction can significantly strain the eG remote agent. Also, the same could take up considerable space in the eG database. To keep its monitoring overheads under check and to conserve database space, the eG agent will, by default, pull the name and message for only a maximum of 100 exceptions per transaction. In other words, the eG agent will, by default, pull the name and message for only the first 100 errors/exceptions per transaction from eG Node.js BTM. This is why, this parameter is set to 100 by default. Note that for these 100 (default) exceptions, only name and message will be captured by the eG agent and not stacktrace. You can increase/decrease this value depending upon the processing power of the eG agent and how well-sized and well-tuned the eG database is in your environment.

This parameter will appear only if the Advanced Settings flag is set to ‘Yes’. As part of detailed diagnostics, this test, by default, lists the first 10 stacktrace lines of each JavaScript error/exception that it captures on the target Node.js node for a specific transaction, so as to enable easy and efficient troubleshooting. This is why, the Exception Stacktrace Lines parameter is set to 10 by default. If required, you can have this test display more or fewer stacktrace lines by overriding this default setting.

This parameter will appear only if the Advanced Settings flag is set to ‘Yes’. By default, this test flags the transactions in which the following errors/exceptions are captured, as Error transactions:

• All unhandled exceptions;
• Both handled and unhandled SQL exceptions/errors

This implies that if a programmatically-handled non-SQL exception occurs in a transaction, such a transaction, by default, will not be counted as an Error transaction by this test.

Sometimes however, administrators may want to be alerted even if some non-SQL exceptions that have already been handled programmatically, occur. This can be achieved by configuring a comma-separated list of these exceptions in the Included Exceptions text box. Here, each exception you want to include has to be defined using its fully qualified exception class name. For instance, your Included Exceptions specification can be as follows: java.lang.NullPointerException, java.lang.IndexOutOfBoundsException. Note that wild card characters cannot be used as part of your specification. Once the exceptions to be included are configured, then this test will count all transactions in which such exceptions are captured as Error transactions.

This parameter will appear only if the Advanced Settings flag is set to ‘Yes’. By default, this test flags the transactions in which the following errors/exceptions are captured, as Error transactions:

• All unhandled exceptions;
• Both handled and unhandled SQL exceptions/errors

Sometimes however, administrators may want eG to disregard certain unhandled exceptions (or handled SQL exceptions), as they may not pose any threat to the stability of the transaction or to the web site/web application. To achieve this, administrators can configure a comma-separated list of such inconsequential exceptions in the Ignored Exceptions text box. Here, you need to configure each exception you want to exclude using its fully qualified exception class name. For instance, your Excluded Exceptions specification can be as follows: java.sql.SQLException,java.io.FileNotFoundException. Note that wild card characters cannot be used as part of your specification. Once the exceptions to be excluded are configured, then this test will exclude all transactions in which such exceptions are captured from its count of Error transactions.

This parameter will appear only if the Advanced Settings flag is set to ‘Yes’. By default, eG excludes all transaction URLs that contain the ‘\’ character from monitoring. If you want eG to ignore transaction URLs with any other special characters, then specify these characters as a comma-separated list in the Ignored Characters text box. For instance, your specification can be: \\,&,~

This parameter will appear only if the Advanced Settings flag is set to ‘Yes’. This test groups URLs according to the Max URL Segments specification. These grouped URLs will be the descriptors of the test. For each grouped URL, response time metrics will be aggregated across all transaction URLs in that group and reported.

When monitoring web sites/web applications to which the transaction volume is normally high, this test may report metrics for hundreds of descriptors. If all these descriptors are listed in the Layers tab page of the eG monitoring console, it will certainly clutter the display. To avoid this, by default, the test displays metrics for a maximum of 50 descriptors – i.e., 50 grouped URLs alone – in the eG monitoring console, during every measure period. This is why, the Max Grouped URLs per Measure Period parameter is set to 50 by default.

To determine which 50 grouped URLs should be displayed in the eG monitoring console, the eG Node.js BTM follows the below-mentioned logic:

• Top priority is reserved for URL groups with error transactions. This means that eG Node.js BTM first scans URL groups for error transactions. If error transactions are found in 50 URL groups, then eG Node.js BTM computes the aggregated response time of each of the 50 groups, sorts the error groups in the descending order of their response time, and displays all these 50 groups alone as the descriptors of this test, in the sorted order.

• On the other hand, if error transactions are found in only one / a few URL groups – say, only 20 URL groups – then, eG Node.js BTM will first arrange these 20 grouped URLs in the descending order of their response time. It will then compute the aggregated response time of the transactions in each of the other groups (i.e., the error-free groups) that were auto-discovered during the same measure period. These other groups are then arranged in the descending order of the aggregated response time of their transactions. Once this is done, eG Node.js BTM will then pick the top-30 grouped URLs from this sorted list.

  In this case, when displaying the descriptors of this test in the Layers tab page, the 20 error groups are first displayed (in the descending order of their response time), followed by the 30 ‘error-free’ groups (also in the descending order of their response time).

  At any given point in time, you can increase/decrease the maximum number of descriptors this test should support by modifying the value of the Max Grouped URLs per Measure Period parameter.

This parameter will appear only if the Advanced Settings flag is set to ‘Yes’. Typically, from the detailed diagnosis of a slow/stalled/error transaction on a Node.js node, you can drill down to view the SQL queries (if any) executed by that transaction from that node and the execution time of each query. By default, eG picks the first 500 SQL queries executed by the transaction, compares the execution time of each query with the SQL Execution Cutoff configured for this test, and displays only those queries with an execution time that is higher than the configured cutoff. This is why, the Max SQL Queries per Transaction parameter is set to 500 by default.

To improve agent performance, you may want the SQL Execution Cutoff to be compared with the execution time of a less number of queries – say, 200 queries. Similarly, to increase the probability of capturing more number of long-running queries, you may want the SQL execution cutoff to be compared with the execution time of a large number of queries – say, 1000 queries. For this, you just need to modify the Max SQL Queries per Transaction specification to suit your purpose.

This parameter will appear only if the Advanced Settings flag is set to ‘Yes’ If eG's cross-application transaction flow reveals that one/more SQL queries are slowing down a transaction, then, you can quickly drill down that representation to view a detailed Execution Analysis window. Clicking on the Slow SQL Queries option in the window will reveal a table that lists the lethargic and erroneous SQL statements executed by the given transaction. For error SQL, the table will include an additional Error Details column, where the error message will be displayed. .By default, for a single transaction, the eG Enterprise captures and stores in the eG database, the details of the first 10 erroneous SQL statements only. As a result, if one/more erroneous SQL statements are degrading a transaction's performance, the table in the Slow SQL Queries section for that transaction will display the first 10 erroneous queries and their error messages only. This is why, this parameter is set to 10 by default.

This default setting is ideal for environments in which many erroneous SQL queries are often executed, with each of them throwing long winding error messages. If the eG database in such environments is not sized right or tuned well, storing these errors and messages may impose a significant strain on that database, choking it eventually. By restricting the error SQL and related messages to the first 10 (by default), eG Enterprise prevents such an unpleasant outcome.

However, if the eG database in your environment is sufficiently sized and well-tuned, then you can increase the value of this parameter, so that more number of error SQL and messages are captured.

This parameter will appear only if the Advanced Settings flag is set to ‘Yes’ If eG's cross-application transaction flow reveals that one/more SQL queries are slowing down a transaction, then, you can quickly drill down that representation to view a detailed Execution Analysis window. Clicking on the Slow SQL Queries option in the window will reveal a table that lists the lethargic SQL queries and error SQL statements run by that transaction. By default, in the Query Details column of this table, the first 1024 characters of a query will alone be displayed. Similarly, in the Query section that typically displays the query chosen from the table, the first 1024 characters of the query will only appear. This is because, by default, eG Enterprise captures and stores only the first 1024 characters of each slow/erroneous SQL query in the eG database. This is why, this parameter is set to 1024 by default.

This default setting is ideal for environments in which a single SQL query may even run across multiple pages. If the eG database in such environments is not sized right or tuned well, storing slow/erroneous queries fully may impose a significant strain on that database, choking it eventually. By restricting the query characters to be stored in the eG database to 1024 (by default), eG Enterprise prevents such an unpleasant outcome.

However, if the eG database in your environment is sufficiently sized and well-tuned, then you can increase the value of this parameter, so that more number of query characters are stored in the eG database.

Where inefficient SQL queries to a database backend are slowing down business transactions to an application, the detailed diagnostics of this test will display the exact queries responsible for the slowdown. Some of these queries may include fields that look up sensitive/confidential values - e.g., password, transaction ID, credit card number etc. - in the database. Unscrupulous users may sometimes use such queries to retrieve critical business information. To protect BTM-enabled business-critical applications from such attacks, eG Enterprise, by default, masks all field values in queries using the 'x' character. This is why, the Mask SQL flag is set to Yes by default. On the other hand, if you want to unmask all field values in queries, then set the Mask SQL flag to No.

Many high-security environments consider public IP addresses as 'classified information', as in the wrong hands, such information can cause serious damage to data security and integrity. This is why, by default, eG Enterprise hides/masks the last octet of public IP addresses displayed in detailed diagnosis using the 'x' character (by default). Accordingly, the Mask Public IP flag of this test is set to Yes by default. If you want, you can 'unmask' the last octet of public IP addresses, so the entire IP address is visible in clear text in the detailed diagnostics. For this, set the Mask Public IP flag of this test to No.

Many high-security environments consider private IP addresses as 'classified information', as in the wrong hands, such information can cause serious damage to data security and integrity. This is why, by default, eG Enterprise hides/masks the last octet of private IP addresses displayed in detailed diagnosis using the 'x' character (by default). Accordingly, the Mask Private IP flag of this test is set to Yes by default. If you want, you can 'unmask' the last octet of private IP addresses, so the entire private IP address is visible in clear text in the detailed diagnostics. For this, set the Mask Private IP flag of this test to No.

This parameter is applicable only if the Mask Public IP and/or Mask Private IP flags are set to Yes.

By default, this parameter is set to 'x'. This means that, by default, the last octet of private and public IP addresses in detailed diagnosis are masked using the 'x' character. You can override this default value by specifying any other character that you may want to use as a masking character of IP addresses - e.g., *, ? etc.

Sometimes, sensitive information - e.g., passwords - may be transmitted in 'clear text' as values of certain URL parameters. To make sure that miscreants have no access to such confidential information, eG Enterprise, by default, uses the * (asterisk) character to hide/mask all parameter values in the URLs displayed in detailed diagnosis. This is why, the Mask URL Params flag is set to Yes by default. If you want, you can unmask all URL parameter values in the detailed diagnosis of this test by setting this flag to No.

An HTTP header is a field of an HTTP request or response that passes additional context and metadata about the request or response. Many times, these header fields may pass confidential access/user information - e.g., passwords, login IDs, transaction IDs etc. If users with ulterior motives get a hold of this information, they can hack into your mission-critical applications and cause serious damage. To avoid this, eG Enterprise, by default, uses the * (asterisk) character to mask the values of all HTTP header fields that it captures and displays as part of detailed diagnosis. Accordingly, the Mask All Header Fields flag is set to Yes by default. If you want, you can unmask all header field values by turning off the Mask All Header Fields flag - i.e., by setting that flag to No. Alternatively, you can perform 'masking' selectively. In other words, you can instruct eG Enterprise to unmask the values of only those header fields that do not carry sensitive information. For this, you need to specify a comma-separated list of header fields to exclude from masking in the Exclude Header Fields From Masking text box. For example, your specification can be: Cache-Control,Date,Pragma

An HTTP cookie (web cookie, browser cookie) is a small piece of data that a server sends to a user's web browser. Cookies are mainly used for session management, personalization, and tracking user behavior.

Some times, cookie fields may inadvertently or for troubleshooting purposes transmit confidential information such as passwords to a user's web browser. If the server-browser communication is intercepted by malicious users, they can use the sensitive access information contained within the cookie field values to wreak havoc on your systems/applications. To avoid this, eG Enterprise, by default, uses the * (asterisk) character to mask/hide all cookie field values. This is why, the Mask All Cookie Fields flag is set to Yes by default. If you want, you can unmask all cookie field values by setting this flag to No.

Exception messages can sometimes include variables that carry sensitive information in plain text. If users with malicious intent come in contact with such information, it can prove to be a serious threat to the security of your mission-critical apps. To prevent the misuse of such confidential information, eG Enterprise, by default, uses the * (asterisk) character to mask the variables in all exception messages. This is why, the Mask Exception Message flag is set to Yes by default. If you want, you can unmask these variables by setting the same flag to No.

By default, the eG agent will wait for 1000 milliseconds for a response from the eG Application Server agent. If no response is received, then the test will timeout. You can change this timeout value, if required.

Refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 1:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against DD frequency.