10th April, 2017

Synthetic monitoring, or active monitoring, is a technique used to test the performance of a website or application by analyzing its interaction with simulated users. It provides insights about downtime during the critical business transactions and issues being faced in navigation paths that a real user is expected to follow. This type of testing is usually performed by businesses who are expecting to receive huge website traffic during an upcoming sale or holiday season. Synthetic monitoring allows them to estimate the amount of traffic and HTTP requests the existing website or application can process efficiently.

How Does Synthetic Monitoring Work?

In synthetic monitoring, the tester creates scripts simulating a navigational path or action that has to be followed by a robot user. The script defines the activity to be performed during the test, i.e. log in to the website, visit a specific page or carry out a specific transaction. The test is executed through a pre-decided browser, server and geographical location. The script makes an HTTP request to the website just like an actual visitor would have made. When this occurs, the tester records the response time of the website and any other issues encountered such as increased load time or server error. The data obtained is then analyzed and evaluated.

A typical synthetic monitoring test answers the following questions:

  • Is the website performing well?
  • What is the average load time?
  • Are all transactions being carried out smoothly?
  • In case there is a website downtime or slowdown, what is the reason?
  • Is the website ok to go live?

Why Do You Need Synthetic Monitoring?

  • Identify and detect issues beforehand

With synthetic monitoring, you can simulate user interactions with your website and identify the performance issues well before they impact the user experience. You can easily find the root cause and fix it beforehand.

  • Prepare for peak traffic

If you are launching a new feature in the application or a section in the website, you can proactively test the way it will respond to multiple user requests. This will help to ensure optimal website performance.

  • Test from the end users perspective

By testing your website and applications from different browsers, geographical locations and internet service providers, you are better able to evaluate realistic user experience. It provides insights into the critical performance parameters that prepare your website for diverse user scenarios.

For more information on synthetic monitoring and its benefits, feel free to contact Centex Technologies at (855) 375 – 9654.