Performance

Supported technologies

The performance metric collection functionality of Instana applies to native Android and iOS applications. This capability is available in the following agent versions:

• Instana Android agent 6.2.0 or later
• Instana iOS agent 1.9.0 or later

Enabling performance metrics collection in Android agent

Make sure that the plug-in and SDK of the Instana Android agent are integrated with your Android application. For more information, see Android agent instructions.

To enable performance metrics collection in the Android agent, set the properties to true when the Instana.setup() method is called, as shown in the following example:

class ExampleApp : Application() {
    override fun onCreate() {
        super.onCreate()
        val perf = PerformanceMonitorConfig(
                       enableAppStartTimeReport = true, // Enable App start time metrics
                       enableAnrReport = true, // Enable ANR metrics
                       anrThresholdMs = 5, // This is the wait time until agent report an ANR
                       enableLowMemoryReport = true) // Enable Low Memory metrics
        val instanaConfig = InstanaConfig(
            key = "YOUR_APP_KEY",
            reportingURL = "YOUR_REPORTING_URL",
            enableCrashReporting = true,
            performanceMonitorConfig = perf
        )
        Instana.setup(this, instanaConfig)
    }
}

Enabling performance metrics collection in iOS agent

Make sure that the Instana iOS agent is installed. For more information, see iOS agent instructions.

To enable performance metrics collection for the iOS agent, set the properties to true when the Instana.setup() method is called, as shown in the following example:

import UIKit
import InstanaAgent

@UIApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {

    var window: UIWindow?

    func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                   didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {

        let options = InstanaSetupOptions(enableCrashReporting: true)
        options.perfConfig = InstanaPerformanceConfig(
                                enableAppStartTimeReport = true, // Enable App start time metrics
                                enableAnrReport: true, // Enable ANR metrics
                                anrThreshold: 5.0, // This is the wait time until agent report an ANR
                                enableLowMemoryReport = true) // Enable Low Memory metrics
        Instana.setup(
            key: "YOUR_APP_KEY",
            reportingURL: "YOUR_REPORTING_URL",
            options: options
        )
        return true
    }
}

Viewing the Performance tab in the Instana UI

After you enable performance metric collection for an application, performance-related data is sent to Instana. You can analyze the performance metrics to gain insights into the behavior of the application and optimize its performance.

To view the performance dashboard, complete the following steps:

1. In the sidebar of the Instana UI, select Websites & mobile apps.

2. Select Mobile apps.

3. Click an item from the list of mobile applications.

4. Select the Performance tab.

   

Performance metric for Application Not Responding (ANR)

Monitoring ANR is crucial for identifying and addressing performance issues in Android and IOS applications. If the main thread of an application is blocked for too long, it triggers an ANR error, which disrupts the user experience. This result can lead to user dissatisfaction, poor reviews, and less user interaction. By tracking ANRs, you can find and improve performance roadblocks, restructure code to offload heavy tasks, and use methods that ensure responsive user interactions.

Viewing ANR KPI section on the Performance tab

On the Performance tab, two KPI sections are added to monitor and analyze the impact of ANRs and application freezing on both user sessions and overall users. These KPI sections provide insights into application performance and user experience.

ANR affected sessions = (Number of sessions with ANRs / Total number of unique sessions) * 100

ANR affected users = (Number of users with ANRs / Total number of unique users) * 100

Performance metric for App start or launch time

App start or launch time refers to the duration taken by the application to become fully interactive. Monitoring this performance metric helps developers optimize startup times and enhance the overall user experience.

App start times are categorized into three types:

• Cold start: occurs when the application is launched from a terminated state with no existing processes in memory. Cold start is typically the slowest start type and takes the longest startup time.

• Warm start: occurs when the application is relaunched from a background state. Few memory resources are cached or present in memory so warm start requires less startup time than cold start.

• Hot start: occurs when the application is already running in the background and the system brings the application's activity to the foreground. Since the application is active in memory, the system does not have to repeat the initialization or load any resources again allowing it to resume instantly with the fastest startup time.

Performance metric for Low memory

Low memory events are triggered when a device is running out of resources, leading to slower responses and crashes. This might adversely affect user experience and significantly impact the business. Reporting Low memory events to Instana is crucial for developers to quickly identify underlying issues and provide appropriate solutions.