Defining AppDynamics Observer jobs

Using the AppDynamics Observer, you can define a full load job that will read data from the AppDynamics Controller via the REST API. This job can provide, for example, business applications, nodes, and tiers to Agile Service Manager.

Before you begin

Important: The AppDynamics Observer supports the cloud/SaaS AppDynamics version 4.5.12 and API version 4.5.x.

Ensure you have the AppDynamics details to hand, such as the instance, account, username and password before running the observer job.

The AppDynamics Observer is installed as part of the core installation procedure.

Remember: Swagger documentation for the observer is available at the following default location: https://<your host>/1.0/appdynamics-observer/swagger

Tip: Before defining the observer load job, you must create an AppDynamics user with the correct permissions. This is required for REST API authentication.

On the AppDynamics Administration page, click the gear icon (top right).
Under the Admin group, select Administration, then select the Users tab.
Select the AppDynamics option from the Display users drop-down list.
Assign all available roles to the user by selecting Add from Roles > Select All > Done, then click Save.

About this task

The AppDynamics Observer imports ITSM Resource Topology Service data to Agile Service Manager.

appdynamics_observer_common.sh: The configuration file you use to customize AppDynamics Observer settings.; The parameters defined here are then used by the appdynamics_observer_load_start.sh script to trigger the AppDynamics Observer jobs.; Tip: Alternatively, you can set the appropriate environment variables. If an environment variable is set, it takes precedence over the configuration file settings.

You define and start the following job. You must edit the parameters in the configuration file before running this job.

Full Topology Upload job: A transient (one-off) job that loads all requested topology data.; This job is started by the appdynamics_observer_load_start.sh script and loads all supported resources.

Procedure

To edit the parameters in the configuration file

Open the appdynamics_observer_common.sh configuration file and edit (at least) the following parameters:
instance

The instance of the AppDynamics

account

The tenant account of the instance

username

The user of the specified tenant

password

The password associated with the username in encrypted form
For encryption: Run the encrypt_password.sh script in the ASM_HOME/bin directory:
```
./bin/encrypt_password.sh
```
Enter and then confirm the password. The encryption utility returns an encrypted version.
Optional: Enter or edit the following optional parameters:

SSL Verification

Specify 'true' or 'false'. The default is 'false', which uses HTTPS validation without hostname validation.

Connection timeout

Specify the connection timeout in milliseconds. Default is 5000 (5 seconds).

Read timeout

Specify the read timeout in milliseconds. Default is 5000 (5 seconds).

To start the Load job

To start the AppDynamics Observer Full Topology Upload job, use the following command:
```
$ASM_HOME/bin/appdynamics_observer_load_start.sh
```

Results

This job loads all requested topology data, and runs only once. Run this job whenever you need the AppDynamics topology data refreshed.

What to do next

You can also use the following scripts:

appdynamics_observer_load_stop.sh: Stops the Load job
appdynamics_observer_job_list.sh: Lists the status of current jobs
appdynamics_observer_log_level.sh: Sets the log level

Remember: As an alternative to being configured using the Observer Configuration UI, observer jobs have scripts to start and stop all available jobs, to list the status of a current job, and to set its logging levels. These scripts can be run with -h or --help to display help information, and with -v or --verbose to print out the details of the actions performed by the script, including the full cURL command. For the on-prem version of Agile Service Manager, observer scripts are configured for specific jobs by editing the script configuration files.