Synthetic tests

You write a synthetic test to simulate how your end users use your applications. You can create synthetic tests to monitor an application.

To manage Synthetic tests, go to Synthetic tests on the Instana® UI. You can find a list of all the tests you created. Results from all assigned locations are aggregated for the selected time interval. The test with the least success rate appears first in the list. You can choose to sort the table by any fields in the table except the Action column. When you sort by decreasing latency, you can see which test shows the worst response time in the time period across all results and assigned locations. In addition to sorting, you can filter the table by using the Execution type, Type, Location, and Association filters. You can also search for a test by name in the list by using the search box.

The table displays the following information:

• Test name: The name of the Synthetic test.
• Status: Indicates whether the test is running or paused.
• Type: Displays the type of test and the scheduled frequency. For an Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate test, the number of days remaining until the certificate expires is also displayed.
• Success rate: The percentage of successful test results in the selected time period compared to the total number of test results.
• Latency: The average response time of the test results in the selected time period. It includes a short graph of the response time results.
• Locations: Indicates the locations where the test is assigned and running. If more than one location is assigned, the number of locations is shown instead of the location name. The colored dots that appear under the location text indicate the status of the test at each location.
• Associations: If the synthetic test is associated with any applications, websites, or mobile apps, the count of associations is shown. To view the associations, click the number of associations. A dialog is displayed with the names of the associated applications, websites, and mobile apps. To view the item, click the name. The associated page in the Applications or Websites & Mobile Apps section is shown.
• Health: Indicates the overall health of the test across locations by comparing failing results with total results.
• Action: Contains Pause and Play buttons, which act as a toggle and provide a quick way to pause or resume a test. If you pause a test, you can resume it by selecting the Play button.

Test results are shown in an expandable, paginated panel for each test.

You can configure the columns that are displayed in the Synthetic tests table. By default, the Test name, Status, Type, Success rate, and Action columns are displayed.

To delete tests, select the tests and click Delete.

If you schedule a test to run every minute, processing takes some time. Therefore, the test results for the last hour might not reflect every test run.