Tracking additional web applications

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To track web applications in addition to those tracked by default, you must identify and configure user and session tracking methods.

Before you begin

If your application is not supported by the defaults, the dashboards do not contain user and session details, the username is displayed as anonymous or unknown, and no session information is available.

If user tracking methods are configured correctly, the user ID is extracted and is listed in the End User Transactions > User Summary > Users at Selected Locations dashboard.

User Summary with user IDs in Users at Selected Location dashboard highlighted.

Note: The user tracking is based on session tracking. You need to set the correct session tracking methods variable first, in the Response Time agent configuration settings, for user and session tracking methods.

About this task

In IBM Application Performance Management V8.1.4 and later, you can use the Agent Configuration > Response Time page to add applications to track by either the Packet Analyzer or IBM HTTP Server Response Time module. Values defined on this page take precedence over the values in the WRT_Defaults.xml file.

To track additional applications, you must first identify the user ID and session ID methods and values for the application you want to monitor. For example:

Open the developer tool for your browser, so that you can see the requests for the application you want to monitor.
Select the last request in the browser network log, so that you can identify your test request easily.
Create a test request with parameters you will recognize. For example, log in to your website with testuser.
Select the test request and look at the Headers.
Identify the session ID from the request log. Session ID is typically specified in cookie, POST, request/response header, or query string. If the cookie is already defined in the default profile, you won't need to add it in step 2.
Identify the user ID from the request log. User ID can be specified in cookie, request header, POST, or query string content. For example, search for testuser which will give you the value for user ID.
Both User tracking methods and Session tracking methods must be updated with the correct value name of session and user in use in the customer's application code. How to identify the value name of Session and Username depends on the code of application. The following is the default value of User/Session setting in 8.1.4.
```
Session tracking methods=cookie\:JSESSIONID,querystring\:jsessionid,cookie\       :WL_PERSISTENT_COOKIE
User tracking methods=formpost\:j_username,formpost\:uid,formpost\       :ctl00%24MainContent%24uid,basicauth\:Authorization\: Basic 
```

Procedure

After you have identified the user and session tracking methods and values used in your application, complete the following steps:

Go to the Agent Configuration > Response Time configuration page.
Select the managed system that you want to update.
If required, update the session tracking methods:
1. Click the value in the Session tracking methods field.
2. In the Specify Methods to Track Sessions window, click Add.
3. From the Tracking Type list, select the tracking type. For example, Cookie.
4. In the Tracking Value field, specify a value. For example, WL_PERSISTENT_COOKIE.
5. Click Finished.
If required, update the user tracking methods:
1. Click the value in the User tracking methods field.
2. In the Specify Methods to Track Users window, click Add.
3. From the Tracking Type list, select the tracking type. For example, Header.
4. In the Tracking Value field, specify a value. For example, username.
5. Click Finished.
In the agent configuration page, click Apply Changes.

Results

Applications using the newly specified tracking methods are displayed in the Application Dashboard.

What to do next

Test that the user IDs and session information from your application are displayed in the Application Dashboard.