Planning the installation

The base functionality of the Response Time Monitoring can be provided by using one of the following components:

• Packet Analyzer
• IBM HTTP Server Response Time module

You determine which component to use based on:

• The type of HTTP server you are installing the Response Time Monitoring agent on.
• Which operating system the HTTP server is installed on.

The considerations for installing the Response Time Monitoring agent with Packet Analyzer are:

• Packet Analyzer is supported on all operating systems (Windows, Linux, and AIX).
• Packet Analyzer monitors HTTP transactions on port 80 for all operating systems.
• HTTPS transaction monitoring is not automatic, and must be configured manually. The Response Time Monitoring agent requires access to the SSL Certificates so that it can decrypt SSL traffic from HTTP servers. For more information, see Monitoring HTTPS transactions.
• Packet Analyzer is supported on all HTTP servers but it is only recommend for Sun Java System Web Server and Microsoft Internet Information Services.
• To install the Response Time Monitoring agent to work with Packet Analyzer on IBM HTTP Server or Apache HTTP Server, the HTTP server must be stopped. When you install the Response Time Monitoring agent and the HTTP server is stopped Packet Analyzer is automatically enabled.
• Although Packet Analyzer can be configured for IBM HTTP Server or Apache HTTP Server, it is not recommended; IBM HTTP Server Response Time module is recommended.
• WinPcap 4.1.3 is required before you install the Response Time Monitoring agent.
• If you install the Response Time Monitoring agent on Sun Java System Web Server or Microsoft Internet Information Services, Packet Analyzer is automatically configured.

The considerations for installing the Response Time Monitoring agent with IBM HTTP Server Response Time module are:

• The IBM HTTP Server Response Time module is a component of the HTTP Server agent. You must install the HTTP Server agent either before the Response Time Monitoring agent or else install at the same time. For more information, see IBM HTTP Server Response Time module.
• IBM HTTP Server Response Time module is supported on all operating systems (Windows, Linux, and AIX). IBM HTTP Server Response Time module supports IBM HTTP Server version 7, 8, and 9.
• Install the Response Time Monitoring agent and the HTTP Server agent on the same machine.
• IBM HTTP Server Response Time module monitors all ports for HTTP and HTTPS request on AIX, Linux, and Windows.
• IBM HTTP Server Response Time module is only supported for IBM HTTP Server or Apache HTTP Server.
• Both agents are automatically started but you must restart the HTTP server.

The following table describes the different combinations for automatically configuring the Response Time Monitoring agent.