What is Synthetic Monitoring: Types, Features & Use Cases
Consistent application performance is crucial for user satisfaction and business success. Slowdowns, transaction failures, or downtime can lead to lost revenue and frustrated users. While monitoring tools help detect issues, relying only on real user data may not be enough.
Automated testing across locations, browsers, and devices helps maintain availability, detect problems early, and optimize key transactions. Implementing effective strategies improves reliability and overall performance.
What is Synthetic Monitoring?
Synthetic monitoring, also known as directed monitoring, tracks application performance by simulating user interactions and following predefined paths. This method generates statistics on uptime and the execution of critical business transactions. Combining the control of a centralized system with the adaptability of a dispersed system is difficult. Businesses rely on IT and operations teams to handle these complexities, using APM tools to address these challenges.
Synthetic monitoring assesses application reliability in different conditions. WAN monitoring is also important for tracking network performance and identifying connectivity issues.
Types of Synthetic Monitoring
There are three primary types of synthetic monitoring used to identify potential network issues:
- Availability Monitoring: This fundamental type of synthetic monitoring ensures website features and functions are accessible to users. It involves verifying SSL and DNS certificate entries, measuring response times, and performing API calls to confirm system availability;
- Web Performance Monitoring: This type looks into website speed, performance data, and response times. It also detects issues with mobile and multi-browser compatibility, delivering a pleasant user experience;
- Transaction Monitoring: This approach, a more advanced kind of synthetic monitoring, replicates user interactions by executing scripts that duplicate critical transactions. It assists in determining if consumers can effectively perform tasks such as checkout procedures and form submissions.
Synthetic tests fall into two categories: browser tests and API tests. Browser tests mimic real-user transactions using automated scripts, while API tests evaluate different endpoints within an application’s infrastructure, including SSL, HTTP, and DNS validations.
Understanding the various methods of synthetic monitoring assists in discovering network faults. Exploring network monitoring benefits may help you improve your security, performance, and system stability.
How Does Synthetic Monitoring Work?
Synthetic monitoring uses an automated client program placed on a browser, device, or computer to transmit scripted transactions to another application. These transactions duplicate user interactions, simulating a genuine user’s trip across critical areas of the program. The automatic scripts, which normally run every 15 minutes, can be set to run at varying intervals or activated immediately by specified circumstances.
When the client receives a response, it sends the data to the synthetic monitoring system. If an error is discovered during a scheduled test, the system instructs the client to redo the test. If the fault continues during the follow-up effort, the system marks it as a verified issue and distributes it across the organization for further action.
Businesses can customize synthetic monitoring setups based on their needs. A client can be placed on an internal machine behind a firewall to verify internal system functionality or deployed on an external machine to assess application performance from an outside perspective.
Key Benefits of Synthetic Monitoring
Synthetic monitoring has various advantages for firms wanting to maintain application performance and reliability:
- Identify and Resolve Issues Early: Synthetic monitoring informs IT personnel to issues such as low traffic or unsuccessful transactions. This helps developers correct issues before they affect end customers;
- Improve Performance Benchmarking: Synthetic monitoring collects historical data over time, allowing you to define performance baselines, measure progress, and compare outcomes to rivals;
- Monitor Critical Transactions: Simulate user interactions to ensure that essential operations such as form submissions, online purchases, and cart additions go well;
- Prepare for peak traffic periods: Synthetic monitoring mimics user behavior from many locations, allowing organizations to evaluate API performance, web applications, SaaS products, and mobile platforms prior to peak demand.
Comparing Synthetic Monitoring and Real User Monitoring
Synthetic monitoring and real user monitoring (RUM) are two different methods for tracking application performance. Synthetic monitoring uses scripted tests to simulate user interactions, while RUM collects data from actual users as they browse a website. RUM is usually implemented by adding JavaScript to a site to gather real-time performance insights.
Synthetic monitoring is very effective in detecting short-term difficulties throughout development. It identifies possible problems early on, making it useful for regression testing and monitoring live applications. RUM, on the other hand, provides a long-term view by analyzing real-world user behavior, allowing enterprises to track performance trends and improve the overall user experience after deployment.
The Importance of Synthetic Monitoring
A well-functioning application is critical for engaging users and remaining competitive. Slow performance or frequent faults might result in high bounce rates, making it difficult to attract and keep clients. Troubleshooting these issues can also be difficult, particularly for IT teams managing many systems, and delays in resolution can lead to financial losses.
Synthetic monitoring mitigates these hazards by replicating user interactions in a controlled setting. It helps firms track system health, monitor availability, and identify problems early. Organizations may optimize speed, assure dependability during high traffic, and test functionality across several areas by analyzing patterns and establishing benchmarks. Furthermore, synthetic monitoring assists organizations in meeting service level agreements (SLAs) by monitoring third-party providers, assuring accountability, and minimizing downtime.
Key Features of Synthetic Monitoring Solutions
A successful synthetic monitoring system gives continuous, real-time visibility into application performance. To do this, it should incorporate the following kinds of synthetic monitors:
- Single-URL Browser Monitors – These simulate a user visiting an application through an up-to-date web browser. Running these tests frequently from various locations helps detect accessibility issues and significant performance declines;
- Browser Click Paths – Unlike single-URL monitors, these track specific workflows by replicating user interactions across multiple steps. Advanced solutions allow teams to record and automate sequences of clicks and actions, ensuring critical processes function properly;
- HTTP Monitors – Designed to check the availability of API endpoints and perform basic HTTP tests, these monitors help confirm the accessibility of key resources. Configurable performance thresholds ensure timely alerts for potential issues.
A well-rounded synthetic monitoring tool combines these capabilities to detect problems early and maintain application reliability.
Practical Applications of Synthetic Monitoring
Synthetic monitoring is essential for maintaining system reliability, performance, and availability across various industries.
Finance
Online banking platforms use synthetic monitoring to ensure their services remain accessible and responsive. Payment gateways are monitored to detect transaction failures and delays, preventing disruptions in financial transactions. Trading platforms also rely on synthetic tests to verify stability and ensure smooth operations.
Healthcare
In healthcare technology, synthetic monitoring helps keep critical systems running efficiently. Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems are monitored to ensure healthcare professionals can access patient data without interruptions. Patient portals are tested for consistent performance, and telehealth platforms undergo monitoring, especially during peak usage, to confirm their reliability and responsiveness.
Web Applications
Synthetic monitoring is also valuable for general web applications. It helps identify issues even when no real users are present. Availability testing detects failures during off-hours to prevent downtime, while API monitoring tracks the performance and availability of third-party services, ensuring smooth integration and functionality.
Limitations of Synthetic Monitoring
While synthetic monitoring provides valuable insights, it has some limitations. It tracks performance metrics like response times and error rates but does not account for user satisfaction or design appeal. Since tests run from fixed locations and devices, they may not fully reflect real user experiences, especially for global audiences. Scripted interactions can also miss unexpected network issues, user-specific conditions, or backend performance problems. Keeping monitoring scripts current as applications change can be difficult, especially for complex systems. Furthermore, expenses vary based on testing frequency, tool sophistication, and the personnel required to handle the data.
Best Practices for Synthetic Monitoring
To make the most of synthetic monitoring, implement these crucial strategies:
- Define Key Scenarios – Simulate user interactions that align with real customer journeys;
- Select Strategic Locations – Choose monitoring points that reflect your user base’s geography;
- Set Realistic Intervals – Schedule checks frequently enough to detect issues without overloading the system;
- Establish Performance Benchmarks – Use baseline metrics for meaningful comparisons;
- Test Across Devices & Browsers – Ensure compatibility and consistent performance;
- Monitor Third-Party Dependencies – Identify external service issues affecting performance;
- Configure Alerts – Set thresholds to receive notifications when performance deviates from expectations;
- Update Monitoring Scripts – Adapt tests to changes in user workflows or application updates;
- Use Reports & Visualizations – Analyze and communicate insights effectively;
- Combine Monitoring Approaches – Integrate with real-user monitoring for a complete performance overview.
Conclusion
Synthetic monitoring helps businesses detect issues before they affect users, ensuring availability and tracking transaction success. While it requires ongoing script maintenance and operates in controlled environments, it remains essential for proactive monitoring. Combining it with real user monitoring provides a more complete view of performance, improving reliability and user experience.
