500-430 Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer(CAPI) Questions and Answers

AppDynamics can collect sensitive data such as credit card numbers from various sources, such as SQL queries, error messages, HTTP headers, cookies, and so on. To protect this data from unauthorized access or exposure, an administrator should configure the user permissions for the following features:

• SQL Bind Variables: This feature enables the agents to capture the values of the parameters that are passed to SQL queries. These values can contain sensitive data such as credit card numbers, passwords, or personal information. To prevent this data from being stored or displayed in the Controller UI, the administrator should disable the Capture SQL Bind Values permission for the users who do not need to see this data. Alternatively, the administrator can enable the Mask SQL Bind Values permission, which replaces the values with asterisks (*) in the UI. The administrator can also configure the agent properties to exclude or mask certain bind variables based on patterns or keywords1.
• Diagnostic Data Collectors: This feature enables the agents to collect additional data from the application code, such as method arguments, return values, HTTP headers, cookies, and so on. These data can also contain sensitive information that should not be exposed to unauthorized users. To control the access to this data, the administrator should disable the View Diagnostic Data Collectors permission for the users who do not need to see this data. The administrator can also configure the agent properties to exclude or mask certain data collectors based on patterns or keywords2.

Other features that can collect sensitive data and require user permissions are Error Detection, Memory Monitoring, and Policies. However, these features are less likely to capture credit card numbers than SQL Bind Variables and Diagnostic Data Collectors. Therefore, the best answer is option C and E. References: Sensitive Data Collection and Security, SQL Bind Variables, and Diagnostic Data Collectors in the AppDynamics documentation.

To install a .NET Agent patch, which is a minor update to the existing .NET Agent version, you do not need to uninstall the old agent or restart the machine. You only need to follow these steps:

• Download the .NET Agent patch from the AppDynamics Download Center.
• Launch an elevated command prompt with full administrator privileges.
• Execute the Installer.bat file from the patch archive. The batch file installs the patch and starts the AppDynamics Agent Coordinator service.
• Restart the instrumented applications, such as IIS, Windows services, or standalone applications.

References: .NET Agent and How do I deploy a .NET Agent? in the AppDynamics documentation and community.

The REST query that could be used to verify the availability of an AppDynamics Controller is1:

• http://:/controller/rest/ping

This query returns a simple text response of “pong” if the Controller is up and running, or an error message if the Controller is down or unreachable1. This query does not require any authentication or parameters, and can be used as a quick and easy way to check the Controller status1. References: Ping the Controller

According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the minimum recommended number of nodes for a redundant Events Service is three ©. The Events Service is a distributed database that stores and processes the analytics data collected by the AppDynamics platform. The Events Service cluster consists of multiple nodes that share the data load and provide fault tolerance and high availability. The minimum number of nodes for a functional Events Service cluster is one, but this is not recommended for production environments, as it does not provide any redundancy or resilience. The minimum number of nodes for a redundant Events Service cluster is three, as this allows the cluster to tolerate the failure of one node without losing any data or availability. The recommended number of nodes for a redundant Events Service cluster is five or more, as this provides better performance and scalability12.

The incorrect options are:

• 1 (A): This is not a valid option because a single-node Events Service cluster does not provide any redundancy or resilience. If the node fails, the cluster becomes unavailable and the data is lost. A single-node Events Service cluster is only suitable for testing or development purposes, not for production environments12.
• 2 (B): This is not a valid option because a two-node Events Service cluster does not provide sufficient redundancy or resilience. If one node fails, the cluster becomes unstable and may lose data or availability. A two-node Events Service cluster is not recommended for production environments12.
• 4 (D): This is not a valid option because a four-node Events Service cluster is not optimal for redundancy or resilience. A four-node Events Service cluster has an even number of nodes, which may cause a split-brain scenario, where the cluster is divided into two equal partitions that cannot communicate with each other. This may result in data inconsistency or unavailability. A four-node Events Service cluster can be improved by adding a fifth node to avoid the split-brain scenario12.

References:

• 1: Events Service Deployment - AppDynamics
• 2: Events Service Requirements - AppDynamics

According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the REST API for health rule violations allows you to retrieve information about the health rule violations that occurred in a specified time range for a given application1. You can use the REST API for health rule violations for the following valid reasons:

• For determining which actions have been executed (B): The REST API response includes the details of the actions that were triggered by the health rule violation, such as email, SMS, HTTP request, or custom action1. You can use this information to verify if the actions were executed successfully, or to troubleshoot any issues with the action execution.
• When searching for historical events ©: The REST API allows you to specify a custom time range for retrieving the health rule violations, such as BEFORE_TIME, AFTER_TIME, BETWEEN_TIMES, or BEFORE_NOW1. You can use this feature to search for historical events that occurred in the past, or to analyze the trends and patterns of the health rule violations over time.

The incorrect options are:

• For updating an AppDynamics dashboard (A): This is not a valid reason for using the REST API for health rule violations, because the AppDynamics dashboards already display the health rule violations that occurred in the selected time frame, along with the severity, status, affected entities, and actions2. You do not need to use the REST API to update the dashboard, as the dashboard is automatically refreshed with the latest data from the Controller.
• For sending emails (D): This is not a valid reason for using the REST API for health rule violations, because the REST API does not send emails directly. The REST API only returns the information about the health rule violations, and the actions that were triggered by them. If you want to send emails based on the health rule violations, you need to configure an email action in the health rule configuration, or use a custom action that invokes an external email service3.
• When pushing events to the Event Management System is NOT possible (E): This is not a valid reason for using the REST API for health rule violations, because the REST API does not push events to the Event Management System. The REST API only returns the information about the health rule violations, and the actions that were triggered by them. If you want to push events to the Event Management System, you need to configure an HTTP request action in the health rule configuration, or use a custom action that invokes an external API3.

References:

• 1: Health Rule Violations API - AppDynamics
• 2: Health Rule Violations - AppDynamics
• 3: Actions - AppDynamics

According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the two valid ways to confirm that the upgraded Java Agent is running successfully are:

• Verify that the node within the Controller UI indicates the app agent is reporting. (B) This is a valid way because the Controller UI is a web-based application that allows users to monitor and manage the performance of the applications, tiers, nodes, and other entities that are instrumented by the AppDynamics agents. The Controller UI displays the status of the nodes within each tier, and indicates whether the app agent is reporting or not. If the app agent is reporting, the node icon is green and shows the agent version. If the app agent is not reporting, the node icon is gray and shows the last time the agent reported. The user can also hover over the node icon to see more details, such as the agent type, the agent version,the agent runtime directory, and the agent properties file. The user can verify that the upgraded Java Agent is running successfully by checking that the node icon is green and shows the latest agent version12.
• Verify the Java Agent Version metric for that node in the Metric Browser. © This is a valid way because the Metric Browser is a feature of the Controller UI that allows users to view and analyze the metrics collected by the AppDynamics agents. The Metric Browser displays the metrics in a hierarchical tree structure, where each node represents a metric category, a metric name, or a metric value. The user can expand or collapse the nodes, and select or deselect the metrics to view them in a chart. The user can also apply filters, time ranges, baselines, and other options to customize the chart. The user can verify that the upgraded Java Agent is running successfully by navigating to the Java Agent Version metric for that node in the Metric Browser. The Java Agent Version metric shows the version number of the Java Agent that is running on the node. The user can compare the metric value with the expected agent version, and check that the metric is updated after the upgrade34.

The incorrect options are:

• Verify that the application log contains a message indicating success. (A) This is not a valid way because the application log does not contain any message indicating the success of the Java Agent upgrade. The application log is a file that records the events and messages that occur in the application server, such as the startup, shutdown, errors, warnings, and debug information. The application log does not record the events and messages that occur in the Java Agent, such as the installation, upgrade, configuration, or reporting. The Java Agent has its own log file, which is located in the <agent_home>/logs directory, and which contains the messages indicating the success or failure of the Java Agent upgrade .
• Verify that the Java Agent log contains a message indicating the agent started successfully. (D) This is not a valid way because the Java Agent log does not contain any message indicating the agent started successfully after the upgrade. The Java Agent log is a file that records the events and messages that occur in the Java Agent, such as the installation, upgrade, configuration, or reporting. The Java Agent log contains a message indicating the agent started successfully when the application server is started, not when the Java Agent is upgraded. The Java Agent log does not contain any message indicating the success or failure of the Java Agent upgrade. The Java Agent log is located in the <agent_home>/logs directory, and the message indicating the agent started successfully is “Agent Startup Complete” .

References:

• 1: Tiers and Nodes - AppDynamics
• 2: Tier Dashboard - AppDynamics
• 3: Metric Browser - AppDynamics
• 4: Java Agent Metrics - AppDynamics
• [5]: Java Agent Logs - AppDynamics
• [6]: Troubleshoot the Java Agent - AppDynamics

To upgrade an EUM Server that is currently in production, the administrator should follow these steps:

• Stop the EUM Server before the upgrade. This ensures that the EUM Server does not process any incoming data from the EUM agents during the upgrade process. The administrator can use the eum.sh or eum.bat script to stop the EUM Server gracefully1.
• Run the new installer on the EUM host machine. The installer will detect the existing EUM Server installation and prompt the administrator to upgrade it to the latest version. The installer will also migrate the EUM data from the old version to the new version, if needed. The administrator should follow the instructions on the installer wizard to complete the upgrade2.

The other options are not necessary or correct for upgrading the EUM Server. The administrator does not need to stop or upgrade the EUM agents, as they are compatible with the new version of the EUM Server. The administrator does not need to update the EUM Server access key, as it remains the same after the upgrade. The administrator does not need to install MySQL, as it is bundled with the EUM Server installation package2. References: Upgrade the Production EUM Server and Start and Stop the EUM Server in the AppDynamics documentation.

The AppDynamics REST API for retrieving metrics allows you to get values generated for metrics by specifying the path of the metric and the time frame for the data1. The following statements are true regarding this API12:

• Metrics can be retrieved for a fixed time range. You can use the time-range-type parameter to specify a fixed time range such as BEFORE_NOW, AFTER_TIME, or BETWEEN_TIMES. You can also use the duration-in-mins parameter to specify the length of the time range in minutes.
• Wildcards can be used in the REST API metric path. You can use the asterisk () character as a wildcard to match any metric name or part of a metric name. For example, you can use the metric path Business Transaction Performance|Business Transactions||*|Average Response Time (ms) to retrieve the average response time for all business transactions in all tiers. References: Retrieve Metric Data, Retrieve Metric Hierarchy

According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the recommended way to add capacity to the Events Service cluster is to add nodes running on machines with identical hardware matching the existing nodes12. This will increase the data storage, replication, and redundancy of the cluster, as well as the processing power for queries. The Events Service cluster is horizontally scalable, so nodes can be added as your data storage requirements grow32. The Events Service must run on dedicated machines with identical directory structures, user account profiles, and hardware profiles1. For heap space allocation, AppDynamics recommends allocating half of the available RAM to the Events Service process, with a minimum of 7 GB up to 31 GB1. Solid-state drives (SSD) can significantly outperform hard disk drives (HDD), and are therefore recommended for production deployments1.

The incorrect options are:

• Add a new Events Service cluster to share the load. (A) This is not recommended because it will create additional complexity and overhead for managing multiple clusters and routing data and queries to the appropriate cluster. It will also require more license units to enable analytics on multiple clusters.
• Add more storage to the master nodes of the cluster. © This is not recommended because it will not increase the data replication and redundancy of the cluster, nor the processing power for queries. It will also create an imbalance in the cluster, as the master nodes will have more storage than the worker nodes, which may affect the performance and stability of the cluster.
• Add more storage to as many of the existing nodes as possible. (D) This is not recommended because it will not increase the data replication and redundancy of the cluster, nor the processing power for queries. It will also create an imbalance in the cluster, as some nodes will have more storage than others, which may affect the performance and stability of the cluster.

References:

• 1: Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (500-430)
• 2: Events Service Requirements - AppDynamics
• 3: Events Service Deployment - AppDynamics
• 4: Events Service Deployment - AppDynamics

In a hybrid deployment of AppDynamics, where the AppDynamics Controller and Events Service are installed on-premises and the EUM Server is hosted in AppDynamics’ SaaS cloud, the data that is unavailable is the analytics metrics for End-User Monitoring data sets. This is because the analytics metrics require the Events Service to store and process the unstructured data generated by the EUM agents. However, in a hybrid deployment, the EUM Server and the Events Service are not connected, and the EUM Server does not send the EUM data to the Events Service. Therefore, the analytics metrics for EUM data sets, such as browser records, mobile snapshots, network requests, and custom events, are not available in the Controller UI or the Analytics UI1. The other data, such as resource loading times, session information, and browser snapshots, are available in the EUM Server UI, as they are stored and displayed by the EUM Server itself2. References: Hybrid Deployment and EUM Data Sets in the AppDynamics documentation.

To set up AppDynamics Controllers as a high availability pair, you need to meet the following requirements1:

• Passwordless SSH must be configured between the two Controller servers. This allows the Enterprise Console to automate the configuration and administration tasks associated with a highly available deployment on Linux systems.
• Both servers must have the Controller software installed prior to setting up high availability. The Controllers in an HA pair must be equivalent versions, and be in the same data center.
• Both servers must have identical directory structures for the Controller installation. The individual machines in the Controller HA pair need to have an equivalent amount of disk space. References: Prerequisites for High Availability

According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the correct method to perform a NET Agent upgrade is to perform the agent upgrade on the application server host by running the MSI Installer Package12. This method will install updated agent files and maintain legacy configurations. You do not need to uninstall the old agent first when you upgrade from the NET Agent >= 3.9, except for patch releases. You need to stop IIS, instrumented Windows services, and instrumented standalone applications before running the MSI Installer Package. You also need to launch an elevated command prompt with full administrator privileges and specify youraccount access key for single-tenant Controller accounts. After the installation, you need to restart Windows services and standalone applications.

The incorrect options are:

• Perform the agent upgrade on a remote server host by using the AppDynamics Controller REST API. (B) This is not a valid method for upgrading the NET Agent, because the AppDynamics Controller REST API does not provide any endpoint for agent installation or upgrade. The REST API is mainly used for retrieving or updating configuration data, metrics, events, snapshots, and other information from the Controller3.
• Perform the agent upgrade on the application server host by running the Agent Configuration Utility. © This is not a valid method for upgrading the NET Agent, because the Agent Configuration Utility is a tool for modifying the agent configuration after installation, not for installing or upgrading the agent. The Agent Configuration Utility allows you to change the Controller connection settings, the agent logging level, the proxy settings, and other advanced options4.
• Perform the agent upgrade via the AppDynamics Controller UI. (D) This is not a valid method for upgrading the NET Agent, because the AppDynamics Controller UI does not provide any feature for agent installation or upgrade. The Controller UI is mainly used for monitoring, analyzing, and troubleshooting the performance of the applications, business transactions, tiers, nodes, and other entities that are instrumented by the agents5.

References:

• 1: Upgrade the .NET Agent for Windows - AppDynamics
• 2: Release Upgrade Checklist for .NET Agents - AppDynamics
• 3: REST API - AppDynamics
• 4: Configure the .NET Agent - AppDynamics
• 5: AppDynamics Application Performance Monitoring Platform - AppDynamics