500-425 Cisco AppDynamics Associate Administrator (CAAA) Questions and Answers

To examine the Java App agent logs on a host without login access, you can use the Controller UI to request the agent logs. This feature allows you to download the agent logs from the Controller UI without having to access the host machine. You can specify the log level, the time range, and the file size limit for the logs12 References: 1: Request Agent Logs 2: Java Agent Logging

Two types of information that can be shared without an AppDynamics login are Flow Map and Custom Dashboards. Flow Map is a graphical representation of the application topology, showing the interactions between the tiers, nodes, backends, and remote services. CustomDashboards are user-defined views of the application performance data, metrics, and events. You can share these types of information by generating a shareable link from the Controller UI, which can be accessed by anyone who has the link, without requiring a login12 References: 1: Share a Flow Map 2: Share a Custom Dashboard

Capacity planning is the process of estimating and allocating the resources needed to meet the current and future demands of an application. For a regionally partitioned application, where different users and organizations are assigned to different databases based on their location, capacity planning requires that the administrator monitors the number of users and orgs mapped to each database and ensures that they do not exceed the available resources.

According to the AppDynamics Analytics - AppDynamics, one way to meet this requirement is to schedule an analytics query to check and report on the result periodically. An analytics query is a SQL-like query that allows you to analyze and visualize the data collected by AppDynamics, such as business transactions, logs, metrics, events, and custom data. You can use analytics queries to create dashboards, widgets, reports, and alerts that provide insights into the performance and behavior of your applications and their components.

To schedule an analytics query to check and report on the number of users and orgs mapped to a database, the administrator can follow these steps:

• Go to Analytics > Search.
• Select the data source that contains the user and org information, such as Business Transactions, Logs, or Custom Data.
• Enter the query that counts the number of users and orgs for each database, such as SELECT database, COUNT(DISTINCT user), COUNT(DISTINCT org) FROM data_source GROUP BY database.
• Click the Save button and enter a name and description for the query.
• Click the Schedule button and select the frequency, time range, and recipients for the query execution and report delivery.
• Click Save.

Therefore, A (Schedule an analytics query to check and report on the result periodically) is the correct answer. References:

• AppDynamics Analytics - AppDynamics
• Cisco AppDynamics Associate Administrator Certification
• Analytics Queries - AppDynamics

The custom dashboard feature in AppDynamics allows you to display a specific set of metrics and data points on one screen. You can use custom dashboards to present selected metrics for a user who only needs a relatively narrow or focused view of the data. You can also share custom dashboards with other users and stakeholders.

According to the [Custom Dashboards - AppDynamics], some of the advantages of the custom dashboard feature are:

• It makes drill down across tiers seamless: You can use the grid layout type to create a flexible layout that is easy to rearrange on the canvas. The grid layout also scales in size when viewed on mobile devices. You can also use the absolute layout type to control width and height and the exact placement of widgets on the canvas.
• It monitors metrics of interest: You can add widgets from various categories, such as application, server, database, performance, events, and so on. You can also customize the widget properties panel to configure the widget settings, such as title, description, color scheme, time range, auto-refresh interval, and so on.
• It schedules dashboard as a report: You can export your custom dashboard as a PDF or HTML report that you can send by email or save as a file. You can also schedule your custom dashboard to run periodically using cron expressions.

Therefore, A (It makes drill down across tiers seamless), C (It monitors metrics of interest), and E (It schedules dashboard as a report) are three advantages of the custom dashboard feature. References:

• [Custom Dashboards - AppDynamics]
• [Create and Manage Custom Dashboards and Templates - AppDynamics]
• Custom Dashboard Permissions - docs.appdynamics.com

According to the Data Collectors document1, a data collector is a configuration that captures application data from a method invocation or an HTTP request. A data collector is associated with a specific method signature or an HTTP parameter name. Therefore, if a new class and method have been deployed to the application, or a new method parameter has been added to an instrumented class, the existing data collector may not match the new code and may need to be updated. However, if the business transaction has been deprecated, or a new HTTP parameter has been added to an existing business transaction, the existing data collector may still work as expected, unless the data collector is specifically configured to filter by the business transaction name or the HTTP parameter value. References:

• Data Collectors

According to the Transaction Thresholds document1, you can set static thresholds for individual business transactions by selecting Individual Transaction Thresholds from the Business Transaction Configuration window. You can then specify the values for Slow, Very Slow, and Stall thresholds for each business transaction. This way, you can customize the thresholds according to the SLA and the expected performance of the long-running transactions. Setting the default thresholds or adjusting the health rules would affect all the business transactions, not just the long-running ones. Therefore, the correct answer is C. References:

• Transaction Thresholds

One possible reason why the host does not appear in the Tiers and Nodes view and there are no metrics in the Metric Browser is that the license count for that agent type has been exceeded. You can check the license usage and availability by going to Settings > License in the Controller UI. If the license count is exceeded, you can either purchase more licenses or deactivate some agents to free up the license slots12 References: 1: License Rules and Restrictions 2: Manage Licenses

https://docs.appdynamics.com/display/PRO45X/Install+the+Database+Agent

To properly configure a database agent from a zip file, you need to provide the following minimum details:

• Controller Host: This is the hostname or IP address of the machine where the Controller is installed. You need to specify this so that the Database Agent can communicate with the Controller and send the collected data1
• Controller Port: This is the port number that the Controller listens on for incoming connections. You need to specify this so that the Database Agent can connect to the Controller using the correct protocol. The default ports are 8090 for HTTP and 8181 for HTTPS for on-premise Controllers, and 80 for HTTP and 443 for HTTPS for SaaS Controllers1
• Account Access Key: This is the key that authenticates the Database Agent with the Controller. You need to specify this so that the Database Agent can register itself with the Controller and access the license. You can find the account access key in the Controller UI under Settings > License > Account1
• Account Name: This is the name of the account that the Database Agent belongs to. You need to specify this so that the Database Agent can associate itself with the correct application and user permissions. You can find the account name in the Controller UI under Settings > License > Account1

References: 1: Install the Database Agent

Server performance data is the information that AppDynamics collects and reports about the health and availability of the servers that host your applications and their components. Server performance data includes metrics such as CPU utilization, memory usage, disk I/O, network traffic, and so on. You can use server performance data to monitor and troubleshoot the performance issues of your servers and applications.

According to the Server Visibility - AppDynamics, the following two reasons are important for the engineer to view and analyze server performance data at this time:

• Visualizing application performance during normal operations helps identify when the application performance is abnormal: This means that by comparing the current server performance data with the historical or baseline data, you can detect any anomalies or deviations that may indicate a potential problem or degradation of your application performance. For example, you can use the Server Dashboard to see the current and historical trends of the server metrics, and use the Anomaly Detection feature to identify any outliers or unusual patterns.
• Graphs and charts collected at this time are useful for showing application owners the stability of their application: This means that by using the graphical and visual representations of the server performance data, you can communicate and demonstrate the reliability and efficiency of your application to the stakeholders and customers. For example, you can use the Server Health Report to generate a summary of the server health status, availability, and performance over a specified time period, and share it with the application owners.

Therefore, A (Visualizing application performance during normal operations helps identify when the application performance is abnormal) and B (Graphs and charts collected at this time are useful for showing application owners the stability of their application) are two important reasons for the engineer to view and analyze server performance data at this time. References:

• Server Visibility - AppDynamics
• Cisco AppDynamics Associate Administrator Certification
• Server Monitoring - AppDynamics

When you assign users to a group in AppDynamics, you can manage their permissions and access levels more easily. A group is a collection of users who share the same roles and privileges. A role is a set of permissions that define what actions a user can perform on the Controller UI or the Events Service.

According to the System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager - User Management, the following statement is true about assigning users to a group:

• When you add a role to a group, every user in the group is assigned that role: This means that the users in the group inherit the permissions of the role that you add to the group. For example, if you add the Administrator role to a group, then all the users in that group can perform administrative tasks on the Controller UI or the Events Service.

The other statements are false because:

• When you assign a user to a group, they can only have the roles assigned to that group: This is not true because a user can belong to multiple groups and have multiple roles. For example, a user can be in both the Administrator and the Operator groups and have the permissions of both roles.
• You can list all users in a group that are logged into AppDynamics: This is not true because there is no such feature in AppDynamics that allows you to see thelogin status of the users in a group. You can only see the list of users and groups in the User Management page of the Controller UI or the Events Service.
• When the user logs in they can log in with the group credentials: This is not true because a user cannot log in with the group credentials. A user can only log in with their own username and password. The group credentials are not used for authentication, but for authorization.

Therefore, D (When you add a role to a group, every user in the group is assigned that role) is the correct answer. References:

• System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager - User Management
• Cisco AppDynamics Associate Administrator Certification
• User Management - AppDynamics

Infrastructure monitoring is the feature in AppDynamics that allows you to monitor and troubleshoot the health and availability of the servers that host your applications and their components. Infrastructure monitoring includes metrics such as CPU utilization, memory usage, disk I/O, network traffic, and so on. You can use infrastructure monitoring to detect and resolve the problems that affect the performance and reliability of your servers and applications.

According to the Server Visibility - AppDynamics, the following kind of problem is detected with infrastructure monitoring:

• Process level problems: These are the problems that occur at the process level of the server, such as high CPU consumption, memory leaks, excessive disk I/O, or network congestion. You can use infrastructure monitoring to identify the processes that are consuming the most resources, and drill down to the details of each process, such as the command line, the environment variables, the open files, the threads, and the sockets. You can also use infrastructure monitoring to correlate the process level problems with the application performance problems, such as slow response time, high error rate, or low throughput.

Therefore, E (process level problems) is the correct answer. References:

• Server Visibility - AppDynamics
• Cisco AppDynamics Associate Administrator Certification
• Server Monitoring - AppDynamics

According to the Upgrade the Java Agent document1, one of the reasons to upgrade AppDynamics agents is to resolve agent issues, such as bugs, performance problems, or compatibility issues withthe Controller or the monitored application. Another reason to upgrade AppDynamics agents is to take advantage of new features, such as enhanced metrics, dashboards, alerts, or integrations, that are introduced in newer agent versions. Therefore, the correct answer is A and D. Database issues and application upgrade are not directly related to the agent upgrade, unless they affect the agent functionality or compatibility. References:

• Upgrade the Java Agent

The default length of time events can be viewed with full detail before being purged is 7 days, unless archived. Events are records of significant occurrences in the monitored environment, such as errors, exceptions, policy violations, health rule violations, and more. You can view the events in the Controller UI under Events > All Events. You can also archive the events to retain them for longer periods or export them to external systems1 References: 1: Events

To find the information that shows the current application, tier, and node that the agent currently reports to, you can go to View my settings > AppDynamics Agents section in the Controller UI. This section shows you the list of agents that are connected to the Controller, along with their status, version, application, tier, and node names. You can also filter the list by agent type, status, or application1 References: 1: AppDynamics Agents

Percentile metrics are a way to measure the distribution of response times for a Business Transaction. They show the value below which a certain percentage of measurements fall. For example, the 50th percentile metric shows the median response time, and the 99th percentile metric shows the worst-case response time for 99% of the transactions. To enable percentile metrics, you need to go to Configuration > Slow Transaction Thresholds and indicate 5 whole numbers between 1 and 99 as Percentiles to Collect. You can then view the percentile metrics in the Metric Browser under Business Transaction Performance > Business Transactions > > > Percentiles.

https://docs.appdynamics.com/display/PRO45X/Percentile+Metrics