500-430 Questions and Answers

According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the two reasons that would require an administrator to install the Events Service cluster manually are:

• Security concerns with passwordless SSH (B): This is a valid reason because the automated installation of the Events Service cluster requires passwordless SSH access to the target hosts. Passwordless SSH allows the Enterprise Console to execute commands on the remote hosts without prompting for a password. However, some organizations may have security policies that prohibit passwordless SSH access, as it may pose a risk of unauthorized access or malicious attacks. In such cases, the administrator can install the Events Service cluster manually, by following the steps described in the Manual Installation of the Events Service Cluster document1.
• Security requirements to install using a non-root user account ©: This is a valid reason because the automated installation of the Events Service cluster requires root privileges on the target hosts. Root privileges allow the Enterprise Console to create directories, change permissions, and install packages on the remote hosts. However, some organizations may have security policies that restrict root access, as it may pose a risk of accidental or intentional damage to the system. In such cases, the administrator can install the Events Service cluster manually, by following the steps described in the Manual Installation of the Events Service Cluster document1. The administrator can use a non-root user account that has sudo privileges to perform the manual installation.

The incorrect options are:

• Installation on SUSE Linux (A): This is not a valid reason for manual installation, because the automated installation of the Events Service cluster supports SUSE Linux as one of the compatible operating systems. The Enterprise Console can install the Events Service cluster on SUSE Linux hosts using the automated installation process, as long as the hosts meet the prerequisites described in the Events Service Requirements document2.
• Installation on Windows (D): This is not a valid reason for manual installation, because the Events Service cluster does not support Windows as an operating system. The Events Service cluster can only run on Linux hosts, as it is based on Apache Cassandra, which is a Linux-based distributed database. The Events Service cluster cannot be installed on Windows hosts, either manually or automatically2.

References:

• 1: Manual Installation of the Events Service Cluster - AppDynamics
• 2: Events Service Requirements - AppDynamics

The directory contains the EUM Server installation files, configuration files, and data files. It is recommended to back up this directory as a precaution before upgrading or migrating the EUM Server. The default location of this directory is /AppDynamics/EUM, where is the directory where you installed the Controller. You can also use the backup-eum.sh script to back up the EUM Server data12. References: Upgrade the Production EUM Server, Configure the EUM Server

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

Custom correlation is needed when the default detection mechanisms of AppDynamics are not capable of auto-correlating transactions across tiers or across parent-child threads in complex multithreaded applications. Custom correlation enables the user to configure AppDynamics to propagate a unique correlation key by using the extension points of the distributed protocol or by decorating the payload. Among the four options, a custom TCP concurrent server is the most likely to require the implementation of custom correlation, as it is an unsupported framework and protocol that may not have easily-defined method calls or payload objects to configure as exit points or entry points. The other options, such as SOAP, JMS, and WCF, are supported by AppDynamics and can be automatically correlated by the agents without the need for custom configuration. References: Custom Correlation for Java Applications and Configure Custom Correlation for .NET Applications in the AppDynamics community.

According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the two recommendations for servers in an Events Service Cluster are:

• Should be on the same local network ©: This is a valid recommendation because the Events Service Cluster is based on Apache Cassandra, which is a distributed database that relies on network communication between the nodes. Having the servers on the same local network reduces the network latency and improves the performance and reliability of the cluster. The network bandwidth should be at least 1 Gbps, and the network firewall should allow the required ports for the Events Service Cluster12.
• Should have identical hardware specifications (D): This is a valid recommendation because the Events Service Cluster is horizontally scalable, which means that the nodes share the data storage and processing load equally. Having identical hardware specifications for the servers ensures that the cluster is balanced and efficient, and avoids performance bottlenecks or failures due to hardware differences. The hardware specifications should meet the minimum requirements for the Events Service Cluster, such as CPU cores, RAM, disk space, and disk type12.

The incorrect options are:

• Should be installed using the same user account (A): This is not a valid recommendation because the Events Service Cluster does not require the same user account for installation. The user account that is used to install the Events Service Cluster should have sudo privileges on the target hosts, but it does not have to be the same for all the hosts. The user account that is used to run the Events Service Cluster should have read and write permissions on the installation directory, but it does not have to be the same for all the hosts either12.
• Should have eight or more CPU cores (B): This is not a valid recommendation because the Events Service Cluster does not require eight or more CPU cores for the servers. The minimum requirement for the CPU cores is four, and the recommended requirement is six. Having more CPU cores may improve the performance of the cluster, but it is not a mandatory recommendation12.
• Should be running the same operating system version (E): This is not a valid recommendation because the Events Service Cluster does not require the same operating system version for the servers. The Events Service Cluster supports various Linux operating systems, such as CentOS, Red Hat, Ubuntu, and SUSE. The operating system version should be compatible with the Events Service version, but it does not have to be the same for all the hosts12.

References:

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

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

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.

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 /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 /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

According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the two methods that are available to define JVM options for an AppDynamics Controller so that the JVM options are retained across upgrades of the Controller are:

• Use the modifyJvmOptions utility provided by AppDynamics. (A) This is a valid method because the modifyJvmOptions utility is a script that allows you to add, remove, or list the JVM options for the Controller without manually editing any files. The utility also validates the syntax and format of the JVM options and creates a backup of the original configuration. The utility is located in the /bin directory and can be run on Linux or Windows platforms. The utility updates the /appserver/glassfish/domains/domain1/config/domain.xml file with the specified JVM options, which are preserved during the Controller upgrade12.
• Define JVM options on the Controller Settings page of the Enterprise Console. (B) This is a valid method because the Controller Settings page of the Enterprise Console is a graphical user interface that allows you to configure various settings for the Controller, including the JVM options. The Enterprise Console is a web-based application that provides a centralized way to manage the AppDynamics platform components, such as the Controller, the Events Service, and the EUM Server. The Enterprise Console also handles the Controller upgrade process and preserves the JVM options that are defined on the Controller Settings page34.

The incorrect options are:

• Pass JVM options to the Controller via java -javaagent:“options jar”. © This is not a valid method because the java -javaagent option is used to specify the path to the AppDynamics agent jar file, not the JVM options for the Controller. The agent jar file is used to instrumentthe Java applications that are monitored by the AppDynamics platform, not the Controller itself. The agent jar file also contains the agent configuration properties, such as the Controller host, port, account name, access key, and application name. Passing JVM options to the Controller via this option will not have any effect on the Controller performance or behavior5.
• Use the controller.sh script provided by AppDynamics. (D) This is not a valid method because the controller.sh script is used to start, stop, or restart the Controller, not to define the JVM options for the Controller. The controller.sh script is located in the /bin directory and can be run on Linux platforms. The controller.sh script does not accept any arguments or parameters for the JVM options, and does not update any configuration files with the JVM options. Using this script to define the JVM options for the Controller will not have any effect on the Controller performance or behavior6.
• Define JVM options manually in the domain. xmi file. (E) This is not a valid method because the domain. xmi file is not a configuration file for the JVM options for the Controller, but a configuration file for the WebSphere Application Server. The WebSphere Application Server is a Java EE application server that can be used to host the Java applications that are monitored by the AppDynamics platform, not the Controller itself. The domain. xmi file contains the settings for the WebSphere Application Server, such as the server name, port, security, data sources, and class loaders. Defining JVM options manually in this file will not have any effect on the Controller performance or behavior, and may cause errors or conflicts with the WebSphere Application Server configuration7.

References:

• 1: Modify JVM Options for the Controller - AppDynamics
• 2: Release Upgrade Checklist for Controllers - AppDynamics
• 3: Configure the Controller Using the Enterprise Console - AppDynamics
• 4: Upgrade the Controller Using the Enterprise Console - AppDynamics
• 5: Install the Java Agent - AppDynamics
• 6: Start and Stop the Controller - AppDynamics
• 7: Configuring the WebSphere Application Server - IBM

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.