FusionsReactor 7.3, the latest release in the ColdFusion and Java monitoring tool has tons of new features and improvements. This article will be an overview of some of the most valuable aspects which affect the bottom line and ultimately guide on how FusionReactor can work for you.
You can find them listed also in the FR “release notes” technote (https://fusion-reactor.com/support/kb/frs-431/). Please note, if you scroll further you can see how the APM has developed throughout the installments.
Keeping up to date with the developments in platforms
There are a few FusionsReactor 7.3 enhancements which are specific to particular supported platforms. Support is now included for Java 10, ColdFusion 2018 as well as Solr.
More developments include additions in application servers to the “System Information” page, with ColdFusion, Lucee, Tomcat, etc. now comes JBoss information as well. Server detection for a Commandbox run instance is now part and parcel.
Tomcat log files will also be captured alongside the other FR logs in the same timeframe as before (per hour), all set as standard.
FusionReactor has long done the same sort of excerpting of ColdFusion’s console log, the ColdFusion-out.log, which appears in the FR logs as fr-coldfusion-log.log. In the case of Tomcat, the log catalina and localhost file names will show up in the FR logs with the names juli-catalina.log and juli-localhost.log, respectively. Finally, the Tomcat stderr.log is archived by its original name.
Having these logs for the application server available while reviewing FR logs can be very helpful, especially for post-crash troubleshooting.
These capabilities allow FR 7.3 to keep up to date with the changing world, important when considering Moor’s Law. The furthered log file competences provide a richer data collection, giving you further insight into what’s going on with the environment. Ultimately, this affects more informed decision making which provides quality as well as faster resolution of issues.
GDPR compliant with further obfuscation
Progressions have been made with regards to the obfuscation of data, something very important in the modern age, which is not going away with the resent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements. Versions from 6 have provided options for obfuscating data, including SQL and for MongoDB obfuscation, to FR 6.2’s optional obfuscation of request data, to FR7’s obfuscation of credit card data and more.
FR 7.3 enables you to obfuscate IP addresses. This and the others aid in meeting GDPR and other security/privacy requirements. This way you can make sure data is safe and save money on any potential penalties as a result of GDPR enforcements.
In the email settings page, changes to the “to” address can be saved while testing
One of the most used features within the FR set up is the ability to receive messages when something has occurred with your application (this could be daily reports, or more importantly crash protection). Upon testing the email system, in previous versions you would have noticed that you could change the email address for the test purposes, however it would not have changed in the overall settings.
In FR 7.3, you can test your email all the same, adapting the “To address” value(s). Furthermore, one will be able to click the “save settings” button, which will save the input, until when changed again.
Realistically this saves time and ultimately provides an opportunity to customize FR 7.3 to your specification at a higher rate, meaning you can move on to more important tasks
Making the most out of FusionReactor Cloud
FusionsReactor 7.3 has been one of our main focal points in terms of developing more capability for the FR range. For those of you who were not aware, FR Cloud aims to expand the capability provided by the on-premise version of FR by providing access to historical data, combining instrumentation data across server instances to provide a single consolidated view and very focused access to specific issues, such as slow running requests or transactions which threw errors. FusionReactor Cloud also includes a sophisticated alerting engine, which provides seamless integration with several tools, such as Slack, PagerDuty, HipChat, VictorOps etc. You can read about the features here.
As part of the FR 7.3 release enhancements, FR Cloud users will now be able to be see an indication of an active profile for a running request that is itself being profiled.
Another feature is the immediate request API which ultimately allows for a more instant connection between the cloud and on premise solution ensuring faster “real-time” performance.
Another benefit of the improvement to communication in FusionsReactor 7.3 is FR now being able to send more profile entries to FR Cloud by default. There’s also improved error handling and feedback when using the feature to start/stop Profiling of requests from FR Cloud. And thread dumps taken in FR Cloud now better match on-prem FR thread dumps (including more thread meta data), and sub-transaction information for recent and running requests as well as JDBC transactions are also improved.
More log functionality has also been updated. Users can now monitor their log file creation on FusionsReactor 7.3 on-premise and decide whether or not to send the data to the cloud, ultimately saving time, later on, and memory space. Although there is no direct capability for that on cloud, the brilliant thing, is when it comes (soon) it will be automatically uploaded to any using FR Cloud already.
FR Cloud is all about data, how to use it and the processing of said data. The ability to view multiple indications of profiles allows for efficiency of work, alongside the API feature which will speed up processes. Time saved through speed ultimately saves money, as well as allowing for employees to spend their time more effectively. The log and thread capabilities provide a cohesion between the on-site and cloud FR implementations, using synchronization alongside the enhanced data displays to insightfully inform decision making while allowing for improved timing between viewing real time data (on-site) or historical data (in the cloud). These ensure quality decision making for furthering business interests, in a timely manner which saves cost and enhances the availability of resources.
Conclusion; getting the update
So although not comprehensive, we have covered some of the salient FusionsReactor 7.3 updates. Furthermore there are some bug fixes which can be seen on FR 7 updates technote. Ultimately all these changes are aimed at quality, time saving, cost saving and ensuring customer satisfaction by improving the back end processes. All of which should improve in company profitability and sustainability.
If you already have a previous version of FusionsReactor 7.3 java monitoring tool, note that there is a “check for updates” link on the FR “about” page. If you are new to the product, download the latest version by clicking on FR downloads page.
NOTE – much of this blog text has come from the original, written by Charlie Arehart – which you can find here
