How to get synthetics monitoring to work in new relic

1. Prerequisites

An Active New Relic Account: If you don’t have one, you’ll need to create a free account at https://newrelic.com.
Familiarity with Basic New Relic Navigation: Have a general understanding of where to find different sections within your New Relic dashboard.

2. Creating a Monitor

Navigate to Synthetics: Go to one.newrelic.com > Synthetics.
“Create Monitor” Button: Click the prominent “Create monitor” button.
Choose a Monitor Type: Select the type of monitor best suited to your needs:
- Ping Monitor: Simple check to see if a website is up and responding.
- Simple Browser Monitor: Executes basic checks on a website (loading, finding specific elements).
- Scripted Browser Monitor: Runs custom JavaScript scripts to test complex user flows (logins, interactions).
- API Test Monitor: Verifies APIs for correct responses and performance.

3. Configuring Your Monitor

Name and Frequency: Give your monitor a descriptive name and select how often you want it to run (e.g., every 5 minutes).
Locations: Choose the geographic locations from where you want checks to run. This simulates real user traffic from different regions.
Details:
- URL: For website monitors, enter the target URL.
- Script For scripted browser monitors, this is where you’ll write your JavaScript test code.
- API Endpoint, Method, and Validation For API monitors, specify these details.

4. Advanced Options (Optional)

Notifications: Set up alerts to be notified (email, Slack, etc.) when your monitor fails or performance degrades.
Private Locations: If you need to monitor internal websites or APIs, you can set up private synthetic monitoring locations.

5. Saving Your Monitor

Review Settings: Once you’re done configuring, review all settings before saving.
Start Collecting Data: After saving, New Relic will start running your monitor at the specified interval and collect data.

6. Analyzing Results

Synthetics Dashboard: View results on the Synthetics dashboard, including success rates, response times, and detailed error breakdowns.
Alerts: Receive notifications based on the conditions you set up during configuration.

Additional Tips

Start Simple: If you’re new to Synthetics, begin with a ping or simple browser monitor. As you become more comfortable, try the more advanced monitor types.
Use Real-World Scenarios: Design your monitors to mimic how your actual users interact with your application or website.
Official Documentation: Refer to New Relic’s excellent documentation for step-by-step guides and more in-depth explanations: https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/synthetics/synthetic-monitoring/using-monitors/add-edit-monitors/