Which type of monitoring involves external agents?

Synthetic performance monitoring involves the use of external agents to simulate user interactions with a system or application. This method allows organizations to measure the performance and availability of their services from different geographical locations and network conditions. By mimicking real user behavior, synthetic monitoring provides insights into how applications would perform under various scenarios without relying on actual user interactions.

This approach is particularly useful for identifying potential issues before they impact real users. It helps ensure that web applications and services are performing optimally by testing them proactively. With synthetic performance monitoring, organizations can track various metrics, such as response times and uptime, which are crucial for maintaining a high-quality user experience.

In contrast, real-time performance monitoring focuses more on live data from actual system operations, static analysis monitoring examines code or configurations in a non-execution state, and direct user monitoring typically involves observing the interactions and behaviors of active users without the simulation aspect. Each of these methods has its own purpose, but synthetic performance monitoring specifically utilizes external agents for proactive measurement.