IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager for Transactions, Version 7.4.0.0

Monitoring unique users and sessions for Web Response Time

You might need to identify the unique user name associated with a client that is experiencing performance or availability problems, to help isolate the problem and resolve it quickly for that user. You might also need to track the HTTP or HTTPS sessions used by a particular user, so you can see how many sessions there are, and, when a session is experiencing performance or availability problems, assess the impact and address any issues for a particular user. The Application Management Configuration Editor provides unique user and session tracking capabilities that you can use instead of relying on IP addresses and host names to try to locate user-specific Web Response Time transaction data.

Unique users can be identified in the following types of transaction data:
  • HTTP form post data
  • An HTTP header
  • A query string property that identifies the user
  • An XML tag
  • Basic authorization
Sessions can be identified in the following types of transaction data:
  • An HTTP cookie
  • An HTTP header
  • An HTTP query string entry
  • An XML tag
In addition to identifying users and sessions, filters can also be applied to narrow down the types of users and sessions that are monitored:
  • You can specify whether to include or exclude a filter match on a user or session type.
  • You can specify a particular value for a user to be tracked.
  • You can specify conditions by which instance data is stored for the transaction. User filters are applied in the following order of precedence:
    1. Always: Always collect session instance data for the user (this is the default).
    2. On Failure: Collect instance data for this session only if at least one of the instances is an availability failure.
    3. On Slow: Collect instance data for this session only if at least one of the instances has a response time greater than the minimum response time threshold. This filter also accounts for failed sessions.
    4. Never: Never collect session instance data for this user.

    Case matching is insensitive for user filters.

Other features are provided so you can complete the following tasks:
  • You can define and display the application name.
  • You can enable or disable user or session tracking.
  • You can set a session timeout value per monitored application, after which any session tracking information is discarded.
User and session tracking default values:
  • For the Siebel Application Server application provided with the product, default values are provided for tracking sessions on Siebel servers.
  • For the web Applications application provided with the product, standard session tracking values are provided for WebSphere-based user and session tracking.
See the following sections for more information about user and session tracking for Web Response Time monitoring data:

Configuring the application name

From the default Applications view in the Application Management Configuration Editor, you can click the name of an application in the panel on the left to display the Application tab.

Figure 1. Application tab
An example of the Application tab in the Application Management Configuration Editor.

You can edit the Application name field and change the name if needed. When you click Apply, the new name of the application is displayed in the list of applications in the left panel.

Configuring for session tracking

From the default Applications view in the Application Management Configuration Editor, click the name of an application in the panel on the left, and then click the Session tab to display the Session Identification configuration dialog box.

Figure 2. Session tab
An example of the Session tab in the Application Management Configuration Editor.
From this dialog box you can perform the following tasks:

Procedure: Enabling and disabling session tracking

To enable session tracking for the types of sessions that you have defined in the table, select the Enable session tracking check box. If this check box is not selected, you cannot add, remove, or edit entries in the table. Session tracking must also be enabled to perform user tracking.

To disable session and user tracking for all defined session types, clear the Enable session tracking check box.

Do any of the following:
  • Click Apply to save your changes and return to the Application tab.
  • Click OK to save your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Cancel to cancel your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.

Procedure: Adding session types

To add a session type to the table, complete the following steps:
  1. Verify that the Enable session tracking check box is selected.
  2. Click Add. The Session Identification dialog box opens in a separate window.
  3. Click Dropdown icon in the Type field and select one of the following session types to monitor:
    • HTTP Cookie
    • HTTP Header
    • HTTP Query String
    • XML Post
  4. In the Key name field, type the value for the selected session type to be tracked.
  5. Do one of the following actions:
    • Click OK to add the session type to the table.
    • Click Cancel to cancel the add operation and return to the Session tab.
    • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.

You are returned to the Session tab in the Application Management Configuration Editor. The selected session type and specified key name is added to the table.

Do any of the following:
  • Click Apply to save your changes and return to the Application tab.
  • Click OK to save your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Cancel to cancel your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.

Procedure: Removing session types

To remove a session type from the table, complete the following steps:
  1. Verify that the Enable session tracking check box is selected.
  2. In the table, highlight the entry to be removed.
  3. Click Remove. The highlighted entry is immediately removed from the table.
Do any of the following actions:
  • Click Apply to save your changes and return to the Application tab.
  • Click OK to save your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Cancel to cancel your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.

Procedure: Editing session types

To edit a session type in the table, complete the following steps:
  1. Verify that the Enable session tracking check box is selected.
  2. In the table, highlight the entry to be edited.
  3. Click Edit. The Session Identification dialog box opens in a separate window.
  4. Change the type of session by clicking Dropdown icon in the Type field and select one of the following session types to monitor:
    • HTTP Cookie
    • HTTP Header
    • HTTP Query String
    • XML Post
  5. In the Key name field, type the value for the selected session type to be tracked.
  6. Do one of the following actions:
    • Click OK to complete the edit.
    • Click Cancel to cancel the edit and return to the Session tab.
    • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.
Do any of the following actions:
  • Click Apply to save your changes and return to the Application tab.
  • Click OK to save your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Cancel to cancel your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.

Procedure: Specifying a session timeout

To specify a timeout in minutes, after which the session tracking data is discarded, complete the following steps:
  1. Verify that the Enable session tracking check box is selected.
  2. In the Session timeout (minutes) field below the table, enter a number between 0 and 2147483647.
Do any of the following actions:
  • Click Apply to save your changes and return to the Application tab.
  • Click OK to save your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Cancel to cancel your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.

Configuring for user tracking

From the default Applications view in the Application Management Configuration Editor, click the name of an application in the panel on the left, and then click the Users tab to display the User Identification and Unique User Information configuration dialog boxes.

Figure 3. Users tab
An example of the Users tab in the Application Management Configuration Editor.

Before you can perform any tasks in the Users tab, you must first enable session tracking in the Session tab. See Procedure: Enabling and disabling session tracking for more information.

From this dialog box you can perform the following tasks:

Procedure: Enabling and disabling user tracking

To enable user tracking for the users that you have defined in the table, select the Enable user tracking check box. If this check box is not selected, you cannot add, remove, or edit entries in the tables. Note that Session tracking must also be enabled on the Sessions tab before you can configure user tracking.

To disable user tracking for all defined user types, clear the Enable user tracking check box.

Do any of the following actions:
  • Click Apply to save your changes and return to the Application tab.
  • Click OK to save your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Cancel to cancel your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.

Procedure: Adding user types

To add one or more user types to the User Identification table in the Users tab, complete the following steps:
  1. In the Sessions tab, verify that the Enable session tracking check box is selected.
  2. Verify that the Enable user tracking check box is selected.
  3. In the User Identification section of the Users tab, click Add. The User Identification dialog box opens in a separate window.
  4. Click Dropdown icon in the Type field and select one of the following user types to monitor:
    • HTTP Form Post
    • HTTP Header
    • HTTP Query String
    • XML Post
    • Basic Authorization
  5. In the Key name field, type the value for the selected user type to be tracked.
  6. Do one of the following actions:
    • Click OK to add the user type to the table.

      You are returned to the User tab in the Application Management Configuration Editor. The selected user type and specified key name is added to the table.

    • Click Cancel to cancel the add operation and return to the User tab.
    • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.
Do any of the following actions:
  • Click Apply to save your changes and return to the Application tab.
  • Click OK to save your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Cancel to cancel your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.

Procedure: Adding user filters

To add one or more user filters to the Unique User Information table in the Users tab, complete the following steps:
  1. In the Sessions tab, verify that the Enable session tracking check box is selected.
  2. In the Users tab, verify that the Enable user tracking check box is selected.
  3. In the Unique User Information section of the Users tab, click Add. The User Filter dialog box opens in a separate window.
  4. In the User Pattern field, type the user name or string pattern to filtered. Matching is supported at the following levels:
    • Exact (value)
    • StartsWith (value*)
    • EndsWith (*value)
    • Contains (*value*)
  5. Click Dropdown icon in the Include/Exclude field and select one of the following options:
    • Include: The user information must match the user pattern for the transaction instance data to be stored.
    • Exclude: The user information must not match the user pattern for the transaction instance data to be stored.
  6. Click Dropdown icon in the Instance Details field and select one of the following options:
    • Always: Always collect instance data for this user.
    • Never: Never collect instance data for this user.
    • On Failure: Collect instance data for this session only if one or more instances is an availability failure.
    • On Slow: Collect instance data for this session only if one or more instances have a response time greater than the minimum response time threshold. This filter also accounts for failed sessions.
  7. Do one of the following actions:
    • Click OK to add the user filter information to the table.

      You are returned to the User tab in the Application Management Configuration Editor. The selected user type and specified key name is added to the table.

    • Click Cancel to cancel the add operation and return to the User tab.
    • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.
Do any of the following:
  • Click Apply to save your changes and return to the Application tab.
  • Click OK to save your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Cancel to cancel your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.

Procedure: Configuring anonymous user tracking

You might want to track sessions for which a user name or ID is not yet associated. In this situation you can use the Users tab to specify a user name to use to signify anonymous user tracking.

To specify an anonymous user name, complete the following steps:
  1. In the Sessions tab, verify that the Enable session tracking check box is selected.
  2. In the Users tab, verify that the Enable user tracking check box is selected.
  3. At the bottom of the Users tab, select the Track anonymous users check box.
  4. In the Report anonymous users as field, you can type a string to represent the anonymous user name, such as Anonymous. Optionally, you can click the ellipsis button Ellipsis button to the right of the field to display an additional menu of selections, similar to the following example, and choose from that selection to customize the name reported for these transactions.
    An example of configuring anonymous user tracking in the Application Management Configuration Editor.

You can disable tracking sessions with this anonymous user name by clearing the Track anonymous users check box.

Do any of the following actions:
  • Click Apply to save your changes and return to the Application tab.
  • Click OK to save your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Cancel to cancel your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.

Procedure: Removing user types

To remove a user type from the table, complete the following steps:
  1. In the Sessions tab, verify that the Enable session tracking check box is selected.
  2. Verify that the Enable user tracking check box is selected.
  3. In the User Identification table, highlight the entry to be removed.
  4. Click Remove. The highlighted entry is immediately removed from the table.
Do any of the following actions:
  • Click Apply to save your changes and return to the Application tab.
  • Click OK to save your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Cancel to cancel your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.

Procedure: Removing user filters

To remove a user filter from the Unique User Identification table, complete the following steps:
  1. In the Sessions tab, verify that the Enable session tracking check box is selected.
  2. In the Users tab, verify that the Enable user tracking check box is selected.
  3. In the Unique User Information table, highlight the entry to be removed.
  4. Click Remove. The highlighted entry is immediately removed from the table.
Do any of the following actions:
  • Click Apply to save your changes and return to the Application tab.
  • Click OK to save your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Cancel to cancel your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.

Procedure: Editing user types

To edit a user type in the table, complete the following steps:
  1. In the Sessions tab, verify that the Enable session tracking check box is selected.
  2. Verify that the Enable session tracking check box is selected.
  3. In the User Identification table, highlight the entry to be edited.
  4. Click Edit. The User Identification dialog box opens in a separate window.
  5. Change the type of user by clicking the down-arrow Dropdown icon in the Type field and select one of the following session types to monitor:
    • HTTP Form Post
    • HTTP Header
    • HTTP Query String
    • XML Post
    • Basic Authorization
  6. In the Key name field, type the value for the selected user type to be tracked.
  7. Do one of the following actions:
    • Click OK to complete the edit.
    • Click Cancel to cancel the edit and return to the User tab.
    • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.
Do any of the following actions:
  • Click Apply to save your changes and return to the Application tab.
  • Click OK to save your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Cancel to cancel your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.

Procedure: Editing user filters

To edit a user filter in the Unique User Information table, complete the following steps:
  1. In the Sessions tab, verify that the Enable session tracking check box is selected.
  2. Verify that the Enable session tracking check box is selected.
  3. In the Unique User Information table, highlight the entry to be edited.
  4. Click Edit. The User Filter dialog box opens in a separate window.
  5. In the User Pattern field, verify or change the user name or string pattern to filtered. Matching is supported at the following levels:
    • Exact (value)
    • StartsWith (value*)
    • EndsWith (*value)
    • Contains (*value*)
  6. Click Dropdown icon in the Include/Exclude field and verify the value or select one of the following options:
    • Include: The user information must match the user pattern for the transaction instance data to be stored.
    • Exclude: the user information must not match the user pattern for the transaction instance data to be stored.
  7. Click Dropdown icon in the Instance Details field and verify the value or select one of the following options:
    • Always: Always collect instance data for this user.
    • Never: Never collect instance data for this user.
    • On Failure: Collect instance data for this session only if one or more instances is an availability failure.
    • On Slow: Collect instance data for this session only if one or more instances have a response time greater than the minimum response time threshold. This filter also accounts for failed sessions.
  8. Do one of the following actions:
    • Click OK to change the user filter information to the table.

      You are returned to the User tab in the Application Management Configuration Editor. The modified user filter information is added to the table.

    • Click Cancel to cancel the edit operation and return to the User tab.
    • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.
Do any of the following actions:
  • Click Apply to save your changes and return to the Application tab.
  • Click OK to save your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Cancel to cancel your changes and exit the Application Management Configuration Editor.
  • Click Help to open the online help for Application Management Configuration Editor.

Configuring a WebSEAL server for user and session tracking

When tracking HTTP or HTTPS transactions on a server that serves as a junction destination for a WebSEAL server, you must enable certain WebSEAL configuration options to track the WebSEAL user sessions. These options can be enabled through the TAM Web Portal Manager.

In the TAM Web Portal Manager, select the junction that serves the backend web server that you are monitoring. You should see options similar to those shown in the following example:

An example of the WebSEAL configuration options in the TAM Web Portal Manager.

Enabling session tracking: To enable session tracking, select the Insert WebSEAL cookies check box. When this option is enabled, the PD-S-SESSION-ID cookie is forwarded to the backend server.

Enabling user tracking: To enable user tracking, select the User Name (Short) check box. When this option is enabled, the iv-user HTTP header is set to the user name of the TAM user that is logged in.

Parent topic: Using the Application Management Configuration Editor


Last updated: September 2014