Resource Monitoring vs. Application Performance Monitoring (APM)
How Middleware Resource Monitoring is Different from APM
November 14, 2016

Ted Wilson
SL Corporation

Share this

Is middleware resource monitoring the same thing as APM? No – but it is highly complementary with APM and organizations generally need both for complex, large-scale application environments that depend on middleware.

End to end resource monitoring is fundamentally different.


We see four general categories in the enterprise monitoring landscape:

1. Low level infrastructure monitoring, often open source or low-cost

2. Domain-specific admin and monitoring tools including database, server, log, and vendor-specific tools

3. Application-aware resource monitoring of infrastructure

4. APM, including transaction tracing and end-user monitoring

APM, and especially transaction monitoring, has its place. It is an important capability for some types of users such as developers who need to understand the behavior of their transactions and how they are performing. It is also very good at identifying code-based problems. If your problems are in the code, then APM can help. But what if the problem is not in the application itself but the infrastructure that supports that application? Most application performance issues are not code-based problems.

Oftentimes, the problems lie in the middleware tiers, servers and other resources. These are equally as important to monitor.

The Complexity of Middleware

Middleware components are usually distributed, clustered and shared across multiple services and applications. Many organizations use middleware provided by multiple vendors across multiple tiers, on-premise, in the cloud, or hybrid. And a single middleware technology, such as TIBCO EMS, requires real-time and historical metric gathering for the EMS Servers, topics, queues, and destinations to really understand performance. An effective monitoring system will also provide information about other interdependencies. Is a problem with pending messages really occurring because of a CPU issue with a VMware host?

This all makes holistic monitoring tricky. So when an application problem lies in a middleware tier, your application support and middleware support teams require specialized tools to proactively identify the problem before the application is affected. If they are relying on end user or transaction monitoring for this type of problem, chances are the middleware components are going to be a black box. APM tools just don’t provide adequate visibility into the middleware.

So before you increase spending on APM tools, be sure you have the middleware tier covered and those support teams have the tools they need to be proactive in resolving the infrastructure level problems.

Ask yourself how you solve the majority of your Sev 1 incidents today. Are you using tools that help you understand the performance of your clustered middleware? Or are you using tools that help you understand your transactions and transaction throughput? The answer may help you in prioritizing your monitoring investments.


Ted Wilson is Chief Operating Officer at SL Corporation.

Share this

The Latest

December 12, 2024

In APMdigest's 2025 Predictions Series, industry experts — from analysts and consultants to the top vendors — offer predictions on how Observability and related technologies will evolve and impact business in 2025. Part 4 covers logs and Observability data ...

December 11, 2024

In APMdigest's 2025 Predictions Series, industry experts offer predictions on how Observability and related technologies will evolve and impact business in 2025. Part 3 covers OpenTelemetry, DevOps and more ...

December 10, 2024

In APMdigest's 2025 Predictions Series, industry experts offer predictions on how Observability and related technologies will evolve and impact business in 2025. Part 2 covers AI's impact on Observability, including AI Observability, AI-Powered Observability and AIOps ...

December 09, 2024

The Holiday Season means it is time for APMdigest's annual list of predictions, covering IT performance topics. Industry experts — from analysts and consultants to the top vendors — offer thoughtful, insightful, and often controversial predictions on how Observability, APM, AIOps and related technologies will evolve and impact business in 2025 ...

December 05, 2024
Generative AI represents more than just a technological advancement; it's a transformative shift in how businesses operate. Companies are beginning to tap into its ability to enhance processes, innovate products and improve customer experiences. According to a new IDC InfoBrief sponsored by Endava, 60% of CEOs globally highlight deploying AI, including generative AI, as their top modernization priority to support digital business ambitions over the next two years ...
December 04, 2024

Technology leaders will invest in AI-driven customer experience (CX) strategies in the year ahead as they build more dynamic, relevant and meaningful connections with their target audiences ... As AI shifts the CX paradigm from reactive to proactive, tech leaders and their teams will embrace these five AI-driven strategies that will improve customer support and cybersecurity while providing smoother, more reliable service offerings ...

December 03, 2024

We're at a critical inflection point in the data landscape. In our recent survey of executive leaders in the data space — The State of Data Observability in 2024 — we found that while 92% of organizations now consider data reliability core to their strategy, most still struggle with fundamental visibility challenges ...

December 02, 2024

From the accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI) to the ongoing challenges of cost optimization and security, these IT leaders are navigating a complex and rapidly evolving landscape. Here's what you should know about the top priorities shaping the year ahead ...

November 26, 2024

In the heat of the holiday online shopping rush, retailers face persistent challenges such as increased web traffic or cyber threats that can lead to high-impact outages. With profit margins under high pressure, retailers are prioritizing strategic investments to help drive business value while improving the customer experience ...

November 25, 2024

In a fast-paced industry where customer service is a priority, the opportunity to use AI to personalize products and services, revolutionize delivery channels, and effectively manage peaks in demand such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday are vast. By leveraging AI to streamline demand forecasting, optimize inventory, personalize customer interactions, and adjust pricing, retailers can have a better handle on these stress points, and deliver a seamless digital experience ...