Introduction to ActiveGate extensions
OneAgent and ActiveGate version 1.299 are the last versions supporting OneAgent and ActiveGate Extensions 1.0 framework. You can continue using Extensions 1.0 if you stay at OneAgent or ActiveGate version 1.299. Note that this means you'll be using an unsupported Python version 3.8. We strongly recommend migrating your extensions to the latest Extensions 2.0 framework.
For more information, see General guidance and how to migrate.
With Dynatrace, it's easy to monitor your entire environment. OneAgent provides monitoring support for all major operating systems and frameworks. But what if you're using a technology that can't be monitored with OneAgent? Use ActiveGate extensions!
What can I achieve with ActiveGate extensions?
With ActiveGate extensions, you can integrate Dynatrace monitoring with any remote technology that exposes an interface. You don’t need to install OneAgent. ActiveGate extensions run in ActiveGate and gather data remotely.
With deep integration, Dynatrace can import not only other technologies’ metrics, properties, and events, but also their topologies, which can be subsequently analyzed with the Dynatrace AI! Along with this ability to monitor new technologies comes one of the main benefits of Dynatrace: causation between user actions, technology-specific data, transactional visibility, and more.
You can:
- Feed Dynatrace with metrics, events, properties, and a topology from any technology that exposes an interface.
- Define the data visualization.
- Have Dynatrace AI analyze the incoming data in exactly the same way it analyzes out-of-the-box supported technologies.
To learn more, see ActiveGate extensions capabilities
How does Dynatrace utilize the data acquired through ActiveGate extension monitoring?
Dynatrace binds imported data to appropriate entities. For example, here's what you can achieve for a Java application connected to the Alibaba MongoDB cloud:
- OneAgent monitors the Java application.
- A Dynatrace ActiveGate extension for Alibaba monitors the Alibaba MongoDB cloud.
- Data from an Alibaba MongoDB node is mapped to a custom device entity in Dynatrace.
- Cluster data is bound to an entity that represents the cluster.
- Dynatrace connects data discovered via OneAgent with data from extensions.
This means you have transactional visibility into requests that come from the application monitored via OneAgent to the technology monitored by the ActiveGate extension. The AI works the same way it does for all out-of-the-box supported technologies.
What is the ActiveGate extensions architecture?
ActiveGate extensions are executed on an Environment ActiveGate.
ActiveGate extensions connect remotely to a monitored technology and execute once each minute.
You need to deploy ActiveGate extensions on an ActiveGate and upload them to the Dynatrace server. Dynatrace doesn’t automatically redistribute the extensions between Dynatrace server and ActiveGates.
ActiveGate extensions consist of two main Python and JSON files. With JSON, you define how the data is presented in Dynatrace. With Python, you can define additional events and create custom properties. For more information, see the Extensions reference.
ActiveGate extensions use paid custom metrics with free tier available. For more information, see DDUs for metrics.
How do I get started with ActiveGate extensions?
- Learn what you can achieve with ActiveGate extensions and define your monitoring needs. See ActiveGate extensions capabilities.
- Deploy your first ActiveGate extension. This will give you an overall idea of the whole framework. See ActiveGate extensions hands-on.
- Read through the topics that present real-life examples of building custom extensions. See ActiveGate extensions how-to.
- Get to know the Extensions reference. You'll use it extensively in your extension development.