Real User Monitoring (RAM) and Synthetic Monitoring are two different approaches to website and application monitoring. They both serve the same purpose of ensuring optimal performance of a website or application, but they differ in how they collect data and the types of insights they provide. Understanding the difference between the two can help you determine which approach is best suited for your specific needs.
Real User vs Synthetic Monitoring: Data Collection Methods
Data Collection is one of the key differences between Real User Monitoring (RUM) and synthetic Monitoring, while both approaches are designed to monitor website and application performance, they differ in how they collect data.
RUM collects data from actual users who access the website or application. This means that RUM provides a real-time view of user experience, as it captures data on how real users interact with the site. RUM collects a wide range of data, including page load time, time to first byte, error rate, and other metrics that are critical to understanding user experience.
RUM provides a comprehensive view of user experience across all devices, browser, and network condition. This is particularly useful for a site that have a diverse user base, as it allows business to understand how their website or application is performing for all users,
For Example: if website is experiencing issue on a specific browser or device. RUM data can help identify the problem and enable the business to take corrective action.
In contrast, synthetic monitoring uses simulated traffic and user interaction to collect data. Synthetic monitoring creates simulated traffic and user interaction that replicate how a user would interact with the website or application. The data collected by synthetic monitoring provides a snapshot of performance at a specific point in time.
Synthetic monitoring is useful for testing specific scenarios or user flows, such as login or checkout processes. It allows business to monitor application performance in environments that are not accessible to actual users, such as development or staging environments. Synthetic monitoring is also useful for simulating high volumes of traffic or user to test website or application scalability.
While both RUM and Synthetic Monitoring are valuable tools for monitoring website and application performance, the data they collect differs significantly. RUM provides a real- time view of user experience, while synthetic monitoring provides a snapshot of performance at a specific point in time. Business needs to consider the type of data they need to collect when selecting a monitoring approach.
Real-Time Insights vs Scheduled Updates: Timing Differences
The difference between RUM and synthetic monitoring is the timing of data collection. RUM provides real-time data on user experiences, which means that you can see how users are interacting with your website or application at any given moment. This real-time data can help you identify issues as they happen and quickly address them to prevent further problems.
On the other hand, synthetic monitoring provides data at regular intervals, such as every 5 to 10 minutes. This means that there may be a delay between when an issue occurs and when you are notified about it. Synthetic monitoring is useful for monitoring trends over time and identifying patterns in websites or application performance, but it may not be able delete issues as quick as RUM.
For Example, Let’s say you run an e-commerce website and you notice a sudden drop in sales. With RUM, you can see real-time whether users are experiencing any issue that may be impacting their ability to make purchases. You can quickly identify and address issues to prevent further loss of sales.
With synthetic monitoring, on the other hand, you may not receive an alert until 5 to 10 minutes after the issue has occurred. This delay could result in a longer period of lost sales and a negative impact on your business.
Overall, the timing of data collection is an important consideration when choosing between RUM and synthetic monitoring. If you need to monitor website or application performance in real-time and quickly identify and address issues, RUM may be the better option. If you need to monitor trends over time and identify patterns in performance, synthetic monitoring may be more appropriate.
Measuring Success: Key Metrics in RUM and Synthetic Monitoring
Metrics are an important aspect of website and application monitoring as they provide insights into various performance parameters. RUM and synthetic monitoring differ int types of metrics they collect.
Real User Monitoring (RUM) provides metrics based on the actual user experience.
These metrics include page load time, time to first byte, and error rate. Page load time is the time it takes for webpage to fully load in user’s browser. It includes the time it takes to load all the pages resources such as images, scripts, and stylesheets. Time to first byte is the time it takes for the server to respond to user’s request. This metric is important because it measures the server’s performance. Error rate is the percentage of requests that result in an error. This metric indicates the overall health of the website or application.
RUM also provides additional metrics such as session length, bounce rate, and conversion rate. Session length is the amount of time a user spends on the website or application before leaving. Bounce rate is the percentage of users who leave the website or application after viewing only one page. Conversion rate is the percentage of users who complete a specific action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.
On the other hand, synthetic monitoring focuses on testing specific scenarios and user flows, such as logins or product searches. Synthetic monitoring collects metrics such as response time, availability, and uptime. Response time is the time it takes for the website or application to respond to a simulated user request. Availability is the
percentage of time the website or application is available during the testing period. Uptime is the amount of time the website or application is available without any interruptions.
Comparing the Scope: RUM’s Comprehensive View vs Synthetic’s Specific Focus
The scope of website and application monitoring is another difference between RUM and synthetic monitoring. RUM provides data on all users, regardless of the devices they use, the browser they use, or the network condition they have. This means that RUM can give you a complete picture of how your website or application is performing for all users, in all situations.
On the other hand, synthetic monitoring is focused on a specific set of scenarios or user flows. Synthetic monitoring can simulate traffic and user interactions test specific scenarios such as logins or product searches. This means that synthetic monitoring provides a more limited view of website and application performance than RUM.
For Example, if you have an e-commerce website, RUM can give you data on how users interact with your website from different devices. Such as desktops, tablets, and smartphones, and different browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. It can also show you how the website performs in different network conditions, such as slow connection or high latency. This information can help you identify performance issues that affect a wide range of users.
In contrast, synthetic monitoring can help you test specific scenarios or user flows, such as the checkout process or product searches. This information can help you to identify issues in these specific scenarios, but it may not be indicative of how the website performs for all users. Synthetic monitoring is often used in conjunction with RUM to provide a more comprehensive view of website and application performance.
When to Use Synthetic vs Rum?
Knowing when to use synthetic monitoring and passive RUM can help you optimize your monitoring approach and get the most out of your website or application performance. Here are some scenarios when one monitoring approach may be more appropriate the other:
Synthetic Monitoring:
Testing specific scenarios or user flows: synthetic monitoring is ideal for testing specific scenarios or user flows, such as logins or checkout processes. By simulating these interactions, synthetic monitoring can provide valuable insights into the performance of these critical components.
Monitoring non-user accessible environments: Synthetic monitoring can be used to monitor website or application performance in environments that are not accessible to actual users, such as development or staging environments. This can help you identify issues early in the development process and ensure a smooth development.
Simulating high volume of traffic or users: synthetic monitoring is also useful for simulating high volumes of traffic or users to test website or application scalability. This can help you identify performance bottlenecks and optimize your infrastructure to handle higher traffic load.
Detecting and troubleshooting issues before they impact actual user: Synthetic monitoring can help you detect and troubleshoot issues before they impact actual user. By simulating user interactions, synthetic
monitoring can identify issues in specific scenarios or user flows and help you resolve them before they affect your users.
Passive RUM:
Monitoring real-time user experience: Passive RUM is for monitoring real-time user experiences and identifying issues that impact actual users. By collecting data from actual users, passive RUM can provide valuable insights into the performance of your website or application in real-world conditions.
Identifying and diagnosing issues that impact actual users: Passive RUM can help you identify and diagnose issues that impact actual users. By providing metrics based on real user experience, passive RUM can help you pinpoint the root cause of performance issues and take corrective action.
Optimizing website or application performance based on real user data: Passive RUM can also be used to optimize website or application performance based on real user data. By analyzing user behavior and performance metrics, passive RUM can help you identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to optimize your website or application.
When Synthetic Monitoring Is Appropriate
Synthetic monitoring is a useful tool for a variety of scenarios. One common use case is testing specific scenarios or user flows, such as login or checkout processes. Synthetic monitoring allows developers to simulate user behavior and interactions with the website or application, providing insights into potential issues that may arise.
Another scenario where synthetic monitoring is useful in monitoring website or application performance is in environments that are bot-accessible to actual users, such as development or staging environments. By simulating traffic and user interaction, synthetic monitoring can provide developers with valuable performance data and insights.
Simulating high volume of traffic or users is another use case for synthetic monitoring. This can be particularly important for businesses that expect sudden spikes in traffic, such as during a sale or product launch. Synthetic monitoring allows business to test the scalability of their website or application under high traffic conditions, helping to ensure that it can handle large volumes of users without performance issues.
Synthetic monitoring can be used to detect and troubleshoot issues before they impact actual users. By simulating user interaction user interactions and monitoring website or application performance, developers can identify potential issues and address them before they impact the user experience.
When Passive Rum Is Appropriate
Passive RUM, on the other hand, is appropriate when you need to monitor user experience in real-time and across different devices, browsers, and network conditions. It is also useful for identifying and diagnosing issues that impact actual users. Passive RUM can be used to optimize website or application performance based on real user data.
While RUM monitoring is a valuable tool for monitoring website and application performance, it may not alert you about all issues. Here are some reasons why RUM monitoring may not alert you about your website problems:
Incomplete Monitoring: RUM monitoring can be incomplete if not all the pages of your website are monitored. If only a subset of pages is monitored, issue on unmonitored pages may not be detected. To address this issue, you should ensure that all pages on your website are monitored.
Limited Metrics: RUM monitoring may not provide all the metrics needed to detect certain types of issue, such as errors in backend systems or database queries. RUM is primarily focused on the client-side performance of your website or application., so it may not be able to provide insights into other aspects of performance, To address this issue, you should use other monitoring tools that can provide additional metrics and insights.
Browser Limitations: RUM monitoring may be limited by the capabilities of the user’s browser. If the user’s browser is outdated or does not support certain features, RUM may not be able to capture all the data needed to detect issue. To address this issue, you should ensure that your website is compatible with a wide range of browsers and devices.
Network Issues: RUM monitoring may not be able to detect issues caused by network issues or third-party services. If the issue is outside the scope of the website or application, RUM may not be able to provide insights. To address these issues, you should use other monitoring tools that can detect and diagnose issues caused by network issues or third-party services.
When to Use RUM vs Synthetic Monitoring: Selecting the Best Approach
Using a combination of tools allows for a more holistic view of website and application performance. RUM provides insights into real-time user experience and identifies issues that impact actual user, while synthetic monitoring enables the testing of specific scenarios and simulating high volumes of traffic. By combining these tools, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of website and application performance, ensuring that any issues are detected and diagnosed quickly.
Additionally, other monitoring tools can provide insights into other aspects of performance, such as server performance or network latency, that may not be captured by RUM or synthetic monitoring alone. For example, server monitoring tools can provide insights into server health and resources usage, while network monitoring toll can detect issues with network connectivity or bandwidth usage.
Overall, a combination of monitoring tools is the best approach to ensure comprehensive monitoring of website and application performance. By using RUM, synthetic monitoring, and other monitoring tools, you can gain a more complete view of performance and quickly identify and diagnose any issue that arises.
