Built on the V8 JavaScript engine of Chrome, Node.js is a very lightweight, open-source framework with minimum modules. And since it is an asynchronous system by default, it is faster than most other frameworks. DevOps still need Node.js monitoring to ensure performance better than other frameworks.
In order to understand how relevant Node.js still is, note that PayPal, Reddit, LinkedIn, Amazon, Netflix and other high-use, high-visibility service providers use the framework. In fact, the Node.js framework powers around 20 million websites across the globe and is helping a host of companies cut development cost by up to 58%.
However, despite all the hype around the Node.js framework, developers need to monitor the performance of the applications that run on it, just like any other website framework. Keeping this in mind, let’s check out some of the key performance metrics you should be monitoring for your applications running the Node.js framework.
System downtime is the worst thing you would look forward to with your application. Downtime not only reduces potential income but also causes customers to lose faith in your company. Monitoring the health and downtime of Node.js applications is essential to ensure users experience no disruption in the service you offer.
If the services in your application aren’t optimized, you may be in a little trouble. Such applications have high latency and even cost more money to run and maintain. Identifying and resolving bottlenecks with Node.js monitoring ensures optimal performance in the infrastructure and application.
Application latency is a huge aspect of the success or failure of a business. The mean wait time on the loading speed is around two seconds, and anything higher than that might push off customer interest. This is no secret, so monitoring your API latency for speed and wait-time is important.
A failing code can turn into a fatal bug if it goes unnoticed for more than a brief period of time. Plus, the traditional way of users reporting bugs doesn’t work anymore, even for large, established companies. Today’s users simply leave the application or site the moment they experience a bug, so it’s best to have an automated way to detect bugs and error rates – a very important metric for monitoring Node.js applications.
Log management is crucial when it comes to getting insights into your application. Logs help you troubleshoot the different issues that crop up and plan new features to introduce.
Log management is a great way to monitor Node.js applications as they offer a bigger picture for you to plan and maintain the application without bugs and glitches. However, there is a certain way you should manage the application log to ensure maximum productivity from your Node.js applications.
Performance logs provide deep insights into the functions, services and APIs and also help improve latencies. Having a performance log will help you monitor your Node.js application in one of the best possible ways.
Error-tracking is an important part of debugging any major or minor application framework errors. Maintaining such a log can be the first step towards tracking the issue for remediation.
Before troubleshooting any major issue, getting to the root cause by analyzing the log can be a useful step. Debugging logs can give you the edge to solving issues more efficiently.
Node.js logs can offer you great indications and shape future decisions regarding the application or the framework. Since the logs are rich in information, you can use these for analytics purposes, looking for patterns and improving decision making.
Besides just creating logs for Node.js applications, there are multiple monitoring tools that can be used for ensuring optimal performance from all your Node.js applications.
PM2 is an easy-to-understand Node.js monitoring tool. Being a daemon process manager, PM2 allows the developers to keep their applications from failing or having bugs. The PM2 Node.js application monitoring tool has an integrated log management feature, along with auto-clustering for the apps. Developers need to install the NPM with the npm -version command.
Retrace is a cloud-based tool for application performance management and is a fit for businesses that are very proactive in detecting issues during production. However, the tool can also be a life save when it comes to troubleshooting errors during the production phase.
App Metrics is an open-source performance monitoring tool that is managed by IBM and collects information from various aspects of the app, like garbage collection, database performance, etc. The tool provides all-round monitoring of multiple aspects of the application performance, from complexities of data transactions to basic metrics, like the network speed.
Node.js framework is an established, highly useful framework for major companies around the world. However, continuous monitoring of Node.js applications can lead to more lucrative campaigns and higher customer satisfaction.
Application monitoring is something that should be taken care of during the development phase, as well as after deployment. Besides simply pointing out errors and bugs, monitoring can also help in denoting patterns of the application performance as influenced by the usage of the end customer.
The acquired data and additional analysis will help you make better decisions and improvement plans with more accuracy.
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