How do I install inspectIT on a Tomcat server?

Add the Java agent JVM argument to Tomcat's startup script with the repository IP and agent name. The end user documentation on Confluence provides step-by-step guides for all supported platforms.

Is inspectIT better than New Relic for Java apps?

inspectIT is open-source and free with deep Java EE integration and business context mapping, but New Relic offers more cloud-native features, SaaS convenience, and broader language support.

Does inspectIT work with Spring Boot applications?

Yes, inspectIT supports Spring Boot via its Java agent; demo applications like Spring Petclinic are available to help with integration and testing.

What is the performance overhead of the inspectIT agent?

Designed for low overhead and production use, but overhead varies with instrumentation level; it's recommended to benchmark in your specific environment as per the documentation.

How can I set up alerting with inspectIT?

Integrate with InfluxDB and Grafana for dashboards, and use the built-in email alerting on long-term monitoring data configured through the server component.

Is the automatic problem detection feature ready for production?

No, it's explicitly labeled as experimental in the README, so it should be used cautiously and not relied upon for critical production alerts without further testing.

GitHub Repository

Java1.9.3.107

An open-source APM tool for monitoring and analyzing Java applications with end-to-end tracing and business context.

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What is GitHub Repository?

inspectIT is an open-source Application Performance Management (APM) tool specifically for Java and Java EE applications. It provides end-to-end monitoring by capturing detailed performance data from user interactions in the browser through to backend systems, helping developers analyze and resolve performance issues. The tool maps technical requests to business contexts, offering insights into application health and user experience.

Target Audience

Java developers, DevOps engineers, and performance analysts who need to monitor, analyze, and optimize the performance of Java-based applications in production or development environments.

Value Proposition

Developers choose inspectIT for its comprehensive open-source APM capabilities, including business context mapping, automatic problem detection, and low overhead. It offers a transparent alternative to commercial tools with extensibility and support for a wide range of Java technologies out-of-the-box.

Overview

(UNMAINTAINED) inspectIT is the leading Open Source APM (Application Performance Management) tool for analyzing your Java (EE) applications.

Use Cases

Best For

Monitoring Java EE applications across distributed systems

Community-curated · Updated weekly · 100% open source

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GitHub

541 stars129 forks0 contributors

Correlating frontend user experience with backend performance traces

Analyzing SQL query performance and database interactions in Java apps

Setting up business-context-aware performance dashboards with Grafana

Automatically detecting performance regressions in production environments

Self-hosting an APM solution to avoid vendor lock-in and commercial licensing

Not Ideal For

Applications built with non-Java languages, as inspectIT is exclusively designed for Java and Java EE ecosystems.
Cloud-native or microservices environments requiring tight Kubernetes integration and auto-scaling support, where newer APM tools excel.
Teams needing guaranteed long-term agent development, since the README highlights a newer OpenCensus Edition indicating potential legacy status.
Organizations that require fully production-ready automatic problem detection, as this feature is labeled experimental.

Pros & Cons

Pros

End-to-End Tracing

Automatically injects JavaScript for browser monitoring and correlates user actions with backend traces, providing full-stack visibility as demonstrated in the EUM screenshots and OpenTracing support.

Business Context Mapping

Maps technical requests to business use-cases for performance analysis aligned with functional goals, highlighted in the business context feature with flexible definitions.

Extensive Java EE Support

Includes out-of-the-box instrumentations for common Java technologies like Servlets, JPA, and HTTP clients, reducing setup time with pre-configured profiles.

Low Overhead Design

Claims production-proof with minimal performance impact, backed by over 8 years of customer use in performance-critical environments, ensuring reliability.

Cons

Legacy Agent Concerns

The README prominently advertises a new OpenCensus Edition, suggesting the original agent may be deprecated, risking future support and updates.

Experimental Core Features

Key capabilities like automatic performance problem detection are marked as experimental, limiting their reliability for production deployments.

Complex Deployment Model

Requires managing separate agent, server (CMR), and UI components, which can be cumbersome compared to all-in-one or SaaS APM solutions.

Open Source Alternative To

GitHub Repository is an open-source alternative to the following products:

AppDynamics

AppDynamics is an application performance management and IT operations analytics platform that monitors application performance and business metrics.

Dynatrace

An enterprise software intelligence platform that provides application performance monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, and digital experience monitoring.

New Relic

New Relic is a software analytics platform that provides performance monitoring and observability for applications, infrastructure, and customer experiences.

Frequently Asked Questions

#performance-analysis

#opentracing

#application-performance-management