Synthetic monitoring is a proactive approach that actively tests websites or apps, either scheduled or on demand, using automated testing scripts, ensuring that any issues are identified and resolved before they impact real users. This approach provides continuous oversight of the online presence, akin to having a vigilant eye on the website 24/7. In this article, we’re discussing synthetic monitoring, putting the accent on using browsers.
How much do Synthetics matter to your team? I think they matter a whole lot. Back when I was a freelance developer, I doubled my annual income with synthetics. Working mainly in database optimizations, I would finish out a contract and leave a synthetic monitor running at a very low frequency on their service. When I saw a pattern of slower performance, I knew it was time to hit the team lead-up to ask if I could help.
This is the last part of our 12-day Advent of Monitoring series. In this series, Checkly's engineers will share practical monitoring tips from their own experience. At Checkly, the commitment to reliability is not just a tagline; it's embedded in our DNA. As software engineers, we understand the critical importance of dogfooding—using our own product to ensure its robustness and effectiveness. This approach holds immense value, especially since Checkly is designed for observability.
The two key pillars of building reliable applications are: testing and monitoring. With testing, you can verify that each pull request works before it’s merged and deployed to production. Just testing isn’t enough, though. You also need to make sure that the application continues to work on production. Database rollovers, third-party outages, and unexpected spikes in traffic can all cause issues that need to be detected.
