{"id":174259521,"date":"2023-07-19T04:23:23","date_gmt":"2023-07-19T04:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/netscalerprod.wpengine.com\/blog\/?p=174259521"},"modified":"2024-07-07T11:08:32","modified_gmt":"2024-07-07T19:08:32","slug":"improve-the-observability-of-your-applications-with-netscaler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.netscaler.com\/blog\/observability\/improve-the-observability-of-your-applications-with-netscaler\/","title":{"rendered":"Improve the observability of your applications with NetScaler"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post was co-authored by Angela Tripp, NetScaler Principal Product Marketing Manager<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the context of enterprise applications, observability refers to assessing the health, performance, and behavior of applications so that you can quickly identify and resolve issues. By using insights gained through observability, you can improve application performance and security, which in turn improves application end-user experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The need for an integrated observability stack<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Enterprises often build observability stacks using self-managed, cloud hosted, or open source solutions. An observability stack allows you to gain actionable insights into applications and APIs, your security posture, and such diverse infrastructure components as networking, storage, compute, and security solutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to providing high-performance application delivery, NetScaler has built-in observability capabilities. The integrated solution is flexible, allowing you to consume metrics in your data visualization tool of choice to surface critical application performance and security insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a key component of your observability stack, NetScaler works the same across on-premises and public cloud for delivering and securing both traditional VM-based applications and modern Kubernetes applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Observability insights available in NetScaler<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

NetScaler provides granular data for three key areas that are crucial to ensuring high-performing and secure applications: application and API insights, application security and API security insights, and network and infrastructure insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Application and API insights<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

NetScaler processes each HTTP, HTTPS, TCP, and UDP request in detail for load balancing, optimizing, and routing traffic to backend applications. For each such request, NetScaler also collects key application and API data points to generate actionable insights for application owners and networking operations teams:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Latency<\/strong>: Latency of client network, application servers, ISP (internet service providers), CDN (content delivery networks), and also latency of NetScaler, itself <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Traffic<\/strong>: Amount of user traffic or API traffic that backend applications are handling over time; additional insights such as originated source device, IP address, operating system, and location<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Errors<\/strong>: Detailed information about errors for major protocols such as HTTP (4xx, 5xx response codes, invalid HTTP host headers, incomplete request\/responses), SSL (client hello rejections, server certificate revoked, and more), TCP (SYN retransmissions, checksum error, TCP reset)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Dependencies<\/strong>: How applications, databases, and east-west microservices are connected to each other and the health of traffic between these dependent services<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Application security and API security insights<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    In addition to providing comprehensive application and API security features such as web application firewall (WAF), IP reputation, TLS termination, AAA, and shadow API discovery. NetScaler also provides rich analytics for application and API security including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. Vulnerability insights<\/strong>: Number and type of OWASP top 10 attacks such as buffer overflow, SQL injection, common vulnerabilities such as Log4J or Spring4Shell<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. SSL certificates and traffic analytics: <\/strong>Applications rated SSL A+, SSL certificates expiring soon, strength of ciphers, SSL traffic handshake failures<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. API analytics: <\/strong>API vs. user traffic, shadow APIs, API authentication success\/failure rates, frequently accessed APIs<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Network and infrastructure insights<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      NetScaler also provides rich insights about your underlying network infrastructure such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n