Introduction
What is Synthetic Check (MCT) ¶
MCT, or Monitoring Console Tool, is a centralized configuration but globally distributed Synthetic Check system used for monitoring cloud services. It is designed to provide a global view of the system's health and performance, with the ability to configure and monitor multiple instances across different locations. The tool collects data from various sources and provides real-time visibility into the system's healthy status.
One of the key strengths of MCT is its ability to provide functional and end-to-end checks, in addition to general health checks. While general health checks are important for monitoring the overall health of the system, functional and end-to-end checks are critical for ensuring that the system is working as intended and delivering the desired outcomes.
Availability Monitoring ¶
Availability Monitoring involves sending a request to a specific endpoint or service and verifying that a response is received within a specified time frame. This type of monitoring is commonly used for ensuring the availability and reliability of critical services and applications, such as web applications, APIs, and other network services.
Users can directly log in to the MCT page and configure Availability Monitoring checks like HTTP, TCP, Port, etc., to enable recurring automated checks.
Functional Check ¶
Functional checks refer to the monitoring of specific functions or features within the system. By monitoring these specific functions, administrators can ensure that the system is performing as expected and identify any issues or errors that may be impacting user experience or system performance.
For such check, users will need to submit ticket in Jira with detailed requirement description, and then MCT engineers will follow up with submitter for implementation details.
End to end Check ¶
End-to-end (E2E) check is a type of testing or health check that is designed to validate the entire path or process of a system, from start to finish. This type of check is used to ensure that all components of a system are working together seamlessly and that the system is meeting its intended goals and requirements.
For such check, similar way as Functional Check requests to submit Jira ticket and MCT engineers will follow up.
Maintenance / Unmaintenance ¶
Maintenance and Unmaintenance are two essential functions in MCT that allow system administrators to temporarily stop and resume monitoring activities during planned maintenance or system downtime. Maintenance mode temporarily suspends monitoring activities to prevent false positives and reduce the number of alerts that administrators receive, while Unmaintenance mode resumes monitoring activities and notifies administrators of any issues or errors detected. These functions help to ensure that monitoring activities are properly managed during planned maintenance or system downtime, minimizing downtime and ensuring the reliability and availability of critical systems and applications.
Powerful and Flexible Escalation Channel ¶
MCT users can define custom notification logic based on their specific needs. This means that they can set up rules to receive alerts based on various criteria, such as server type, continuous failure times, and time frames. This helps ensure that they receive timely alerts when issues arise.
To further extend the notification logic, MCT can integrate with UAS (Unified Alert Service). This provides additional features such as multi-channel notifications, on-call schedules, and escalation policies. By integrating with UAS, administrators can receive notifications through various channels, such as email, SMS, and chat. They can also ensure that notifications are directed to the right people at the right time based on on-call schedules and escalation policies.