TracesMetricsApp LogsCustom LogsProfiling

This guide walks you through setting up Application Performance Monitoring (APM) on a Java application. These instructions can also be found on the Installation page in your Middleware Account. View example code here.

Prerequisites

1

Infra Agent

Infrastructure Agent (Infra Agent). To install the Infra Agent, see our Installation Guide.

2

Java Version

Java version 8 or above. Check your Java version with the following command:

Shell
java --version

Install

Step 1: Download JAR File

Download the latest Middleware instrumentation JAR file from the Github Release Page.

Step 2: Container Variables

Applications running in a container require an additional environment variable. If your application is not running in a container, move to Step 3.

Docker

Add the following environment variable to your application:

Shell
MW_AGENT_SERVICE=<DOCKER_BRIDGE_GATEWAY_ADDRESS>
The DOCKER_BRIDGE_GATEWAY_ADDRESS is the IP address of the gateway between the Docker host and bridge network. This is 172.17.0.1 by default. Learn more about Docker bridge networking here

Kubernetes

Run the following command to find the mw-service in Kubernetes:

Kubernetes

Run the following command to find the mw-service in Kubernetes:

Shell
kubectl get service --all-namespaces | grep mw-service

Add the following environment variable to your application deployment YAML file:

Shell
MW_AGENT_SERVICE=mw-service.mw-agent-ns.svc.cluster.local

Step 3: Capture Application Data

Traces

Distributed tracing will be automatically enabled upon completing Step 4: Run Application.

Metrics

Metrics collection will be automatically enabled upon completing Step 4: Run Application.

Application & Custom Logs

Application Logs will be automatically enabled upon completing Step 4: Run Application.

To add custom logs, add this dependency in the pom.xml file:

Java
<dependency>
  <groupId>io.github.middleware-labs</groupId>
  <artifactId>agent-apm-java</artifactId>
  <version>0.0.16</version>
</dependency>

Run the following command to download the above dependencies:

Shell
mvn install

Import the logger package:

Java
import io.github.middlewarelabs.agentapmjava.Logger;

Then utilize the following functions based on desired log severity levels.

Java
Logger.info("info message");
Logger.debug("debug message");
Logger.warn("warn message");
Logger.error("error message");

Profiling

Application Profiling is automatically enabled upon completing Step 4: Run Application.

Stack Traces

Use the Logger.recordError(e) method to record a stack trace when an error occurs. See an example of this method below.

Java
import io.github.middlewarelabs.agentapmjava.Logger;
        
try {
      int[] myNumbers = {1, 2, 3};
      System.out.println(myNumbers[10]);
    } catch (Throwable  e) {
      Logger.recordError(e);
      System.out.println("Something went wrong.");
    }

Step 4: Run Application

Run your application with the command given below.

Java
MW_API_KEY={MW_API_KEY} java -javaagent:/PATH/TO/middleware-javaagent-{version}.jar \
    -Dotel.service.name={APM-SERVICE-NAME} \
    -Dotel.resource.attributes=project.name={APM-PROJECT-NAME} \
    -jar <YOUR_APP>.jar

Continuous Profiling

Continuous profiling captures real-time performance insights from your application to enable rapid identification of resource allocation, bottlenecks, and more. Navigate to the Continuous Profiling section to learn more about using Continuous Profiling with the Java APM.

Need assistance or want to learn more about Middleware? Contact us at support[at]middleware.io.