Configuration and Discovery

Download this manual as a PDF file

The following sections describe how to configure and discover New Relic services for monitoring by SL1 using the New Relic: APM PowerPack:

Prerequisites for Monitoring New Relic Services

To configure the SL1 system to monitor New Relic services using the New Relic: APM PowerPack, you must first have the following information about the New Relic services that you want to monitor for each account and sub-account: 

  • A New Relic REST API key. To generate the REST API key, go to the Account Settings page for your New Relic account.
  • The username and password for your New Relic service.
  • Insights Query Key. This is optional. Add this to the credential if you want to discover infrastructure groups used for server monitoring. You can generate this from your Insights account.

NOTE: Ensure that you do not have the New Relic: APM Pro PowerPack installed before installing the New Relic: APM PowerPack. These PowerPacks are not compatible. If you have the New Relic: APM Pro PowerPack installed, it will need to be uninstalled prior to installing the New Relic: APM PowerPack. The historical data from the New Relic: APM Pro PowerPack will be deleted when it is uninstalled.

Creating a "Universal" Type Credential for New Relic

To configure SL1 to monitor New Relic services, you must create a either a "universal" type credential or a SOAP/XML credential. These credentials allow the Dynamic Applications in the New Relic: APM PowerPack to communicate with your New Relic service.

To define a "universal" type credential to access New Relic:

  1. Go to the Credentials page (Manage > Credentials).
  2. Click Create New and select Create Newrelic Credential. The Create Credential modal page appears.

  1. Supply values in the following fields:
  • Name. Type a name for your credential.
  • All Organizations. Toggle on (blue) to align the credential to all organizations, or toggle off (gray) and then select one or more specific organizations from the from the What organization manages this service? drop-down field to align the credential with those specific organizations.
  • Timeout (ms). Keep the default value of 1500.
  • New Relic URL. Keep the default URL (https://api.newrelic.com).
  • New Relic Account Number. Type the ID number for your New Relic account.
  • New Relic API Key.Type your New Relic API key.
  • New Relic User Key. Type your New Relic User Key. New Relic user keys begin with "NRAK-" followed by an alpha-numeric value.

    • NOTE: Version 105 and later requires that you use the New Relic User Key.

  • New Relic Insights Query Key. Type the Insights Query Key if you want to discover infrastructure groups for server monitoring. If you do not have an Insights account, leave this field blank.
  1. Click Save & Close.

Creating a SOAP/XML Credential for New Relic

To configure SL1 to monitor New Relic services, you can create a SOAP/XML credential. This credential allows the Dynamic Applications in the New Relic: APM PowerPack to communicate with your New Relic service.

NOTE: If you are using an SL1 system prior to version 11.1.0, the new user interface does not include the Duplicate option for sample credential(s). ScienceLogic recommends that you use the classic user interface and the Save As button to create new credentials from sample credentials. This will prevent you from overwriting the sample credential(s).

To define a SOAP/XML credential:

  1. Go to the Credentials page (Manage > Credentials).
  2. Locate the New Relic | Proxy Example credential, then click its Actions icon () and select Duplicate. A copy of the credential, called New Relic | Proxy Example - copy appears.
  3. Click the Actions icon () for the credential copy and select Edit. The Edit Credential modal page appears.

An image of the SOAP/XML Create Credential page.

  1. Supply values in the following fields:
  • Name. Type a new name for your Meraki credential.

  • All Organizations. Toggle on (blue) to align the credential to all organizations, or toggle off (gray) and then select one or more specific organizations from the What organization manages this service? drop-down field to align the credential with those specific organizations.
  • Timeout (ms). Keep the default value.

  • Content Encoding.Keep the default value.
  • Method. Keep the default value.

  • HTTP Version. Keep the default value.
  • URL. Leave this field as the default ("https://api.newrelic.com").
  • HTTP Auth User. Type your New Relic API key in this field.
  • HTTP Auth Password. Leave this field blank.
  • Embedded Password [%P]. Type the Insights Query Key in this field if you want to discover infrastructure groups for server monitoring. If you do not have an Insights account, leave this field blank.
  • Embed Value [%1]. Type the ID number for your New Relic account.
  • Embed Value [%3]. Type your New Relic User Key. New Relic user keys begin with "NRAK-" followed by an alpha-numeric value.

    • NOTE: Version 105 and later requires that you use the New Relic User Key.

  1. Click Save & Close.

Creating a SOAP/XML Credential for New Relic in the SL1 Classic User Interface

To configure SL1 to monitor New Relic services, you must create a SOAP/XML credential. This credential allows the Dynamic Applications in the New Relic: APM PowerPack to communicate with your New Relic service.

To configure a SOAP/XML credential to access New Relic:

  1. Go to the Credential Management page (System > Manage > Credentials).
  2. Locate the New Relic | Proxy Example credential, and then click its wrench icon (). The Edit SOAP/XML Credential modal page appears.

  1. Enter values in the following fields.

Basic Settings

  • Profile Name. Type a new name for the credential.

  • URL. Leave this field as the default ("https://api.newrelic.com").
  • HTTP Auth User. Type your New Relic API key in this field.
  • HTTP Auth Password. Leave this field blank.

SOAP Options

  • Embedded Password [%P]. Type the Insights Query Key in this field if you want to discover infrastructure groups for server monitoring. If you do not have an Insights account, leave this field blank.
  • Embed Value [%1]. Type the ID number for your New Relic account.
  • Embed Value [%3]. Type your New Relic User Key. New Relic user keys begin with "NRAK-" followed by an alpha-numeric value.

    • NOTE: Version 105 and later requires that you use the New Relic User Key.

NOTE: There are several system-defined tags that are automatically applied by New Relic. To avoid duplicate data, SL1 does not collect these tags and will collect only user-defined tags.

  1. For all other fields, use the default values.
  2. Click the Save As button.

Discovering New Relic Component Devices

To discover and monitor your New Relic account, you must do the following:

  • Configure the Device Template that is included in the New Relic: APM PowerPack
  • Create a virtual device representing the environment and modify, by template, the New Relic virtual device.

NOTE:If you want to discover additional New Relic accounts, you must create a credential for each account you want to discover. Next you must edit the New Relic device template and then create a virtual device to which you will align the template.

NOTE: The PowerPack does not model applications with "reporting: false" statuses.

Configuring the Device Template

A device template allows you to save a device configuration and apply it to multiple devices. The New Relic: APMPowerPack includes the "New Relic Virtual Device Template Example". You must configure a device template for each additional New Relic account you want to discover.

If you configure this device template correctly, once you align the template to the New Relic virtual device, SL1 will use the device template to automatically align the New Relic discovery Dynamic Applications and start collecting data.

To configure the New Relic device template:

  1. Go to the Configuration Templates page (Devices > Templates, or Registry > Devices > Templates in the SL1 classic user interface).

  1. Locate the "New Relic Virtual Device Template Example" and click its wrench icon (). The Device Template Editor page appears.
  2. Click the Dyn Apps tab. The Editing Dynamic Application Subtemplates page appears.

  1. Complete the following fields:

  • Template Name. Type a new name for the device template.
  • Credentials. Select the "universal" type or SOAP/XML credential that you created for the New Relic account.

  1. Click the next Dynamic Application listed in the Subtemplate Selection section on the left side of the page and then select the New Relic "universal" type or SOAP/XML credential in the Credentials field.
  2. Repeat step 5 until the you have selected the New Relic "universal" type or SOAP/XML credential in the Credentials field for all of the Dynamic Applications listed in the Subtemplate Selection section.
  3. Click Save As.

You must rename the sample New Relic Virtual Device Template Example and click Save As to save it. If you do not rename the device template, then your device template will be overwritten the next time you upgrade the New Relic: APMPowerPack.

Creating a Virtual Device and Aligning the Device Template

To discover New Relic account, you must create a virtual device that represents the New Relic account. A virtual device is a user-defined container that represents a device or service that cannot be discovered by SL1. You can use the virtual device to store information gathered by policies or Dynamic Applications.

To create a virtual device that represents your New Relic account:

  1. Go to the Device Manager page (Devices > Device Manager, or Registry > Devices > Device Manager in the SL1 classic user interface).

  1. Click the Actions button and select Create Virtual Device from the menu. The Virtual Device modal page appears.

  1. Complete the following fields:
  • Device Name. Type a name for the virtual device.

  • Organization. Select the organization for this device. The organization you associate with the device limits the users that will be able to view and edit the device. Typically, only members of the organization will be able to view and edit the device.
  • Device Class. Select New Relic, Inc. | Service Device.
  • Collector. Select the collector group that will monitor the device.
  1. Click Add to create the virtual device.
  2. In the Device Manager page (Devices > Device Manager, or Registry > Devices > Device Manager in the SL1 classic user interface), select the checkbox () for the virtual device that you just created.
  3. Click the Select Actions drop-down and select MODIFY By Template from the menu and click Go.
  4. In the Device Template Editor, use the Template drop-down to select the device template that you created for the New Relic account and click the Apply button.
  5. Click the Confirm button to save your changes.

To verify that the template has aligned the correct Dynamic Applications:

  1. Go to the Devices page and select the device for the New Relic service. The Device Investigator page appears.

  2. On the Device Investigator page, click the Collections tab. The Dynamic Applications Collections page appears.

  3. You should see the following Dynamic Applications aligned to the New Relic service:

    • New Relic: APM Discovery & Collection Cache

    • New Relic: APM Events

    • New Relic: APM Infrastructure Group Discovery

To verify the template has aligned the correct Dynamic Applications in the SL1 Classic User Interface:

  1. Go to the Device Manager page (Registry>Devices>Device Manager) and click the wrench icon ( ) for the New Relic service.

  2. On the Device Properties page, click the Collections tab. The Dynamic Applications Collections page appears.

  3. You should see the following Dynamic Applications aligned to the New Relic service:

    • New Relic: APM Discovery & Collection Cache

    • New Relic: APM Events

    • New Relic: APM Infrastructure Group Discovery

Relationships with Other Types of Component Devices

Additionally, the Dynamic Applications in the New Relic: APM  PowerPack can automatically build relationships between New Relic devices and other associated devices:

  • If you discover Linux devices using the Dynamic Applications in the Linux Base Pack PowerPack version 102 or later, SL1 will automatically create relationships between New Relic devices and Linux servers.
  • If you discover Windows servers using the Dynamic Applications in the Microsoft Base Pack PowerPack version 107 or later, SL1 will automatically create relationships between New Relic devices and Windows servers.
  • If you discover Windows servers using the Dynamic Applications in the Microsoft: Windows Server PowerPack version 108 or later, SL1 will automatically create relationships between New Relic devices and Windows servers.

Viewing New Relic Component Devices

In addition to the Devices page, you can view the New Relic service and all associated component devices in the following places in the user interface:

  • The Device Investigator Map page (click Map in the Device Investigator page) displays a map of a particular device and all of the devices with which it has parent-child relationships. Double-clicking any of the listed devices reloads the page to make the selected device the primary device

  • The Device Components page (Devices > Device Components) displays a list of all root devices and component devices discovered by SL1 in an indented view, so you can easily view the hierarchy and relationships between child devices, parent devices, and root devices. To view the component devices associated with a New Relic service, find the New Relic device and click its plus icon (+).

  • The Component Map page (Classic Maps > Device Maps > Components) allows you to view devices by root node and view the relationships between root nodes, parent components, and child components in a map. This makes it easy to visualize and manage root nodes and their components. SL1 automatically updates the Component Map as new component devices are discovered. SL1 also updates each map with the latest status and event information. To view the map for a New Relic service, go to Classic Maps > Device Maps > Components, and select the map from the list in the left NavBar. To learn more about the Component Map page, see the section on Views.

Viewing New Relic Component Devices in the SL1 Classic User Interface

In addition to the Device Manager page (Registry > Devices > Device Manager), you can view the New Relic service and all associated component devices in the following places in the user interface:

  • The Device View modal page (click the bar-graph icon [] for a device, then click the Topology tab) displays a map of a particular device and all of the devices with which it has parent-child relationships. Double-click to select any listed device. This reloads the page to make the selected device the primary device.

NOTE: When you discover multiple New Relic accounts and sub-accounts, the top level device is shown as "api", which you can change as desired. The figure below shows that we have two different accounts discovered, as well as New Relic servers.

  • The Device Components page (Registry > Devices > Device Components) displays a list of all root devices and component devices discovered by SL1 in an indented view, so you can easily view the hierarchy and relationships between child devices, parent devices, and root devices. To view the component devices associated with a New Relic service, find the service and click its plus icon (+):

  • The Component Map page (Classic Maps > Device Maps > Components) allows you to view devices by root node and view the relationships between root nodes, parent components, and child components in a map. This makes it easy to visualize and manage root nodes and their components. SL1 automatically updates the Component Map as new component devices are discovered. The platform also updates each map with the latest status and event information. To view the map for a New Relic service, go to the Component Map page and select the map from the list in the left NavBar. To learn more about the Component Map page, see the section on Views.