May 2018 Summaries

AWS Fargate, a service from Amazon Web Services, allows users to run containers without managing servers or clusters, serving as a launch type for ECS and EKS. Unlike the EC2 launch type, where users are responsible for provisioning resources, Fargate automates this process, thereby simplifying container management. To monitor these containers with Dynatrace, the OneAgent can be embedded into the Docker image, enabling automatic instrumentation and monitoring of applications and their dependencies. The Dynatrace OneAgent provides AI-driven analytics and REST API accessibility, facilitating automation in deployment and monitoring processes. This approach allows for end-to-end tracing and dependency visualization without code changes, supporting various runtime technologies, and enhances the ability to manage dependencies in CI/CD pipelines. As Fargate is a newer technology, feedback is encouraged to refine monitoring practices, with resources available for integrating Dynatrace with various cloud environments.

The blog post discusses a method for transitioning from monolithic to serverless architectures using Dynatrace, a tool that allows users to "virtually" break down monolithic applications into smaller components without altering the code. The author explains how Dynatrace's Custom Service Entry Points can provide insights into dependencies, service flows, and resource consumption, which aids in identifying potential candidates for separation. By utilizing features like the Dynatrace OneAgent and CPU sampling data, developers can gather detailed information about application endpoints and their interactions, enabling informed decisions on which parts of the monolith to isolate. The post emphasizes continuous validation and the benefits of experimenting with architectural changes before actual implementation, suggesting that this approach can save time and ensure more efficient refactoring. It also highlights the usefulness of integrating Dynatrace data into CI/CD processes to automatically monitor and validate the impacts of these changes.