Entity Synthesis

An entity in New Relic is defined as any object that reports or contains related data, marked by a unique entity ID, which is crucial for organizing data into logical systems for enhanced observability and troubleshooting. New Relic uses a configuration-based process called entity synthesis to dynamically generate entity GUIDs from incoming telemetry with unique criteria, facilitating the categorization of data into standard entity types such as APM, infrastructure, and mobile. The synthesis process involves defining rules and metrics in specific configuration files, enabling quick access to curated telemetry experiences and standard views for comparing signals across multiple instances of the same entity. This approach allows for better monitoring, alerting, and correlation of telemetry data, ultimately improving system monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities. The blog also provides guidance on creating custom entity definitions through a public repository, highlighting the benefits of synthesized data for better visualization and alerting of key telemetry.