Here's information about using the legacy APM service maps feature to create, customize, and use service maps. For help using the current service maps feature, see How to use service maps.
Requirements
The legacy service map features in APM depend on your New Relic agent version:
Feature
Requirements
App visibility
For your app to appear in service maps, one of the following must be true:
To view specific hosts, instances, and types of database information, your agent must meet the same minimum agent versions as the APM database and instance feature and use any of the compatible database drivers.
Database-only visibility
APM's service maps feature includes the ability to opt out of the deeper, host and instance level view. However, to view databases in service maps without the instance-level details, you must still meet the same minimum agent versions as the Database and slow queries features.
Create maps
The APM service maps feature helps you create your first map by providing default map or architecture suggestions that automatically build a default map (if you have more than ten reporting apps). To view these suggested maps, go to one.newrelic.com > More > Service Maps > Suggested maps.
To create a new map:
Do one of the following:
Start from scratch: Go to one.newrelic.com > More > Service maps > Map list > Create new map .
Copy an existing map: Go to one.newrelic.com > More > Service maps > (select a map) > Save as new.
After you create or save a map, build out your map by adding nodes to it. Nodes are added to the map differently based on the node type.
To remove any node from the map, mouse over the node, then select the remove X icon.
Nodes for applications or mobile apps need to be added to the map in order to add any other nodes. Nodes are added and connected into the map as you select them. The check mark
icon means that node is already on the map.
To add apps to the map:
Go to one.newrelic.com > More > Service maps > (select a map) > App/Service.
Select any applications from the App/Service list.
In the New Relic UI, your out-of-process services are referred to as web external or background external data. To add browser apps, databases, external services, or other connected apps to the map:
Select an incoming or outgoing connection widget.
From the list of connections, mouse over an app or service, then select the plus
icon.
Click on a node to select it and view its performance summary. You can also select multiple nodes at once, to group and ungroup them:
To select one node, click on the node. To select multiple nodes:
Click the drag-select icon to switch to drag-select mode. Click and drag the mouse to draw a square around the nodes you want to select.
OR
Hold the Shift key and click on each node you want to select.
Caution
Auto-arrange cannot be undone. Consider saving a copy of your map first.
To arrange nodes on the map, select one or more node, then drag to a snap point on the map.
To automatically organize all your nodes and connections, select Auto-arrange map.
If you want to...
Do this...
Group nodes together on the map
Select two or more nodes, then select Create group.
Name your new group
Mouse over the group, then select the pencil
icon.
Rename an existing group
Select the pencil
icon.
Remove nodes from a group
Select the group, then select the minus
icon for each item you want to remove.
Add maps and charts to dashboards
one.newrelic.com > Dashboards: adding a service map to a dashboard provides context for the data being reported and where it's coming from.
You can add legacy service maps to a dashboard. For example, if you have a dashboard showcasing performance metrics for several entities, adding a service map to the dashboard shows how all the entities are related and provides additional context about your system.
If your app connects to an external service that New Relic does not monitor (for example, a third-party API), New Relic watches the service for a week in order to baseline its response time. If New Relic can collect a statistically significant number of data points (more than 100), New Relic compares the current response time to this baseline and uses this to set the health status indicator:
Green: Response time from the service is less than 1.75 times the baseline.
Yellow: Response time from the service is longer than 1.75 times the baseline.
Red: Response time from the service is longer than 2.5 times the baseline.
Gray: Alerts concluded it does not have enough data to determine the health status.
Purple: Alerts cannot yet conclude if it has enough data to determine the health status.
Visualize and monitor complex architectures
Use service maps to visualize and monitor complex architectures. For a tutorial introducing the latest features, select the service map's question icon.
Add your app to the map to view their connections to databases, browser apps, out-of-process services, and other instrumented apps. (In the New Relic UI, your out-of-process services are also referred to as web external or background external data.)
Automatically detected for each app and added via the incoming connections widget. Only displays browser apps linked to an APM app (standalone browser apps are not supported).
Add custom nodes via the app/service list panel to include apps and services not automatically instrumented by New Relic (for example, load balancers, implementation planning, and so on).
Group nodes
A group node contains multiple other nodes. For apps, group nodes include a summarized health status indicator for all nodes in the group.
Click and drag a node to move it around the map, for a customizable view of your architecture.
App nodes can also be grouped together into a single node to better organize related apps and services. Grouped nodes include summarized health status indicator for all nodes in the group. To remove items from a group, mouse over the group and select the pencil pencil icon, then select the minus minus-circle icon to remove the item from the group.
Service maps automatically detects incoming and outgoing connections based on HTTP calls between entities. Mouse over a node to highlight the node's connections. Widgets at the end of each node display a count of that node's connections, and you can click on those widgets to add related entities to the map:
Click on an app to view its performance over the last 30 minutes. The chart defaults to Response time, but you can view other metrics by selecting any of the available Apdex, Throughput, or Error rate links. While charts use the last 30 minutes of performance data, the service map as a whole is based on the last five minutes.
View the app in APM or browser and view its labels by selecting the overflow ellipsis-v icon. Click the app name again to hide the summary charts, and select the overflow ellipsis-h icon again to hide other details.
Select the Map list panel to:
Search for and view your maps, and access other users' shared maps.
You can see health status indicators for most nodes. Except for out-of-process services (external services or background services), entities use the health status indicators used by alerts.
The Discover your environment feature allows you to view all of your apps, services, and dependencies together with a single click. This feature detects all connected applications and services (including externals and databases) to give you a comprehensive view of your overall software architecture environment.
To view all connected apps and services:
In APM, select Service maps.
From your Map list, select Discover your environment to display all of your nodes.
Hover over any node to view its dependencies and how it connects to other parts of your service map. Click on individual nodes to zoom in and view their details.
The Discover your environment feature may not be available if you are using an older New Relic agent version. See Troubleshooting cross application tracing for version information. This feature may also not be available for highly complex service maps with many elements.
Go to one.newrelic.com > More > Service maps > Map list > Discover your environment: Use this option to view all of your nodes and their dependencies in one place.
Traffic light mode lets you view the health status of your entire architecture at a glance. This feature helps you quickly find service and app problems, even within a complex environment with many nodes. To toggle this mode, select the Views tab, then select Traffic light mode.
When traffic lights mode is On, zooming out far enough on a service map eventually causes the nodes to switch from displaying textual information, to only health status colors. Click on individual nodes to zoom in and view more details. Traffic light mode is on by default.
When traffic lights mode is Off, service map nodes retain their textual information and do not switch to health status colors, No matter how far you zoom out.
one.newrelic.com > More > Service maps > Views > Traffic light mode: When traffic light mode is enabled, zooming out of your service map displays nodes in health status colors.
Midnight mode inverts the screen's colors, going from a white background to a dark background. Midnight mode reduces eye strain, especially in low light environments.
To toggle this mode, select the Views tab, then select Midnight mode.
