The .NET Agent automatically detects many common backend types. Most backend types have a default discovery rule and a set of configurable properties. To revise backend discovery rules, see Backend Detection Rules and Exit Point Detection Rules.

For all other traffic transactions, see Business Transactions.

ADO.NET Backends

The .NET Agent automatically discovers ADO.NET data providers implementing standard Microsoft interfaces as database backends. See .NET Supported Environments.

Because the ADO.NET API is interface-based, AppDynamics instruments all ADO.NET database providers that implement these interfaces by default.

AppDynamics uses database identification information from the ADO.NET connection string. The connection string specifies the server address and schema, or the local file name. Most connection strings are formatted based on common rules that you can parse and distill to a database name. However because no standards exist for the connection string, the ADO.NET provider implementer determines the format.

For some providers, AppDynamics may fail to parse the connection string. In these cases, the .NET Agent uses the complete connection string minus any user password. The property is labeled ADO.NET connection string, and the value shows the connection string minus any user password.

For example, the .NET Agent names this database backend using the connection string pattern <datasource name>-<database name>

.\SQLEXPRESS-HowdyWorldDB

ADO.NET Configurable Properties

You can enable or disable the use of these properties for ADO.NET exit points:

Configurable Properties

Default Detection and Naming Property?

Description

Host

Yes

Data source or database server

Database

Yes

Database name

Vendor

No

Type of client-side ADO.NET library

Connection String

No

Full connection string with password filtered out

Port

No

Port number

Directory Service Backends

The .NET Agent automatically discovers exit calls to directory services that use the System.DirectoryServices.Protocols (S.DS.P) libraries.

The agent names the backend for the server name. If the agent cannot derive the server name from the request, it then constructs a name using Domain Component (DC) values.

For example: activedirectory.example.com

HTTP Backends

AppDynamics automatically detects HTTP exit points (backends). See HTTP Backend Detection.

.NET Agent for Windows

For the .NET Agent for Windows, the default HTTP automatic discovery rule uses the URL property. From the enabled properties, AppDynamics derives a display name using the URL.

For example: http://api.example.com:8989/searchfares

.NET Agent for Linux

For the .NET Agent for Linux, the default HTTP automatic discovery rule for backends uses the host name and port number. 

For example: http://api.example.com:8989/

HTTP Configurable Properties

For both Windows and Linux versions of the .NET Agent, you can enable or disable the use of these properties for HTTP exit points: 

Configurable Properties

Default Detection and Naming Property?

Description
.NET Agent for Windows.NET Agent for Linux

Host

No

YesHTTP host

Port

No

YesHTTP port number

URL

Yes

NoFull URL

Query String

No

YesHTTP parameters/query string

Message Queue Backends

By default, AppDynamics automatically detects and identifies many message queue exit points. For a list of the supported message-oriented middleware products, see Supported Remote Service Detection for .NET.

The default queue automatic discovery rule uses the destination property to name the message queue backend.

For example: HowdyWorldQueue$\HWT_MQ_Server1_MsgQ

Message Queue Configurable Properties

This table list the properties used for queue exit points. However, each message-oriented product is different and there may be variations in the properties, or their names.

Configurable Properties

Default Detection and Naming Property?

Description

Host

No

Queue server name

Destination

Yes

Name of topic or queue

Destination Type

No

Queue or topic

Vendor

No

Vendor from the client library

For specific queue types, see:

MongoDB Backends

By default, the .NET Agent detects MongoDB exit calls for create, read, update, and delete (CRUD) operations using the C# and .NET MongoDB Driver versions: 1.10, 2.0, 2.2, and 2.4.

The default MongoDB automatic discovery rule uses the host, port, and database name to name the MongoDB backend.

For example: mymongohost.27017.mymongodb

MongoDB Configurable Properties

You can configure the use of these properties for MongoDB exit points:

Configurable Properties

Default Detection and Naming Property?

Description

Host

Yes

MongoDB host

PortYesMongoDB port
DatabaseYesMongoDB database name

.NET Remoting

When an application uses .NET remoting, AppDynamics automatically detects and identifies remoting exit points (backends). See Enable Correlation for .NET Remoting to configure downstream correlation.

The default remoting automatic discovery rule uses the URL property. 

For example: tcp://remoting.example.com:8648/MovieTicketBooking

.NET Remoting Configurable Properties

You can configure the use of this property for .NET Remoting exit points:

Configurable Properties

Default Detection and Naming Property?

Description

URL

Yes

Full URL

WCF Backends

AppDynamics automatically detects and identifies WCF exit points (backends) when an application uses the WCF client library. The default WCF automatic discovery rule uses the remote address property. The agent uses the enabled properties to derive a display name using the remote address.

For example: http://wcf.example.com:8205/Services/Service1.svc

Agent Compatibility 

This table describes the WCF backend detection support for each variant of the .NET Agent:

Agent and VersionWCF Backend Detection Support
.NET Agent for Windows (.NET Framework)Fully supported
.NET Agent for Linux >= 20.7.0

Partially supported

  • Works with .NET Core >= 3.1
  • Compatible with asynchronous calls over HTTP
  • Does not support the Operation Contract, Service Contract, and SOAP Action properties.
.NET Agent for Windows (.NET Core) >= 21.3.0

WCF Configurable Properties

You can enable or disable the use of these properties for WCF exit points:

Configurable Properties

Default Detection and Naming Property?

Description

Remote Address

Yes

URL minus the query, fragment, and user information (name and password)

Operation Contract

No

WCF operation contract name

Service ContractNoWCF service contract name

URL

No

Full URL

Host

No

Host portion of URL

Port

No

Port number if present in the URL; otherwise, protocol default

SOAP Action

No

For web service calls, the SOAP action

.NET Web Services Backends

When an application uses the Microsoft Web Services client library, AppDynamics automatically detects and identifies web services exit points (backends) by default. The default web services automatic discovery rule uses the URL property. From the enabled properties, AppDynamics derives a display name using the URL.

For example: http://webservice.example.com:8105/Services/Service1.asmx

Web Services Configurable Properties

You can enable or disable the use of these properties for Web Services exit points:

Configurable Properties

Default Detection and Naming Property?

Description

Service

No

Web service name

URL

Yes

Full URL

Operation

No

Web service operation name

Soap Action

No

SOAP action

Custom Exit Points

To monitor a backend that is not included in .NET Supported Environments, you can configure a custom exit point.

By default, you have to restart the instrumented application for instrumentation changes to take effect. You can enable Runtime Reinstrumentation for the .NET Agent to avoid having to restart your application and the AppDynamics.Agent.Coordinator after instrumentation changes.