monitoring-with-new-relic

Monitoring Ruby on Rails with New Relic

wiktor-plagaWiktor Plaga
March 25, 20237 min reading time

Monitoring Ruby on Rails with New Relic

Ruby on Rails is a popular web application framework that allows developers to build scalable and robust applications quickly. However, as applications grow in complexity, it becomes increasingly challenging to monitor their performance and identify potential issues. This is where New Relic comes in. New Relic is a powerful application monitoring tool that provides developers with real-time insights into their application's performance, allowing them to identify and resolve issues quickly.

In this tutorial, we will explore how to monitor a Ruby on Rails application using New Relic. We will cover the basics of setting up New Relic, configuring it to monitor our application, and interpreting the data it provides. We will also explore some of the advanced features of New Relic, such as custom dashboards and alerts, and how they can be used to optimize application performance. By the end of this tutorial, you will have a solid understanding of how to use New Relic to monitor and optimize your Ruby on Rails applications.

What is New Relic ?

New Relic Monitoring is a cloud-based application performance monitoring tool that provides real-time insights into the performance of web applications. It allows developers to monitor the performance of their applications, identify potential issues, and optimize their performance. New Relic Monitoring provides a comprehensive view of the application's performance, including response times, error rates, and throughput. It also provides detailed information about the application's infrastructure, including servers, databases, and third-party services.

New Relic Monitoring is easy to set up and use, with a simple and intuitive user interface. It supports a wide range of programming languages and frameworks, including Ruby on Rails, Java, Python, and Node.js. New Relic Monitoring provides developers with the tools they need to optimize their application's performance, including custom dashboards, alerts, and reports. With New Relic Monitoring, developers can ensure that their applications are performing at their best, providing a seamless user experience and driving business success.

Why use New Relic for Monitoring in Ruby on Rails application?

There are several reasons why one should use New Relic for monitoring their web applications. Firstly, New Relic provides real-time insights into the performance of web applications, allowing developers to identify and resolve issues quickly. This helps to ensure that applications are running smoothly and providing a seamless user experience.

Secondly, New Relic provides a comprehensive view of the application's performance, including response times, error rates, and throughput. This allows developers to identify potential bottlenecks and optimize their application's performance.

Thirdly, New Relic supports a wide range of programming languages and frameworks, including Ruby on Rails, Java, Python, and Node.js. This makes it a versatile tool that can be used across a variety of applications.

Other benefits of using New Relic for monitoring include:

  • Easy to set up and use, with a simple and intuitive user interface
  • Provides detailed information about the application's infrastructure, including servers, databases, and third-party services
  • Supports custom dashboards, alerts, and reports to help developers optimize their application's performance
  • Provides insights into the user experience, including page load times and browser performance
  • Helps to ensure that applications are running smoothly and meeting business objectives.

Overall, New Relic is a powerful tool that can help developers to optimize their web applications and ensure that they are providing a seamless user experience.

Prerequisites

To complete the "Monitoring Ruby on Rails with New Relic" tutorial, you will need to have the following prerequisites:

  • A basic understanding of Ruby on Rails web application development
  • A New Relic account (you can sign up for a free trial at https://newrelic.com/signup)
  • A Ruby on Rails application to monitor (you can use an existing application or create a new one)
  • The New Relic Ruby agent installed in your application (you can find installation instructions at https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/agents/ruby-agent/installation/install-new-relic-ruby-agent)
  • Basic knowledge of the command line interface (CLI) and how to use it to run commands and navigate directories
  • A web browser to access the New Relic dashboard and view application performance data.

Ruby on Rails New Relic step by step setup and configuration

Integrating New Relic into a Ruby on Rails project is a straightforward process that can be completed in just a few steps. The first step is to create a New Relic account and obtain your license key. Once you have your license key, you can install the New Relic Ruby agent in your application by adding the newrelic_rpm gem to your Gemfile and running bundle install.

# Gemfile
gem 'newrelic_rpm'

After installing the newrelic_rpm gem, you will need to configure it with your license key. You can do this by adding the following lines to your config/newrelic.yml file:

# config/newrelic.yml
production:
  license_key: 'YOUR_LICENSE_KEY_HERE'

Once you have configured the New Relic Ruby agent, you can start monitoring your application's performance. New Relic will automatically collect data on your application's response times, throughput, and error rates, among other metrics. You can view this data in the New Relic dashboard, which provides a comprehensive view of your application's performance.

In addition to monitoring your application's performance, New Relic also provides a range of tools to help you optimize its performance. For example, you can use New Relic's custom dashboards to create visualizations of your application's performance data, or set up alerts to notify you when certain performance thresholds are exceeded.

Overall, integrating New Relic into a Ruby on Rails project is a simple and effective way to monitor and optimize your application's performance. By following these steps, you can quickly set up New Relic and start gaining valuable insights into your application's performance.

New Relic configuration options in Ruby on Rails

Here are the New Relic configuration options for Ruby on Rails integration along with their short explanations:

  • license_key: Your New Relic license key.
  • app_name: The name of your application as it should appear in the New Relic dashboard.
  • monitor_mode: The monitoring mode to use. Options are false (off), true (on), or 'auto' (on in production, off in other environments).
  • log_level: The log level to use for the New Relic agent. Options are debug, info, warn, error, or fatal.
  • log_file_path: The path to the log file for the New Relic agent.
  • log_file_name: The name of the log file for the New Relic agent.
  • log_file_extension: The file extension for the log file for the New Relic agent.
  • log_file_count: The number of log files to keep for the New Relic agent.
  • log_daily: Whether to create a new log file each day for the New Relic agent.
  • log_rotate: Whether to rotate log files for the New Relic agent.
  • ssl: Whether to use SSL for communication with the New Relic server.
  • capture_params: Whether to capture HTTP request parameters.
  • transaction_tracer_enable: Whether to enable the transaction tracer.
  • transaction_tracer_threshold: The threshold for the transaction tracer.
  • error_collector_enable: Whether to enable the error collector.
  • browser_monitoring_auto_instrument: Whether to automatically instrument browser monitoring.
  • slow_sql: Whether to enable slow SQL logging.
  • disable_harvest_thread: Whether to disable the harvest thread.

Conclusion

In conclusion, New Relic is a powerful tool that can help developers monitor and optimize the performance of their Ruby on Rails applications. By following the steps outlined in this tutorial, you can quickly set up New Relic and start gaining valuable insights into your application's performance. With New Relic, you can identify potential issues, optimize your application's performance, and ensure that it is providing a seamless user experience.

Throughout this tutorial, we covered the basics of setting up New Relic, configuring it to monitor a Ruby on Rails application, and interpreting the data it provides. We also explored some of the advanced features of New Relic, such as custom dashboards and alerts, and how they can be used to optimize application performance. By leveraging these features, you can gain a deeper understanding of your application's performance and take proactive steps to optimize it.

Overall, New Relic is a valuable tool for any Ruby on Rails developer looking to monitor and optimize their application's performance. By using New Relic, you can ensure that your application is running smoothly, providing a seamless user experience, and driving business success.

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