5 Essential New Relic Features

Is your team new to New Relic? It can feel like you’re thrown into a deep pool of data. You’re not alone. Many devs and DevOps engineers face this. But New Relic isn’t as hard as it seems. It’s a strong tool. It helps you see how well your apps and systems run. This article will walk you through five essential New Relic features that will make your life much more simple.

Table of Contents

APM: Watch Your Apps Work

New Relic’s Application Performance Monitoring, or APM, is your go-to for keeping track of your apps. Think of it as a health check for your software. It shows you what’s quick, what’s slow, and what might be broken. This is key to know before users do.

With APM, you get a clear view of how your app behaves. You see things such as:

Response times: How fast your app answers user requests.
Error rates: How often things go wrong.
Database queries: How your app talks to your data.
External services: How well your app works with other tools.

This data is shown in easy-to-read graphs and tables. So you don’t need to dig deep. You can spot trouble spots fast. Let’s say an endpoint has a slow response time. APM lets you see it fast. It will show the exact code that takes too long. With this info, you can work on code and fix the delay.

APM also works with many programming languages. It is used with Java, Python, Node.js, and more. This makes it a great fit for many teams.

Infrastructure Monitoring: Keep Tabs on Your Servers

Your apps don’t live in a void. They run on servers. New Relic’s Infrastructure Monitoring lets you keep watch on these servers. This part of the tool shows you key details such as:

CPU usage: How hard your servers work.
Memory usage: How much RAM your servers use.
Disk space: How much room you have left on your drives.
Network traffic: How much data flows in and out of your servers.

With this, you can see when your servers are busy. You can see if you need more power. You can also find problems that could harm your app. For example, a server that is using too much CPU might be about to go down. With Infrastructure Monitoring, you can spot it first. Then, you can act fast to fix the problem. This helps keep your apps up and running.

This tool also lets you check the health of your Docker containers and Kubernetes clusters. So, if your team uses these, Infrastructure Monitoring is a big help. It gives you a single place to see all parts of your system. This makes it easy to keep everything running smooth.

Browser Monitoring: Watch User Experience

How your app works on the user’s end is vital. New Relic’s Browser Monitoring helps you see this. It keeps track of things such as:

Page load times: How fast your pages show up in the browser.
JavaScript errors: If any code on the page is broken.
User interactions: How users act on your pages.
Geographic data: Where your users are located.

This info can help you see how users see your app. For example, if pages take too long to load, users might get upset. Or, if a key function is broken, it will show up in the errors. With Browser Monitoring, you know what matters to your users. And you can fix the issues that hurt their experience. This results in happier users.

Browser Monitoring shows you the speeds of different web browsers and devices. You can see if your app works well on all platforms. This makes sure all users have a good experience.

Logs: Search Through Your System’s Messages

New Relic Logs is like a huge diary for your system. It keeps all the messages your systems output. You can search these logs to see what is going on. You can find the cause of problems, or just see what is up.

Logs show all the actions in your system. They can be:

Application logs: Messages from your app code.
Server logs: Messages from your servers.
Security logs: Messages about who accessed your system.

New Relic Logs works in real time. You can see the messages as they come in. And, you can search through all the logs. If your app had a problem at a certain time, you can look at the logs from that point. You can find what went wrong.

Logs give you a view of all your system, too. You don’t need to check many places to find the answers you need. Logs help you solve problems fast and keep your system strong.

Alerts: Know When Things Go Wrong

It is not good to sit and stare at a screen all day. New Relic’s Alerts tool sends you a message when things go wrong. It tells you when key metrics are not as they should be. This means you don’t have to watch all the data all the time.

With Alerts, you can set up rules for when to send messages. You set rules that say, “If response times are more than 2 seconds, tell me.” Or, “If a server is using more than 90% of its CPU, send me a message.” Then, Alerts will send you a text or email when these things happen.

Alerts can help you act fast. You will know about problems fast, even if you’re not looking at the dashboard. This lets you fix problems before they hurt your users. Alerts make sure your system runs smooth all the time. It will give you peace of mind.

Setting Up New Relic: A Quick Start

Now that we’ve talked about the features, let’s talk about set up. New Relic is set up in a few simple steps. This lets you start getting data fast.

Sign up: First, you need to make an account on the New Relic website. You can sign up for a free trial. This lets you try out the tools to see if it fits your needs.
Install agents: Next, you must install New Relic agents on your apps and systems. These agents are small pieces of code. They gather info and send it to New Relic. The agents work with many different programming languages and setups. You can find the right one for your team.
Set up dashboards: After you have the agents installed, you can set up your dashboards. Dashboards show you the data you want to see. You can make your own dashboards. Or, use the ones that New Relic provides.
Set up alerts: Finally, set up your alerts. Make rules for when to send you messages. This will help you know when things are not right.

It’s good to spend some time with New Relic to find what best fits your team. New Relic is very flexible. So, you can change things as your needs change.

How To Use New Relic’s Features Together

The true power of New Relic is how the features work together. You don’t have to use them by themselves. You can use them to see the whole view of your system. Here’s how:

Find problems with APM: You start with APM. It will tell you which apps are slow or have errors. You use APM to see the parts of your code that need work.
Check servers with Infrastructure: Once you’ve found a problem in APM, you look at Infrastructure. It will tell you if there is a problem with the servers. It will tell you if the server is too busy, or has a problem.
See user experience with Browser: Then you look at Browser. It will tell you if the user is having a bad time because of the slow or broken code.
Use Logs to dig deeper: You use logs to search for the root of the issue. It will show you more info on why the problem started.
Get alerts: You set alerts. This way you will know when the problem happens again.

By using these features together, you can find and fix problems fast. You can also see the big picture of how your system is working. This means you will have a strong system.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of New Relic

New Relic is a tool that gives you a lot of power. But, like all tools, it works best if you know how to use it right. Here are a few tips to make sure you get all you can out of it:

Know your metrics: Know what data to watch. Not all metrics are key. Focus on the ones that matter the most to your work.
Set clear goals: Set goals for your work. Then, track them in New Relic. If you want faster response times, set a goal. Then, track your progress.
Learn from the data: New Relic shows you data. Use this data to learn about your system. This info can help you make good changes.
Make custom dashboards: The default dashboards are good to start. But custom dashboards are better. Make your own to show the data that is most useful to you.
Set clear alerts: Alerts send you messages. Set the alerts to only tell you when things are vital. Too many alerts will make you numb to them.
Share insights: Talk about what you learn from New Relic. Share the info with the team. This will help you work together to make your system better.
Keep up to date: New Relic often gets new features. Keep an eye out for them. The new features can make your work faster and easier.

By using these tips, you can make New Relic a core tool in your work. It will help you make your system better.

Common Mistakes to Avoid with New Relic

It’s easy to make mistakes when you start with a new tool. Here are some common mistakes that people make with New Relic. It is good to know them so you can stay clear:

Not setting alerts: It is a mistake to watch the screen all the time. Set alerts to get messages when things go wrong. Alerts can help you act fast and not lose sleep.
Ignoring data: New Relic gives you a lot of data. It can be easy to ignore it. Take the time to check it often. The data will help you find the root of issues.
Too many alerts: When you have too many alerts, you get too many messages. This will make you miss the ones that really matter.
Not using all the features: New Relic has many tools that work together. Only using one or two is not smart. Use all of them to see the whole view of your system.
Not making custom dashboards: The default dashboards are a good start. But make your own that show the data that helps you best.
Not knowing metrics: It’s key to know which metrics to watch. If you don’t, you’re watching data that doesn’t matter.
Not updating: New Relic gets new features often. Update often to use the newest and best tools.

If you stay clear of these mistakes, you’ll be able to use New Relic like a pro. It will make your work easier.

New Relic Use Cases

Let’s look at how New Relic is used. It is good to see real ways teams use it to help their work.

E-commerce sites: E-commerce sites use New Relic to make sure their website is always up. They watch page load times and fix broken checkouts.
Financial systems: Financial firms watch for slow transactions and system errors. They use alerts to find problems fast.
Healthcare systems: Healthcare firms watch their apps. They make sure patients can access their data fast and easy.
Gaming platforms: Gaming firms need their games to run smooth. They use New Relic to watch the game servers. They find delays or errors before players do.
Media outlets: News sites use New Relic to watch their websites. They make sure they load fast, even when there’s lots of traffic.

No matter your field, New Relic can help you make your system strong. It can show you when things are not right and how to fix them.

The Future of Monitoring With New Relic

New Relic continues to change. It keeps adding new tools and ways to watch your system. It uses AI and machine learning to spot trends and find issues. This makes it even more vital for modern teams.

New Relic is a tool that will help you in the future. It makes sure you’re ready for any problems. It will show you the best ways to make your system stronger.

Is New Relic Worth It For Your Team?

If you’re new to New Relic, it can be a bit hard to learn. But the features make it worth the time. It will help you to watch your apps and systems well.

APM is key for app health. Infrastructure Monitoring watches your servers. Browser shows you user experience. Logs help you search through system messages. And, Alerts will message you when things go wrong. These five core features are the best place to start.

New Relic will be a great tool to use if you:

Want a full view of your apps and systems.
Need to find and fix problems fast.
Want to be sure users have a good time.
Need to see the big picture of your system.

By taking the time to learn New Relic, you’ll be able to make your work easier. This will make your system stronger, and make your users happier.