How to Enable RUM in Dynatrace for EasyTravel Application on GCP VM (Compute Engine)

Introduction

In this activity, we are going to enable Real User Monitoring (RUM) for the Dynatrace EasyTravel application. For this setup, we can use any cloud platform like Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services, or Microsoft Azure.

EasyTravel is a demo application provided by Dynatrace, which helps us understand application monitoring, frontend monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, distributed tracing, and user experience monitoring in a practical way.

In this article, we will cover the complete setup from server creation to frontend traffic visibility in Dynatrace.

Step 1 – Create a Server in Cloud Platform

First, create a Linux server/VM in any cloud platform like:

1. GCP Compute Engine
2. AWS EC2
3. Azure Virtual Machine

Recommended Configuration

• Operating System - Ubuntu 22.04 LTS/24/26
• RAM - Minimum 4 GB
• CPU - 2 vCPU
• Storage - 20/30 GB
• Install - Java Version (Java 11 Mandatory)

Ubuntu Server Reference Snapshot in GCP

Snapshot2 (Machine Information)

Step 2 – Configure Firewall Rules

After creating the VM, configure firewall/security rules to allow application traffic. Open the following ports in the Google Cloud Firewall Policies as shown in the snapshot below.

Note: For demo or lab setup, many people temporarily allow all traffic from all ports. But in real-time production environments, only required ports should be opened for security reasons.

Based on Cloud Provider

1. In GCP → Configure Ingress/Egress Rules (please use for all instances in the network)
2. In AWS → Configure Security Groups
3. In Azure → Configure NSG Rules

Note: While creating a Virtual Machine in GCP, kindly avoid selecting Allow HTTP and Allow HTTPS under the Networking tab, as we are following the Global Firewall Policy illustrated in the above snapshot (Apply to All Targets)

Note: Additionally, while configuring the Firewall Policy, you can restrict specific servers in GCP using Tags. Only the servers associated with those tags will fall under the scope of that firewall policy.

Note: In contrast, when provisioning servers in AWS or Azure, you are required to configure the firewall policies by defining inbound and outbound rules individually for each server. This approach ensures precise control and enhances security, which is considered a good practice.

Why This Step is Important

If firewall rules are not configured properly, the EasyTravel application will not be accessible from the browser.

Once you have completed the above steps, proceed to log in to the server through SSH in GCP. If you are working with Azure, I recommend using SSH via Azure CLI. For AWS, you may log in through SSH using the AWS Console.

In case you are comfortable with tools like PuTTY or PowerShell, feel free to use them as per your preference. At present, I am working in GCP, so I am proceeding with SSH in GCP. Please refer to the snapshots below for reference.

Log in with SSH in GCP

Bash Shell of GCP Compute Engine Snapshot

Step 3 – Install Java 11

Once you have successfully logged into the server, proceed with the following commands one by one to install Java 11:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk -y

java -version

The first command updates the package repository, the second installs the OpenJDK 11 package, and the final command verifies the installed Java version. Please install only Java 11, since EasyTravel runs on Java, Java 11 installation is mandatory before starting the application. Please refer to the snapshot below for your understanding.

Step 4 – Install and Run the EasyTravel Application

Installing Easy Travel  

To install Dynatrace Easy Travel, execute the following commands:

wget https://etinstallers.demoability.dynatracelabs.com/latest/dynatrace-easytravel-linux-x86_64.jar

java -jar dynatrace-easytravel-linux-x86_64.jar

Run the Easy Travel Application with Below commands one by one

cd easytravel-2.0.0-x64/

cd weblauncher/

./weblauncher.sh

Once you execute the above commands, you will see a message like http://localhost:8094/ as shown in the snapshot below.

Step 5 – Access the EasyTravel Application from the Browser

Once the application starts successfully, access it from your browser using the server's public IP. Open Google Chrome and type in the URL bar - http://publicipaddress:8094, you will below Easy Travel Console.

And you have to turn on all the plugins of EasyTravel as shown in the snapshot below.

Now, change the port number to 8080 as shown in the snapshot below, so that you will access the EasyTravel Frontend Application. If everything is configured properly, you should see the EasyTravel homepage in the browser.

If the Application is Not Accessible. Check the below:

1. Firewall rules
2. Application status
3. Port accessibility
4. EasyTravel process status

Sometimes restarting the application also fixes the issue.

Why This Step is Important

This confirms that the application is running successfully and accessible externally.

Step 6 – Install Dynatrace OneAgent

Now install Dynatrace OneAgent on the server. Steps

1. Log in to the Dynatrace tenant
2. Go to: Deploy Dynatrace
3. Start Installation
4. Select Linux platform
5. Copy the installation commands and execute them one by one

Please click the YouTube link below to watch the OneAgent Installation at 24:17 min and the Complete Steps for this activity.

https://youtu.be/6liyPDxy2PE?si=sRj3b0XnefAta4S4

Verify Metrics in Dynatrace

After installation, go to Dynatrace UI and check:

1. Hosts
2. Infrastructure
3. Processes

You should see your VM/server reporting data successfully.

Step 7 – Enable Dynatrace RUM Auto Injection

After OneAgent installation, Dynatrace automatically tries to inject JavaScript into the frontend application. This is called Automatic Injection.

What Happens in Auto Injection

Dynatrace injects monitoring scripts into the EasyTravel application to capture:

1. User sessions
2. User actions
3. Page load time
4. Browser performance
5. JavaScript errors

Verify Frontend Application Detection In Dynatrace:

• Go to the Applications section
• Check whether the EasyTravel application is detected

Troubleshooting Steps if RUM is Not Captured

1. If frontend monitoring is not working:
2. Restart the EasyTravel application
3. Restart the OneAgent service
4. Verify OneAgent status
5. Clear browser cache
6. Access the application again
7. Check application accessibility from the browser
8. Click Inspect on the Application and Go to Network Tab, then Check for ruxitagent as shown in the snapshot below

ruxitagent reference snapshot

Step 8 – Verify Frontend Traffic in Dynatrace

Once traffic starts coming to the application, Dynatrace automatically detects frontend activity.

Apdex Rating and Errors

Verify the details below

1. User Sessions
2. User Actions
3. Load Time
4. JavaScript Errors
5. Apdex Score
6. Browser Performance
7. Geographic Traffic
8. Generate Some Traffic

To generate frontend traffic:

1. Refresh the application multiple times
2. Navigate between pages
3. Perform searches/bookings
4. Open the application in multiple browser tabs

Conclusion

In this activity, we successfully enabled Real User Monitoring (RUM) for the EasyTravel application using Dynatrace.

We covered:

1. VM creation
2. Firewall configuration
3. Java 11 installation
4. EasyTravel setup
5. Dynatrace OneAgent installation
6. RUM auto injection
7. Frontend traffic verification

This complete setup gives a good hands-on understanding of:

1. Observability
2. Infrastructure Monitoring
3. Application Monitoring
4. Distributed Tracing
5. Real User Monitoring (RUM)
6. using Dynatrace in a practical, real-time environment.