According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the correct method to perform a NET Agent upgrade is to perform the agent upgrade on the application server host by running the MSI Installer Package12. This method will install updated agent files and maintain legacy configurations. You do not need to uninstall the old agent first when you upgrade from the NET Agent >= 3.9, except for patch releases. You need to stop IIS, instrumented Windows services, and instrumented standalone applications before running the MSI Installer Package. You also need to launch an elevated command prompt with full administrator privileges and specify your account access key for single-tenant Controller accounts. After the installation, you need to restart Windows services and standalone applications.

The incorrect options are:

Perform the agent upgrade on a remote server host by using the AppDynamics Controller REST API. (B) This is not a valid method for upgrading the NET Agent, because the AppDynamics Controller REST API does not provide any endpoint for agent installation or upgrade.The REST API is mainly used for retrieving or updating configuration data, metrics, events, snapshots, and other information from the Controller3.

Perform the agent upgrade on the application server host by running the Agent Configuration Utility. This is not a valid method for upgrading the NET Agent, because the Agent Configuration Utility is a tool for modifying the agent configuration after installation, not for installing or upgrading the agent.The Agent Configuration Utility allows you to change the Controller connection settings, the agent logging level, the proxy settings, and other advanced options4.

Perform the agent upgrade via the AppDynamics Controller UI. (D) This is not a valid method for upgrading the NET Agent, because the AppDynamics Controller UI does not provide any feature for agent installation or upgrade.The Controller UI is mainly used for monitoring, analyzing, and troubleshooting the performance of the applications, business transactions, tiers, nodes, and other entities that are instrumented by the agents5.

1: Upgrade the .NET Agent for Windows - AppDynamics

2: Release Upgrade Checklist for .NET Agents - AppDynamics

3: REST API - AppDynamics

4: Configure the .NET Agent - AppDynamics

5: AppDynamics Application Performance Monitoring Platform - AppDynamics

The Machine Agent REST API allows you to create custom events that can be used for various purposes in AppDynamics.Some of the reasons you would create custom events using this API are12:

To create an event to track application deployment. You can use the API to send a custom event that marks the start and end of an application deployment process. This can help you monitor the impact of the deployment on the application performance and availability, as well as correlate any issues or anomalies with the deployment event.

To create an event to be displayed along with Time Series data in a custom dashboard. You can use the API to send a custom event that contains any relevant information or context that you want to display in a custom dashboard. For example, you can send a custom event that contains the details of a configuration change, a maintenance window, a business transaction, or a user action. You can then use the custom dashboard to visualize the custom event data along with the Time Series data for the metrics you are interested in.

To create an event to be used to trigger a health rule violation. You can use the API to send a custom event that contains a metric value that you want to use as a condition for a health rule. For example, you can send a custom event that contains the CPU utilization of a machine, and then create a health rule that evaluates the CPU utilization metric and triggers a violation if it exceeds a certain threshold. You can then use the health rule violation to generate alerts, notifications, or remediation actions.Reference:Machine Agent HTTP Listener,Create Custom Events

According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the two methods that are available to define JVM options for an AppDynamics Controller so that the JVM options are retained across upgrades of the Controller are:

Use the modifyJvmOptions utility provided by AppDynamics. (A) This is a valid method because the modifyJvmOptions utility is a script that allows you to add, remove, or list the JVM options for the Controller without manually editing any files. The utility also validates the syntax and format of the JVM options and creates a backup of the original configuration. The utility is located in the <controller_home>/bin directory and can be run on Linux or Windows platforms.The utility updates the <controller_home>/appserver/glassfish/domains/domain1/config/domain.xml file with the specified JVM options, which are preserved during the Controller upgrade12.

Define JVM options on the Controller Settings page of the Enterprise Console. (B) This is a valid method because the Controller Settings page of the Enterprise Console is a graphical user interface that allows you to configure various settings for the Controller, including the JVM options. The Enterprise Console is a web-based application that provides a centralized way to manage the AppDynamics platform components, such as the Controller, the Events Service, and the EUM Server.The Enterprise Console also handles the Controller upgrade process and preserves the JVM options that are defined on the Controller Settings page34.

The incorrect options are:

Pass JVM options to the Controller via java -javaagent:''options jar''. This is not a valid method because the java -javaagent option is used to specify the path to the AppDynamics agent jar file, not the JVM options for the Controller. The agent jar file is used to instrument the Java applications that are monitored by the AppDynamics platform, not the Controller itself. The agent jar file also contains the agent configuration properties, such as the Controller host, port, account name, access key, and application name.Passing JVM options to the Controller via this option will not have any effect on the Controller performance or behavior5.

Use the controller.sh script provided by AppDynamics. (D) This is not a valid method because the controller.sh script is used to start, stop, or restart the Controller, not to define the JVM options for the Controller. The controller.sh script is located in the <controller_home>/bin directory and can be run on Linux platforms. The controller.sh script does not accept any arguments or parameters for the JVM options, and does not update any configuration files with the JVM options.Using this script to define the JVM options for the Controller will not have any effect on the Controller performance or behavior6.

Define JVM options manually in the domain. xmi file. (E) This is not a valid method because the domain. xmi file is not a configuration file for the JVM options for the Controller, but a configuration file for the WebSphere Application Server. The WebSphere Application Server is a Java EE application server that can be used to host the Java applications that are monitored by the AppDynamics platform, not the Controller itself. The domain. xmi file contains the settings for the WebSphere Application Server, such as the server name, port, security, data sources, and class loaders.Defining JVM options manually in this file will not have any effect on the Controller performance or behavior, and may cause errors or conflicts with the WebSphere Application Server configuration7.

1: Modify JVM Options for the Controller - AppDynamics

2: Release Upgrade Checklist for Controllers - AppDynamics

3: Configure the Controller Using the Enterprise Console - AppDynamics

4: Upgrade the Controller Using the Enterprise Console - AppDynamics

5: Install the Java Agent - AppDynamics

6: Start and Stop the Controller - AppDynamics

7: Configuring the WebSphere Application Server - IBM

According to the Cisco AppDynamics Professional Implementer (CAPI) documents, the two reasons that would require an administrator to install the Events Service cluster manually are:

Security concerns with passwordless SSH (B): This is a valid reason because the automated installation of the Events Service cluster requires passwordless SSH access to the target hosts. Passwordless SSH allows the Enterprise Console to execute commands on the remote hosts without prompting for a password. However, some organizations may have security policies that prohibit passwordless SSH access, as it may pose a risk of unauthorized access or malicious attacks.In such cases, the administrator can install the Events Service cluster manually, by following the steps described in the Manual Installation of the Events Service Cluster document1.

Security requirements to install using a non-root user account : This is a valid reason because the automated installation of the Events Service cluster requires root privileges on the target hosts. Root privileges allow the Enterprise Console to create directories, change permissions, and install packages on the remote hosts. However, some organizations may have security policies that restrict root access, as it may pose a risk of accidental or intentional damage to the system.In such cases, the administrator can install the Events Service cluster manually, by following the steps described in the Manual Installation of the Events Service Cluster document1. The administrator can use a non-root user account that has sudo privileges to perform the manual installation.

The incorrect options are:

Installation on SUSE Linux (A): This is not a valid reason for manual installation, because the automated installation of the Events Service cluster supports SUSE Linux as one of the compatible operating systems.The Enterprise Console can install the Events Service cluster on SUSE Linux hosts using the automated installation process, as long as the hosts meet the prerequisites described in the Events Service Requirements document2.

Installation on Windows (D): This is not a valid reason for manual installation, because the Events Service cluster does not support Windows as an operating system. The Events Service cluster can only run on Linux hosts, as it is based on Apache Cassandra, which is a Linux-based distributed database.The Events Service cluster cannot be installed on Windows hosts, either manually or automatically2.

1: Manual Installation of the Events Service Cluster - AppDynamics

2: Events Service Requirements - AppDynamics

The most important factor in determining sizing for AppDynamics Controller is the projected metric load per minute on the Controller. This is because the metric load represents the actual workload on the Controller, which depends on the nature of the application, the AppDynamics configuration, and the usage patterns. The number of agents, the type of agents, the number of administrators/end users, and the number of AppDynamics applications are only rough estimates that can vary greatly depending on the specific scenario. Therefore, it is recommended to test the performance of the system in a staging environment and verify the Controller sizing using the metric upload rate before deploying to production.Reference:Controller System Requirements,Performance and Controller sizing guidelines,How to Run AppDynamics in Microsoft Azure,Platform Requirements