How do I configure the Splunk APM Connector?

The Splunk APM Connector lets you combine the power of Splunk Synthetic Monitoring with the end-to-end insights provided by Splunk APM.

With the Splunk APM Connector configured, Splunk Synthetic Monitoring automatically sends metrics from all Real Browser Checks on applications you have instrumented in Splunk APM to your Splunk APM account, allowing you to correlate synthetic front-end performance metrics with spans and traces in APM. 

For more about Splunk APM and Splunk Observability Cloud, see Monitor applications with Splunk APM. 

Prerequisites

• Administrator access in a Splunk Synthetic Monitoring instance
• Administrator access in a Splunk Observability Cloud account with Splunk APM enabled

Note: The Splunk APM Connector is an account-wide configuration. Once you have enabled it in your Splunk Synthetic Monitoring account, it automatically sends data from all applicable Real Browser Checks to Splunk APM. 

Step 1. Configure a Splunk APM Connector

As an administrator, follow these steps to configure a Splunk APM Integration in Splunk Synthetic Monitoring.

1. Click the three-dot Admin Tools menu and select Integrations from the dropdown. 
2. Scroll down to Splunk APM Connector and click Set up Splunk APM Connector.
3. Under Application Endpoint, enter the endpoint of your Splunk APM instance, including the realm. You can find this endpoint by logging into Splunk Observability Cloud and copying the base URL.
4. If you have added the trace ID to your APM endpoint response, add the field name for traceId under Response header key.
5. Click Create.

Step 2. Confirm your Splunk APM Connector is working as expected

Now that you have configured the Splunk APM Connector in your account, the data for all Real Browser Checks on applications that are also instrumented in your Splunk APM account will be sent to Splunk APM. Use the following steps to test your integration and confirm this is the case.

1. Ensure you are authenticated in Splunk APM in your browser. 
2. In the list of checks you have configured, select a Real Browser check on an application you have also instrumented in Splunk APM. This opens a page with the data from that check.
3. In the Performance History scatterplot, click the circle for a specific run of that check. This opens a new page with the data from that run of the check. 
4. (Optional) If the selector bar says “All Pages,” click into the picker to select a specific page of the application you’re interested in.
5. Scroll down to the waterfall chart in the bottom section.
6. Click on the row of a specific request you’re interested in to open its details. See How to Read a Waterfall Chart on the Rigor blog for more information about waterfall charts. 
7. If your Splunk APM Connector is correctly configured, a View Trace link appears under Headers. Click this link to open the corresponding trace in APM with the context preserved.

Step 3. (Optional) Troubleshoot your Splunk APM Connector configuration

If the View Trace link does not appear, you can try the following:

• Confirm that the application endpoint you provided in Step 1 is correct. 
• Confirm that you are logged into Splunk APM and that you are in the Organization affiliated with the trace you are trying to view.
• Contact Splunk Synthetic Monitoring support by clicking the chat icon in the Synthetic Monitoring app to start a new conversation or by emailing support@rigor.com. See How Do I Contact Rigor Support? for more information about contacting support.