How to Monitor Event Forwarding: Usage, Errors, and Compute Time Explained

Introduction

In the dynamic world of data integration, ensuring smooth and efficient data forwarding processes is paramount. Adobe’s event forwarding feature allows you to transfer data between various systems, but monitoring this process is crucial for maintaining performance and troubleshooting issues. The new Monitoring tab in the Data Collection UI offers a comprehensive way to track usage patterns, errors, and compute time related to your event forwarding properties. This guide provides an in-depth look at how to effectively use this monitoring feature to optimize your data forwarding setup.

Problem Statement

Without proper monitoring, issues in data forwarding can go unnoticed, leading to potential data loss, performance degradation, or incorrect data reporting. The challenge lies in understanding and utilizing the available metrics to maintain the health of your event forwarding properties. Efficient monitoring helps detect errors early, manage compute time, and ensure that the data flows as intended.

Things to Be Aware Of

1. Feature Availability: The Monitoring tab is currently in beta and may not be available to all organizations. Its functionality and documentation are subject to change, so staying updated with the latest releases is essential.
2. Data Refresh Rates: Usage data is refreshed monthly. Be aware of this delay when analyzing recent metrics.
3. Error Reporting: Errors are categorized by HTTP response codes and are specific to outgoing calls. Understanding these errors helps in diagnosing issues with endpoint interactions.
4. Compute Time Limits: Event forwarding has a strict compute-time limitation of 50 milliseconds. Exceeding this limit results in data being dropped, which can affect the reliability of your data forwarding.

Step-by-Step Guide to Using the Monitoring Tab

Step 1: Access the Monitoring Tab

1. Navigate to the Data Collection UI: Log in to the Data Collection UI where you manage your event forwarding properties.
2. Locate the Monitoring Tab: Find and select the Monitoring tab to access the various metrics related to your event forwarding.

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Step 2: Select Properties and Environments

1. Choose a Property: Use the property dropdown menu to select the specific property you want to monitor. This selection allows you to focus on metrics for a particular property.
2. Select an Environment: After choosing a property, use the environment dropdown menu to select the environment of interest (Development, Staging, or Production). This helps in analyzing metrics specific to that environment.

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Step 3: Review Usage Metrics

1. Understand Usage Data: The Usage report displays the number of incoming and outgoing calls for the selected time period. Incoming calls represent data sent to event forwarding, while outgoing calls represent data sent from event forwarding.
2. Analyze the Total Events: The Total Events number is the sum of incoming and outgoing calls. This metric helps in assessing the overall volume of data processed.

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Step 4: Examine Error Events

1. View Error Events Report: The Error Events report shows aggregate errors and categorizes them by HTTP response code. Hover over the line chart to see detailed information about the errors.
2. Filter by Domain: Use the search box to filter errors by the exact domain. Enter the precise domain (e.g., https://graph.facebook.com) to view outgoing errors related to that endpoint.

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Step 5: Monitor Compute Time

1. Understand Compute Time Metrics: The Compute Time report shows the amount of time spent computing rules on event forwarding servers. Note that compute time does not include end-to-end latency or response times from endpoints.
2. Manage Compute Time Limits: Be aware of the 50-millisecond compute-time limit. If this limit is exceeded, the related data will be dropped. Factors affecting compute time include the number of rules and their complexity.

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Troubleshooting Common Issues

1. Data Not Appearing: If certain metrics or data are not visible, ensure that you have selected the correct property and environment. Additionally, verify that the feature is available for your organization.
2. High Error Rates: A high number of errors may indicate issues with specific endpoints or integration problems. Use the domain filter to pinpoint errors and address them with the relevant endpoint provider.
3. Compute Time Exceeded: If compute time is consistently close to or exceeding the limit, consider optimizing your rules to reduce complexity or split them into smaller, more manageable parts.
4. Usage Data Delays: Since usage data refreshes monthly, recent activity may not be immediately visible. Wait for the next update or check other metrics to get an idea of current performance.

Conclusion

Monitoring your event forwarding properties is crucial for maintaining the efficiency and reliability of your data integrations. By leveraging the Monitoring tab in the Data Collection UI, you can gain valuable insights into usage patterns, error rates, and compute times. Understanding and utilizing these metrics allows you to troubleshoot issues effectively, optimize performance, and ensure that your data flows seamlessly across systems.

As the feature continues to evolve, staying informed about updates and best practices will help you make the most of the monitoring capabilities. Efficient monitoring is not just about tracking data; it’s about ensuring that your entire data forwarding setup operates smoothly and meets your organizational needs.