Final answer:
Real user monitoring (RUM) and synthetic checks are two different methods of monitoring website performance. RUM captures data from actual users visiting a website in real-time, while synthetic checks simulate user interactions with the website from different locations.
Step-by-step explanation:
Real user monitoring (RUM) and synthetic checks are two different methods of monitoring website performance. RUM captures data from actual users visiting a website in real-time, while synthetic checks simulate user interactions with the website from different locations. RUM provides more accurate insights into the user experience and identifies performance issues that real users may encounter, while synthetic checks allow for controlled testing and can be used to simulate various scenarios.
For example, with RUM, you can track how quickly your website loads for users in different geographic locations or on different devices. This data can help you optimize your website's performance and user experience. On the other hand, synthetic checks can be used to proactively test specific functionalities of a website, such as form submission or checkout process, to ensure they are working as expected.
While RUM focuses on real data from actual users, synthetic checks offer control and repeatability in testing different aspects of a website. Both methods have their value and can be used in combination to get a comprehensive understanding of a website's performance.
Real user monitoring captures live, real-world interaction data from actual users, offering insights into the real user experience, while synthetic monitoring uses automated scripts to simulate user actions in a controlled environment for early problem detection.
The debate between employing synthetic monitoring versus real user monitoring (RUM) is an important consideration in application performance management. Synthetic monitoring is orchestrated testing using automated scripts to simulate user actions on a website or application at regular intervals from various locations. This gives insights into system performance from a controlled environment. Synthetic checks can alert you to problems before they affect actual users, and they are not influenced by real users' behaviors or diverse environments.
Real user monitoring captures live performance data as it happens from actual users engaging with the website or application. It is less predictable because it depends on real-world interactions, but it provides precise data on user experience, including varying geographic locations, devices, browsers, and network conditions. RUM can help you understand how changes to the application impact actual users in real-time and allows for a user-centric strategy in performance optimization.