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Server Monitoring - Settings

Configure monitoring intervals, alerts, and snapshot behavior

Last updated: October 27, 20257 min read

Overview

The Server Monitoring Settings page controls how ColdFusion collects, stores, and reports performance data. Proper configuration of these settings is essential for effective monitoring without negatively impacting server performance. These settings determine what metrics are collected, how frequently data is gathered, and how alerts are triggered.

Performance Impact: Server monitoring consumes system resources. Overly aggressive monitoring intervals or tracking too many metrics can negatively affect application performance. Balance monitoring needs with performance requirements.

Enable Monitoring

Primary controls for activating the server monitoring system.

Enable Server Monitoring

PurposeMaster switch to enable or disable all server monitoring features

DefaultDisabled

RecommendationDevelopment: Enable for debugging and profiling
Production: Enable with appropriate thresholds
High-Traffic: Consider performance impact

Performance ImpactLow to Moderate (depends on monitoring frequency and metrics tracked)

When to Enable:

Troubleshooting performance issues
Capacity planning and load testing
Establishing performance baselines
Monitoring production health (with appropriate settings)
Debugging memory leaks or resource exhaustion

Enable Memory Tracking

PurposeTrack detailed memory allocation and usage patterns

DefaultEnabled (when monitoring enabled)

RecommendationEnable for memory leak detection and capacity planning

Metrics TrackedHeap usage, GC activity, memory allocation rates, memory pools

Use Cases:

Diagnosing OutOfMemoryError issues
Identifying memory leaks in application code
Right-sizing JVM heap allocation
Analyzing garbage collection patterns

Enable Profiling

PurposeCollect detailed performance profiling data for templates and functions

DefaultDisabled

RecommendationEnable selectively - only during performance analysis sessions

Performance ImpactModerate to High - can add 10-30% overhead

Performance Warning: Profiling has significant overhead. Only enable during active troubleshooting sessions. Do not leave enabled in production under normal circumstances.

Monitoring Intervals

Configure how frequently monitoring data is collected and updated.

Monitoring Data Refresh Interval

PurposeHow often monitoring data is collected and updated

Default5 seconds

Range1-60 seconds

RecommendationDevelopment: 3-5 seconds for responsive feedback
Production: 10-30 seconds to reduce overhead
Troubleshooting: 1-3 seconds for detailed analysis

Performance Trade-offs:

Lower intervals (1-3s): Higher overhead, more detailed data, faster issue detection
Higher intervals (15-30s): Lower overhead, less granular data, acceptable for normal monitoring
Balance based on monitoring needs and server load

Request History Size

PurposeNumber of completed requests to keep in history

Default10

Range1-100

Recommendation10-25 for most environments (higher values increase memory usage)

Memory Considerations: Each request stored consumes memory. Large history sizes on high-traffic servers can consume significant memory. Monitor memory usage when increasing this value.

Slow Request Tracking

Configure thresholds for identifying and tracking slow-running requests.

Slow Request Threshold

PurposeDefine execution time threshold for flagging slow requests

Default10 seconds

RecommendationWeb Pages: 3-5 seconds
API Endpoints: 5-10 seconds
Reports: 15-30 seconds
Batch Jobs: Custom based on requirements

ImpactRequests exceeding threshold appear in slow request monitoring view

Best Practice: Set threshold based on user experience expectations. Web pages should respond quickly (3-5s), while background jobs may have higher thresholds. Review slow request logs regularly to identify optimization opportunities.

Very Slow Request Threshold

PurposeHigher threshold for critically slow requests requiring immediate attention

Default30 seconds

Recommendation2-3x the slow request threshold

Use CaseTrigger alerts, escalate monitoring, identify potential infinite loops

Alert Configuration: Consider sending email/SMS alerts when requests exceed this threshold, as they may indicate serious performance or logic issues.

Log Slow Requests

PurposeWrite slow request details to log files for historical analysis

DefaultEnabled

RecommendationAlways enable to maintain historical performance data

Log Location{cf-home}/logs/monitoring.log

Log Analysis:

Review logs to identify recurring slow requests
Correlate slow requests with server load patterns
Use log data for performance trending over time
Export to analysis tools for visualization

Slow Query Tracking

Configure thresholds for identifying slow database queries.

Slow Query Threshold

PurposeDatabase query execution time threshold for slow query flagging

Default1 second

RecommendationOLTP Systems: 500ms - 1 second
Reporting: 2-5 seconds
Analytics: 5-10 seconds

ImpactQueries exceeding threshold flagged for review and optimization

Query Optimization Strategy:

Review slow queries regularly for optimization opportunities
Add appropriate indexes on frequently queried columns
Optimize JOIN operations and WHERE clauses
Consider query caching for repeated queries
Use database query execution plans to identify bottlenecks

Log Slow Queries

PurposeWrite slow query details to log files

DefaultEnabled

RecommendationEnable to track query performance over time

Logged InformationSQL text, execution time, datasource, template location, parameters

Snapshot Management

Configure automatic snapshot capture for preserving monitoring data at specific intervals.

Enable Automatic Snapshots

PurposeAutomatically capture monitoring data at scheduled intervals

DefaultDisabled

RecommendationEnable for production to maintain historical monitoring data

Snapshot FrequencyConfigurable (hourly, daily, custom intervals)

Snapshot Use Cases:

Compare performance across different time periods
Document performance before/after deployments
Establish performance baselines
Capacity planning and trend analysis
Historical troubleshooting of past incidents

Snapshot Retention Period

PurposeHow long to keep captured snapshots before automatic deletion

Default7 days

RecommendationDevelopment: 1-3 days
Production: 7-30 days
Compliance: Based on retention requirements

Storage ImpactLonger retention requires more disk space

Storage Management: Monitor snapshot storage location. Export important snapshots to external storage if long-term retention needed.

Maximum Snapshots

PurposeMaximum number of snapshots to retain before oldest deleted

Default10

Range1-100

Recommendation10-30 depending on snapshot frequency and retention period

Alert Configuration

Memory Usage Alert

Trigger Threshold: 85% heap utilization
Recommendation: 80-85% for production systems

Alert when memory usage reaches critical levels. Provides time to investigate before OutOfMemoryError occurs.

Request Queue Alert

Trigger Threshold: Queue depth exceeds 10
Recommendation: 5-10 based on normal traffic patterns

Alert when requests are queuing, indicating server unable to keep up with demand.

Thread Pool Alert

Trigger Threshold: 90% threads busy
Recommendation: 85-90% thread utilization

Alert when thread pool approaching exhaustion. May require thread pool tuning or request optimization.

Very Slow Request Alert

Trigger Threshold: Based on very slow threshold setting
Recommendation: Enable for critical performance monitoring

Alert on exceptionally slow requests that may indicate infinite loops or serious performance issues.

Monitoring Best Practices

Development Environment

Recommended Settings:

Monitoring: Enabled for debugging
Refresh Interval: 3-5 seconds for responsive feedback
Profiling: Enabled during performance analysis
Slow Request Threshold: 3 seconds
Slow Query Threshold: 500ms
Snapshots: Manual only, 1-3 day retention
Alerts: Disabled or local logging only

Production Environment

Recommended Settings:

Monitoring: Enabled with performance-optimized settings
Refresh Interval: 10-30 seconds to minimize overhead
Profiling: Disabled (enable only during active troubleshooting)
Slow Request Threshold: 5 seconds for web pages
Slow Query Threshold: 1 second
Snapshots: Automatic hourly/daily, 7-30 day retention
Alerts: Email/SMS for critical thresholds
Log Slow Requests/Queries: Enabled

High-Traffic Environment

Recommended Settings:

Monitoring: Enabled with minimal overhead
Refresh Interval: 30-60 seconds
Profiling: Disabled except during off-peak troubleshooting
Request History: Small (5-10) to reduce memory
Snapshots: Less frequent (every 4-6 hours)
Consider: External APM tools with lower overhead

Programmatic Configuration

Configure monitoring settings via Admin API for automation and consistency across environments.

Configure Monitoring Settings via Admin API

<cfscript>
  // Create admin API object
  adminAPI = createObject("component", "cfide.adminapi.administrator");
  adminAPI.login("admin", "password");

  monitoringAPI = createObject("component", "cfide.adminapi.servermonitoring");

  // Enable monitoring
  monitoringAPI.setMonitoringEnabled(true);

  // Configure monitoring intervals
  monitoringAPI.setRefreshInterval(10); // 10 seconds
  monitoringAPI.setRequestHistorySize(20);

  // Configure slow request thresholds
  monitoringAPI.setSlowRequestThreshold(5); // 5 seconds
  monitoringAPI.setVerySlowRequestThreshold(15); // 15 seconds
  monitoringAPI.setLogSlowRequests(true);

  // Configure slow query thresholds
  monitoringAPI.setSlowQueryThreshold(1); // 1 second
  monitoringAPI.setLogSlowQueries(true);

  // Configure snapshots
  monitoringAPI.setAutoSnapshotEnabled(true);
  monitoringAPI.setSnapshotRetentionDays(14);
  monitoringAPI.setMaxSnapshots(30);

  // Configure alerts
  monitoringAPI.setMemoryAlertThreshold(85);
  monitoringAPI.setRequestQueueAlertThreshold(10);
  monitoringAPI.setThreadPoolAlertThreshold(90);

  writeOutput("Monitoring settings configured successfully");
</cfscript>

<!--- Create admin API object --->
<cfset adminAPI = createObject("component", "cfide.adminapi.administrator")>
<cfset adminAPI.login("admin", "password")>

<cfset monitoringAPI = createObject("component", "cfide.adminapi.servermonitoring")>

<!--- Enable monitoring --->
<cfset monitoringAPI.setMonitoringEnabled(true)>

<!--- Configure monitoring intervals --->
<cfset monitoringAPI.setRefreshInterval(10)>
<cfset monitoringAPI.setRequestHistorySize(20)>

<!--- Configure slow request thresholds --->
<cfset monitoringAPI.setSlowRequestThreshold(5)>
<cfset monitoringAPI.setVerySlowRequestThreshold(15)>
<cfset monitoringAPI.setLogSlowRequests(true)>

<!--- Configure slow query thresholds --->
<cfset monitoringAPI.setSlowQueryThreshold(1)>
<cfset monitoringAPI.setLogSlowQueries(true)>

<!--- Configure snapshots --->
<cfset monitoringAPI.setAutoSnapshotEnabled(true)>
<cfset monitoringAPI.setSnapshotRetentionDays(14)>
<cfset monitoringAPI.setMaxSnapshots(30)>

<!--- Configure alerts --->
<cfset monitoringAPI.setMemoryAlertThreshold(85)>
<cfset monitoringAPI.setRequestQueueAlertThreshold(10)>
<cfset monitoringAPI.setThreadPoolAlertThreshold(90)>

<cfoutput>Monitoring settings configured successfully</cfoutput>

Automation Benefits:

Consistent settings across multiple servers
Version-controlled configuration
Automated deployment and configuration management
Environment-specific settings (dev, staging, production)
Integration with infrastructure-as-code tools

Related Resources

Server Monitoring - Server MonitorView real-time monitoring dashboard and performance metrics Debugging & Logging - Logging SettingsConfigure application logging and log file management Request TuningOptimize request handling and concurrent processing ColdFusion Administrator ReferenceComplete administrator guide and settings reference