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Glossary of New Relic terms |
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This glossary defines common New Relic terminology, and provides links to relevant content to help better understand each subject. |
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import accountDropdown from 'images/account-dropdown.png'
import accountSwitcher from 'images/account-switcher.png'
Whether you're considering New Relic One or you're already using our capabilities, this glossary of common terminology can help. And if you don't already have a New Relic account, don't hesitate to sign up at newrelic.com/signup. It's free, forever!
A New Relic organization can have one or more accounts. An account can be considered a workspace: a space to monitor or analyze data relating to a specific project or a specific team. Each account has its own account ID, and that ID is used for some account-specific tasks, like making API calls. For more on why you'd create an account, see [Account structure](/docs/accounts/accounts-billing/account-structure/new-relic-account-structure).We have two different user models, which define how accounts relate to the larger organization structure and to the organization's users. For more on our two user models and their separate set of docs, see [User models](/docs/accounts/original-accounts-billing/original-users-roles/overview-user-models).
<Collapser id="account-family" title="account family"
A New Relic organization can have one or more [accounts](#account).
An "account family" refers to a parent account and the children accounts under it. For users on our [New Relic One user model](/docs/accounts/original-accounts-billing/original-users-roles/overview-user-models), "account family" is synonymous with "organization": it's the group of related accounts in an organization. For our original user model, things are a little more complex: see [Original account structure](/docs/accounts/original-accounts-billing/original-users-roles/parent-child-account-structure).
<Collapser id="account-dropdown" title="account dropdown"
<img
title="The account dropdown"
alt="The account dropdown, for accessing account settings."
src={accountDropdown}
/>
In the upper right of the New Relic UI, the account dropdown gives you access to your [account settings](/docs/accounts/accounts-billing/general-account-settings/introduction-account-settings).
If you're trying to switch between accounts, use the [account switcher](#account-switcher).
<Collapser id="account-switcher" title="account switcher"
<img
title="The account switcher"
alt="The account switcher lets you switch between accounts."
src={accountSwitcher}
/>
If you have access to more than one account in a multi-account [organization](/docs/accounts/accounts-billing/account-structure/new-relic-account-structure), you can use the account switcher to switch between accounts. This is located in the top right of most New Relic UI pages.
For more on factors that affect access to accounts, see [Factors affecting access](/docs/accounts/accounts-billing/account-structure/factors-affecting-access-features-data).
To find account settings, use the [account dropdown](#account-dropdown).
<Collapser id="admin" title="administrator"
A type of user role on a New Relic account. For more information, see [Users](/docs/accounts/accounts/roles-permissions/users-roles).
<Collapser id="agent" title="agent"
A New Relic agent is an installable piece of software that integrates with multiple types of technologies (for example, web frameworks, operating systems, and types of databases) and reports data to New Relic, usually on a specific cadence. We have APM agents, an infrastructure agent, a browser monitoring agent, and mobile monitoring agents. The various technologies that our agents integrate with are just some of [our many integrations](https://newrelic.com/instant-observability).
For more information, see:
* [New Relic Instant Observability](https://newrelic.com/instant-observability)
* [Install agents](/docs/agents/manage-apm-agents/installation/install-agent)
<Collapser id="agent-api" title="agent API"
Some New Relic agents have **agent APIs** that allow you to extend the functionality of an agent. You can use the API to control, customize and extend the functionality of the agent.
Here are some agent API docs:
**APM agents:**
* [C SDK API](/docs/agents/c-sdk/instrumentation/guide-using-c-sdk-api)
* [Go agent API](/docs/agents/go-agent/api-guides/guide-using-go-agent-api)
* [Java agent API](/docs/java/java-agent-api)
* [.NET agent API](/docs/dotnet/the-net-agent-api)
* [Node.js agent API](/docs/nodejs/nodejs-transaction-naming-api)
* [PHP agent API](/docs/php/the-php-api)
* [Ruby agent API](/docs/ruby/ruby-agent-api)
* [Python agent API](/docs/python/python-agent-public-apis)
**Browser agent:**
* [Browser agent API](/docs/browser/new-relic-browser/browser-agent-spa-api)
**Mobile agents:**
* [iOS SDK API](/docs/mobile-apps/ios-api)
* [Android SDK API](/docs/mobile-apps/android-api)
<Collapser id="aggregated-metrics" title="aggregated metrics"
**Aggregated metric** data summarizes calls to specific methods in your application, including how many times each one was called and response times. In the New Relic UI, you see the class and method names along with their aggregate numbers. Metric data aggregation depends on the New Relic tool and your [subscription level](https://newrelic.com/application-monitoring/pricing). For more information, see the documentation about [data retention](/docs/using-new-relic/welcome-new-relic/getting-started/data-retention-components).
<Collapser id="aggregation-delay" title="aggregation delay"
The length of time in seconds to wait for the aggregation window to fill with data. Required when using CADENCE or EVENT_FLOW `aggreation_method` types.
<Collapser id="aggregation-function" title="aggregation function"
You can use NRQL query [functions](/docs/query-your-data/nrql-new-relic-query-language/get-started/nrql-syntax-clauses-functions), such as `sum()`, `average()`, or `latest()` to choose how the data points in an aggregation window should be processed into a single data point. The single aggregated data point is what's passed through the alert evaluation process.
<Collapser id="aggregation-method" title="aggregation method"
New Relic aggregates data into windows, and needs to determine when the current window ends and the next one begins. The `aggregation_method` is the logic that tells us when we have all the data for a given aggregation window. Once the window is closed, the data is aggregated into a single point and evaluated against the threshold. This field is optional. One of the following three values can be specified:
* `EVENT_FLOW`: (Default) Each aggregation window will wait until it starts to see timestamps arrive that are past its own delay setting. Once this occurs, the data is published. Relies on the timestamps of arriving data, so wall-clock time is no longer relevant. Works best for sources that come in frequently and with low event spread (high througput metrics)
* `CADENCE`: Classic New Relic logic where each evaluation window waits exactly as long as the `aggregation_delay` setting, using the wall-clock time as a timer. `aggregation_delay` is required when using this option. Data arriving too late will be dropped, which can cause false alerts.
* `EVENT_TIMER`: Each aggregation window has a timer on it, set to the `aggregation_timer` setting. The Timer starts running as soon as the first data point appears for that aggregation window (based on the data point’s timestamp). The `aggregation_timer` is reset for each new data point that arrives for that window. Once the `aggregation_timer` reaches 0, the aggregation window is published. Ideal for sparse and batched data, such as cloud integrations and infrequent error logs.
<Collapser id="aggregation_timer" title="aggregation timer"
The length of time in seconds to wait after each data point received, to ensure the entire batch is processed. Required when using `EVENT_TIMER` `aggregation_method` type.
<Collapser id="aggregation-window" title="aggregation window"
Streaming alerts gathers data together into specific amounts of time. These windows of time are customizable.
Data points are collected together based their timestamps and reported as a batch. The customizable aggregation window provides greater flexibility and fewer false violations when alerting on irregular or less frequent data points.
Detection & AI includes alerts, incident correlation, automatic anomaly detection, and customizable workflows.
An **alert** communicates an event or incident that designated personnel can track through [alerts](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts-beta/getting-started/alerting-new-relic).For an explanation of how basic alerts concepts are related, see [Concepts and workflow](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts/getting-started/alert-policy-workflow).
<Collapser id="alert-condition" title="alert condition"
An **alert condition** (or **condition**), identified by its unique numeric `condition_id`, contains the criteria for creating a violation. The condition includes the [threshold](#alert-threshold) that is set for a [metric timeslice](/docs/data-analysis/metrics/analyze-your-metrics/data-collection-metric-timeslice-event-data#timeslice-data) or a [custom metric](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts-beta/configuring-alert-policies/define-custom-metrics-alert-condition) over time on a chosen [target](#alert-target).
For an explanation of how a condition relates to other basic alerts concepts, see [Concepts and workflow](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts/getting-started/alert-policy-workflow).
<Collapser id="alert-evaluation" title="alert evaluation"
Streaming data is assessed on a set of aggregation windows to determine if an alert condition is violating or recovering.
The aggregation window time is how long we'll collect data before running the NRQL query condition. The offset evaluation time is how long you want us to wait for late data before assessing it.
If a window doesn't have any data points, it's treated as a gap for loss of signal.
<Collapser id="alert-policy" title="alert policy"
A collection of one or more [conditions](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts/defining-conditions/define-alert-conditions), one or more [notification channels](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts/managing-notification-channels/notification-channels-control-where-send-alerts), and an [**Incident preference**](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts/configuring-alert-policies/specify-when-new-relic-creates-incidents) setting.
If a condition contained within the policy opens a violation, an incident may be opened depending on the **Incident preference** setting. Notifications will then be sent to all channels attached to the policy.
For an explanation of how a policy relates to other basic alerts concepts, see [Concepts and workflow](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts/getting-started/alert-policy-workflow).
<Collapser id="anomaly" title="anomaly"
When a service or application behaves abnormally, applied intelligence flags it as an anomaly. You can find anomalies in the activity feeds throughout New Relic. You can also create custom configurations to get notifications or track anomalies in other types of entities, like hosts and mobile apps.
For more information, see [proactive detection] (/docs/alerts-applied-intelligence/applied-intelligence/proactive-detection/proactive-detection-applied-intelligence/)
<Collapser id="apdex" title="apdex"
**Apdex** is an industry-standard way to measure users' satisfaction with the response time of an application or service. New Relic rates each response as **Satisfied**, **Tolerated**, or **Frustrated**, and uses these ratings to calculate an overall user satisfaction score.
For more information, see [Apdex: Measure user satisfaction](/docs/site/apdex-measuring-user-satisfaction).
<Collapser id="apdex_f" title="apdex_f"
The response time above which a transaction are rated **frustrating**. Defaults to four times `apdex_t`.
* Requests that complete in less than `apdex_t` are rated **satisfied**.
* Requests that take longer than `apdex_t`, but less than four times `apdex_t` (`apdex_f`), are **tolerated**.
* Any requests that take longer than `apdex_f` are rated **frustrating**.
For more information, see [Apdex: Measure user satisfaction](/docs/site/apdex-measuring-user-satisfaction).
<Collapser id="apdex_t" title="apdex_t"
The response time above which a transaction is considered **tolerable**. The default value is 0.5 seconds, but you can [change this in your Apdex settings](/docs/site/changing-your-apdex-settings).
* Requests that complete in less than `apdex_t` are rated **satisfied**.
* Requests that take more than `apdex_t`, but less than `apdex_f`, are **tolerated**.
* Any requests that take longer than `apdex_f` are rated **frustrating**.
For more information, see [Apdex: Measure user satisfaction](/docs/site/apdex-measuring-user-satisfaction).
<Collapser id="api" title="API (application programming interface)"
New Relic offers a variety of APIs and SDKs. For more information, see the [introduction to New Relic's APIs](/docs/apis).
<Collapser id="nr-apm" title="APM"
New Relic's [APM](/docs/apm/new-relic-apm/getting-started/introduction-new-relic-apm) (application performance monitoring) provides monitoring of your web or non-web application's performance. APM supports apps using several [programming languages](/docs/agents/manage-apm-agents/installation/install-agent#apm-install).
<Collapser id="application" title="application"
For New Relic purposes, any program instrumented by New Relic.
<Collapser id="application_id" title="application ID"
Some New Relic solutions assign a monitored application a unique **application ID**, often shortened to **app ID**. When present, this ID is available in the UI. It is also reported as an attribute and can be queried.
For how to determine this, see [Find app ID](/docs/accounts/install-new-relic/account-setup/app-id-other-product-ids).
<Collapser id="application-name" title="application name"
The name that New Relic combines with your license key to uniquely identify a particular app. For more information, see [Name your application](/docs/agents/manage-apm-agents/app-naming/name-your-application).
<Collapser id="applied-intelligence" title="Applied intelligence (AI)"
Applied intelligence (AI) helps you find, troubleshoot, and resolve problems more quickly. Specifically, it’s a hybrid machine learning engine that reduces alert noise, correlates incidents, and automatically detects anomalies.
Applied intelligence includes alerts, incident intelligence, and proactive detection.
<Collapser id="attribute" title="attribute"
**Attributes** are key-value pairs attached to data objects reported to New Relic. Attributes add detail, and they're similar to tags or labels in other SaaS software. You can explore this data by [querying or searching via the UI](/docs/using-new-relic/data/understand-data/query-new-relic-data) or by using the [data dictionary](/attribute-dictionary).
Examples:
* APM reports a `Transaction` event. This includes timing data for the transaction in a `duration` attribute, which might have a value of `.002`.
* Our Infrastructure Monitoring reports a `ProcessSample` event. This includes a variety of CPU usage attributes, including a `cpuSystemPercent` attribute, which might have a value of `.01`.
* Our Telemetry SDK reports a `Metric` data type for storing metrics, with attached attributes like `metricName` and `newrelic.source`.
Some New Relic tools allow you to report [custom attributes](/docs/apm/other-features/attributes/collecting-custom-attributes) to enhance your monitoring.
For more information about attributes in APM, see [Agent attributes](/docs/apm/other-features/attributes/agent-attributes).
<Collapser id="availability-monitoring" title="availability monitoring"
See [Types of Synthetics monitors](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/getting-started/types-synthetics-monitors).
<Collapser id="browser" title="browser"
The New Relic UI supports most browsers. For more information, see [Supported browsers](/docs/site/supported-browsers).
For our end-user browser monitoring tool, see [Browser Monitoring](/docs/browser/new-relic-browser/getting-started/introduction-browser-monitoring).
<Collapser id="browser-monitoring" title="Browser monitoring"
A Real User Monitoring (RUM) solution that measures the speed and performance of your end users as they navigate to your site from different web browsers, devices, operating systems, and networks.
<Collapser id="background-external" title="background external"
See [web external](#web-external).
<Collapser id="child-account" title="child account"
See [parent account](#parent-account).
<Collapser id="cloud-integration" title="cloud-based integration"
New Relic offers **cloud-based integrations** with providers such as [Amazon Web Services (AWS)](/docs/infrastructure/amazon-integrations/getting-started/introduction-aws-integrations), [Microsoft Azure](/docs/infrastructure/microsoft-azure-integrations/getting-started/introduction-azure-monitoring-integrations), and [Google Cloud Platform](/docs/integrations/google-cloud-platform-integrations/getting-started/introduction-google-cloud-platform-integrations).
<Collapser id="collector" title="collector"
The component that collects data from New Relic [agents](#agent) running on an app server, mobile device, or end-user browser. While the agent is installed on a user's app server, the **collectors** are centrally located in New Relic's data center.
In order to contact the collector, the agent must be able to reach [New Relic's domains and IP addresses](/docs/apm/new-relic-apm/getting-started/networks). (The exact domain or IP depends on the New Relic monitoring tool.) The collector receives and interprets this data, and stores it in a database. The data is then retrieved and presented in the [New Relic UI](/docs/new-relic-one/use-new-relic-one/get-started/introduction-new-relic-one) and by our various REST APIs.
<Collapser id="cli" title="Command line interface (CLI)"
Our command line interface (CLI) is a tool you can use to build a New Relic application. This is the same tool our own engineers use.
Go here for [quick start instructions](https://one.newrelic.com/launcher/developer-center.launcher?pane=eyJuZXJkbGV0SWQiOiJkZXZlbG9wZXItY2VudGVyLmRldmVsb3Blci1jZW50ZXIifQ==).
Go to our Developer site for [sample apps and guides](https://developer.newrelic.com/).
<Collapser id="compute-unit" title="compute unit (CU)"
A unit of measurement that determines your pricing for some New Relic products governed by our original product-based pricing model. For more information, see [Compute unit pricing](/docs/accounts/accounts/subscription-pricing/compute-unit-cu-pricing-vs-host-based-pricing-apm-infrastructure#compute-unit).
<Collapser id="condition_id" title="condition_id"
See [alert condition](#alert-condition).
<Collapser
id="conditions"
title="conditions"
You use alert conditions to define when and why your team wants to be notified if your entities aren't working the way you want. Conditions are used to set the criteria that needs to be met in order for your team to be notified about lag time, code errors, Apdex scores, high CPU usage, etc.
For more information, see [incidents] (/docs/new-relic-solutions/get-started/glossary/#alert-incident).
<Collapser id="container" title="container"
A container is a standard unit of software that carries all the necessary pieces of code and all of its dependencies in order for your application to run smoothly across a variety of computing environments.
<Collapser id="cpm" title="CPM (calls per minute)"
The number of calls your application receives each minute. This usually corresponds to the number of page views or external connections, and is usually the same as [RPM (requests per minute)](#rpm).
<Collapser id="cpu_burn" title="CPU burn"
The time consumed by code minus the wait time for a transaction. This is the time actually spent processing the transaction. It appears in the New Relic UI at the top of the transaction view for the agents that provide it (Ruby and PHP only).
<Collapser id="custom-attribute" title="custom attribute"
A key-value pair added to a transaction or event in order to gain additional information about it. For more information, see [custom attributes](/docs/apm/other-features/attributes/collecting-custom-attributes).
<Collapser id="custom-dashboard" title="custom dashboard"
A customizable dashboard with charts and tables that includes data from multiple New Relic data sources. For more information, see [dashboards](/docs/dashboards/new-relic-one-dashboards/get-started/introduction-new-relic-one-dashboards).
<Collapser id="custom-event" title="custom event"
An [event](#event), in New Relic terms, is a data object with attached [attributes](#attribute). New Relic reports default event types, like `Transaction` and `TransactionError`. You can also create your own events. Events can be [queried](/docs/using-new-relic/data/understand-data/query-new-relic-data), and are used in some other features.
You can generate custom events with [APM agents](/docs/insights/new-relic-insights/adding-querying-data/inserting-custom-events-new-relic-apm-agents), the [browser monitoring agent](/docs/insights/insights-data-sources/custom-data/insert-via-new-relic-browser), the [mobile monitoring agents](/docs/insights/insights-data-sources/custom-events/insert-custom-events-attributes-mobile-data), and via the [Event API](/docs/insights/insights-data-sources/custom-data/insert-custom-events-insights-api). Alternatively, you can add [custom attributes](#custom-attribute) to some existing default New Relic events.
<Collapser id="custom-instrumentation" title="custom instrumentation"
**Custom instrumentation** allows you to extend New Relic's monitoring to instrument code elements New Relic doesn't automatically instrument. Custom instrumentation is useful when your [framework](#framework) is not supported by New Relic, or when New Relic fails to pick up some element of your program. You can also use custom instrumentation to block a transaction from being reported entirely. For more information, see [Custom instrumentation](/docs/features/custom-instrumentation).
<Collapser id="custom-metric" title="custom metric"
[Metric timeslice data](#metric) that is manually recorded via an API call. **Custom metrics** allow you to record arbitrary metrics; for example, timing or computer resource data. All custom metric names must be prefixed with `Custom/`. For more information, see [Custom metrics](/docs/features/custom-metrics).
Not to be confused with [custom instrumentation data](#custom-instrumentation-data).
<Collapser id="data-collector" title="data collector"
See [collector](#collector).
<Collapser id="data-explorer" title="data explorer"
Use the data explorer to access, query and customize your data, create visualizations, and make connections between your services in a consistent and curated experience.
For more on using the data explorer, see [Introduction to the data explorer](/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/data-explorer/introduction-data-explorer).
<Collapser id="degradation-period" title="degradation period"
When a data source enters a violating state, a **degradation period** of time begins. The degradation period is set in the condition's threshold. A violation will open if the source stays in a violating state for the entire degradation period. In addition:
* If the data source enters a non-violating state before the entire time has elapsed, the degradation period countdown is reset, and a violation does not open.
* If your alert condition threshold is configured as `at least once in`, the degradation period always lasts a single minute.
<Collapser id="dependencies" title="dependencies"
A dependency is the code that your application depends on in order to function.
<Collapser id="destinations" title="destinations"
Destinations are where we send notifications about your New Relic data. A destination is a unique identifier for a third-party system that you use.
Destination settings contain the connection details to integrate with third-party systems and can be used across a variety of tools in New Relic.
<Collapser id="dimensional-metric" title="dimensional metric"
A **dimensional metric** is a metric that has multiple [attributes](#attribute), also known as dimensions. At New Relic, we report dimensional metrics using the [`Metric` data type](/docs/using-new-relic/data/understand-data/new-relic-data-types#dimensional-metrics). For more on other metric data types, see [Metric data](/docs/using-new-relic/data/understand-data/new-relic-data-types#metrics).
<Collapser className="freq-link" id="distributed_tracing_and_trace_groups" title="distributed_tracing_and_trace_groups"
Distributed tracing is a method of monitoring requests as they flow through various cloud environments. Distributed tracing tracks a request by tagging it with a unique identifier. This allows your team to have a real time understanding of the interactions taking place within your entities.
<Collapser id="docker" title="Docker"
An open platform for distributed applications, which allows you to assemble multi-container portable apps. Infrastructure Monitoring includes [integrated Docker monitoring](/docs/infrastructure/new-relic-infrastructure/data-instrumentation/docker-instrumentation-infrastructure). For more information about Docker, see the [Docker website](http://www.docker.com/).
<Collapser id="downtime" title="downtime"
The period of time when customers cannot access your site and your app is not reporting to New Relic. For more information, see [Synthetic Monitoring](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/getting-started/new-relic-synthetics) and [Types of synthetic monitors](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/getting-started/types-synthetics-monitors).
<Collapser id="entity" title="entity"
In New Relic, an **entity** is anything we can identify that has data you can monitor. An entity can be something you monitor directly, like applications and microservices, or indirectly, like data centers.
You can identify one or more entities to be [targets for alert conditions](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts-beta/configuring-alert-policies/select-product-targets-alert-condition). In the [alerts API](/docs/alerts/rest-api-alerts/new-relic-alerts-rest-api/rest-api-calls-new-relic-alerts), the entity being monitored is identified with an `entity_id`.
For more on this, see [What are entities?](/docs/new-relic-one/use-new-relic-one/core-concepts/what-entity-new-relic)
<Collapser id="event" title="event"
In the software industry, events can be thought of as simply “things that occur in a system.” For example, a server setting being changed would be an event. Another example: a website user clicking a mouse.
Some events will generate a stored record, and that record is typically also called an event.
To learn how New Relic uses events, see New Relic data types.
<Collapser id="expected-error" title="expected error"
An expected error is a common error that you don't want to affect your Apdex score or error rate. For more information, see [Manage errors in APM](/docs/agents/manage-apm-agents/agent-data/manage-errors-apm-collect-ignore-mark-expected).
<Collapser id="exporter" title="exporter"
At New Relic, an **exporter** is a type of [integration](https://newrelic.com/instant-observability/) that reports telemetry data to New Relic from a third-party (non-New Relic) telemetry tool. For examples, see [Exporters](/docs/data-ingest-apis/get-data-new-relic/new-relic-sdks/telemetry-sdks-send-custom-telemetry-data-new-relic#external-data), or search our [integration quickstarts in New Relic I/O](https://newrelic.com/instant-observability/).
<Collapser className="freq-link" id="facet" title="facet"
A facet helps your team compare information that has many variables. you can query New Relic data in NRQL and use facets to segment the displayed data. For example if you want to know where your CPU data is being used, you could segment your CPU data by the hostname facet:
```SELECT average(cpuPercent) FROM SystemSample FACET hostname```
<Collapser id="flex" title="Flex"
[New Relic Flex](/docs/introduction-new-relics-flex-integration) is an application-agnostic, all-in-one infrastructure [integration](/docs/infrastructure/host-integrations/get-started/introduction-host-integrations). With it, you can build your own integration that collects metric data from a wide variety of services, and that can instrument any app that exposes metrics over a standard protocol (HTTP, file, shell) in a standard format (for example, JSON or plain text) to the terminal.
It's a recommended way to create a custom integration, because it doesn't require coding skills.
<Collapser id="framework" title="framework"
A **framework** is a structured collection of pre-defined functions, into which an application builder inserts their own code to build their application. A framework is not the same as a library. While a library is a collection of functions you can call as needed, a framework is a skeleton for your application. The functions in that framework then call your functions. For more about the distinction between a framework and a library, see [What is the difference between a framework and a library?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/148747/what-is-the-difference-between-a-framework-and-a-library "Link opens in a new window").
New Relic automatically instruments many common frameworks. For more about the frameworks New Relic supports, see the agent-specific documentation:
* [C SDK supported frameworks](/docs/agents/c-sdk/get-started/c-sdk-compatibility-requirements)
* [Go supported frameworks](/docs/agents/go-agent/get-started/go-agent-compatibility-requirements)
* [Java supported frameworks](/docs/agents/java-agent/getting-started/new-relic-java#h2-compatibility)
* [.NET supported frameworks](/docs/agents/net-agent/getting-started/new-relic-net#requirements)
* [Node.js supported frameworks](/docs/agents/nodejs-agent/getting-started/new-relic-nodejs#requirements)
* [PHP supported frameworks](/docs/agents/php-agent/getting-started/new-relic-php#requirements)
* [Python supported frameworks](/docs/agents/python-agent/getting-started/new-relic-python#requirements)
* [Ruby supported frameworks](/docs/agents/ruby-agent/features/supported-frameworks)
<Collapser id="golden-metrics" title="golden metrics"
The most important metrics for a given entity, use case, or technology. Golden metrics can include [golden signals: latency, traffic, errors, and saturation](https://sre.google/sre-book/monitoring-distributed-systems/#xref_monitoring_golden-signals).
<Collapser id="harvest-cycle" title="harvest cycle"
The period of time between each connection from a New Relic [agent](#agent) to the [collector](#collector). Between **harvest cycles**, an agent collects and caches data. At the end of the cycle an agent reports those data to the collector, then begins a new harvest cycle.
<Collapser id="health-status" title="health status indicator"
Some New Relic UI pages have a health status indicator appearing next to an index of monitored entities. This is a colored bar [(generally green, yellow, red, or gray)](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts-beta/configuring-alert-policies/identifying-entities-without-alert-policies) indicating the status of your app or other entity monitored by New Relic. It also indicates whether the entity has any alert policies assigned to it and whether there are any policy violations.
In general, the colored bar will be green, yellow, red, or gray to indicate the health status. Exceptions:
* Our REST API (v2) uses `orange` instead of `yellow` for the [application's health and reporting status](/docs/apis/rest-api-v2/application-examples-v2/application-reporting-health-status-v2).
* [Service maps](/docs/apm/applications-menu/monitoring/service-maps) use different [criteria](/docs/apm/applications-menu/monitoring/service-maps#identify-external-issues) for reporting the health of a connection between an app and an external service not monitored by New Relic (for example, a third party API).
<Collapser id="host" title="host"
At New Relic, a **host** means one of the following:
* A **physical machine** is a hardware-based device with dedicated physical resources, including memory, processing, and storage. Each machine has its own OS which applications run on.
* A **virtual machine** (VM) is the software implementation of a physical machine that executes programs like a physical machine. One or more virtual machines can run on a physical machine. Each virtual machine has its own OS and allocated virtual machine resources such as RAM and CPU.
* A **cloud instance** is a type of virtual machine that is run in the public cloud. In this context, virtual machines and cloud instances are different from Java Virtual Machines (JVMs) and containers.
<Collapser id="host_id" title="host ID"
Each host identified by APM is assigned a **host ID**. This ID is used to uniquely identify it, and to retrieve data about that host via the REST API. For more information, see [List host ID](/docs/apis/rest-api-v2/requirements/list-application-id-host-id-instance-id#locating_host_id).
<Collapser id="ignored-error" title="ignored error"
An error that you have told the APM agent not to report to the [collector](#collector). For more information, see [Manage errors in APM](/docs/agents/manage-apm-agents/agent-data/manage-errors-apm-collect-ignore-mark-expected).
<Collapser id="alert-incident" title="incident"
An **incident** is a collection of one or more violations of the conditions defined in an alert policy. An incident record includes all of the open and close time stamps for each violation, as well as chart snapshots of the data being evaluated around the time of each violation.
You can view detailed information from the [**Incidents** pages](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts-beta/reviewing-alert-incidents/explore-incident-history) in the user interface. You can also [select your preference](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts-beta/reviewing-alert-incidents/specify-when-new-relic-creates-incidents) for how we roll up violations into the incident.
For an explanation of how an incident relates to other basic alerts concepts, see [Concepts and workflow](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts/getting-started/alert-policy-workflow).
<Collapser id="nr-infrastructure" title="Infrastructure monitoring"
By connecting changes in host performance to changes in your configuration, [infrastructure monitoring](/docs/infrastructure/new-relic-infrastructure/getting-started/introduction-new-relic-infrastructure) provides real-time metrics and powerful analytics that reduce your mean-time-to-resolution (MTTR).
Infrastructure is specifically designed for complex environments that need flexible, dynamic server monitoring, from a physical datacenter to thousands of Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances and other types of integrations.
<Collapser id="nr-insights" title="Insights"
Insights was the name for the New Relic product that previously governed the reporting of custom events, and the ability to query and chart your New Relic data. These features are now a fundamental part of the New Relic One platform and are no longer governed by the Insights product or name. To learn more about these features:
* [Event API](/docs/telemetry-data-platform/ingest-apis/introduction-event-api) for reporting custom events
* [Query and chart data](/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/query-builder/introduction-query-builder)
For historical reasons, the word "Insights" is still used in some places. For example:
* For New Relic organizations on our [original pricing model](/docs/accounts/original-accounts-billing/original-product-based-pricing/overview-changes-pricing-user-model/#pricing-plans), Insights Pro is still the product name governing custom event data ingest and retention.
* Some APM agents still have Insights language in their codebase. For example, the Java agent [`custom_insights_events` configuration](/docs/agents/java-agent/configuration/java-agent-configuration-config-file/#Custom_Events).
* There is an API key called the [Insights insert key](/docs/apis/intro-apis/new-relic-api-keys/#insights-insert-key).
<Collapser id="instance_id" title="instance ID"
Each instance identified by New Relic is assigned a unique **instance ID**. Instance IDs are most commonly found for JVMs (Java Virtual Machines), but can exist for each agent. This ID is used to uniquely identify it, and to retrieve data about that instance via the REST API. For more information, see [List instance IDs](/docs/apis/rest-api-v2/requirements/list-application-id-host-id-instance-id#locating_instance_id).
<Collapser id="instrumentation" title="instrumentation"
The collection of [data](/docs/data-analysis/metrics/analyze-your-metrics/data-collection-metric-timeslice-event-data) from an application or host. When New Relic instruments a [framework](#framework), it detects the methods and calls used by that framework, and intelligently groups them together.
<Collapser id="integration" title="integration"
At New Relic, an integration refers to a connection between a technology and New Relic that allows the reporting of data to New Relic. So, for example, our agents contain various integrations (ways to report data from various app frameworks, or operating systems, or types of databases). Other integrations take the form of a configuration or a procedure (for example, changing a setting or an API endpoint) that allows a service (for example, AWS Lambda or PagerDuty) to send data to us.
See [all of our integrations](https://newrelic.com/instant-observability/).
<Collapser id="interaction" title="interaction"
In our [mobile monitoring](#nr-mobile), an **interaction** is a specific code path initiated by a user interaction (usually a button press). An interaction is the mobile equivalent of a [transaction](#transaction), and like a transaction an interaction can be [traced](#interaction-trace) and monitored.
You can see much of the data included in an interaction in the [BrowserInteraction](/attribute-dictionary/?event=BrowserInteraction) event.
<Collapser id="interaction-trace" title="interaction trace"
An **interaction trace** is a complete picture of a single [interaction](#interaction). With interaction traces, New Relic gives you much deeper visibility into a single slow interaction, which can help you understand a broader problem. Interaction traces are the mobile equivalent of a [transaction trace](#transaction-trace). For more information, see [Creating interactions (iOS)](/docs/mobile-monitoring/mobile-sdk-api/new-relic-mobile-sdk-api/working-ios-sdk-api#interactions) and [Creating interactions (Android)](/docs/mobile-monitoring/mobile-sdk-api/new-relic-mobile-sdk-api/working-android-sdk-api#creating).
<Collapser id="inventory-data" title="inventory data"
**Inventory data** is information about the status or configuration of a service or host. Examples of inventory data include:
* Configuration settings
* Name of the host the service is on
* AWS region
* Port being used
For more information, see [Understand and use data](/docs/integrations/new-relic-integrations/getting-started/understand-use-data-infrastructure-integrations#inventory-data).
<Collapser className="freq-link" id="issue" title="issue"
An issue is a problem in your system that needs attention. An issue is made up of one or more incidents and anomalies we've correlated through machine learning or other means. You can receive notifications when issues are created, acknowledged, or closed.
For more information, see Alerts concepts & workflow.
<Collapser id="key-transaction" title="key transaction"
A [web transaction](#web-transaction) that the user has marked as particularly important; for example, key business events (such as signups or purchase confirmations), or transactions with a high performance impact (such as searches). Key transactions have their own pages in the UI and other customized values. For more information, see [Key transactions](/docs/transactions-menu/key-transactions).
<Collapser id="launcher" title="launcher"
A **launcher** is a specific piece of code you can include when you create a New Relic One app. It creates the tile on the homepage that you click to launch the app. For more information, see the documentation about [core UI components](/docs/new-relic-one/use-new-relic-one/get-started/new-relic-one-core-ui-components).
<Collapser id="log" title="log"
A **log** is a message about a system used to understand the activity of the system and to diagnose problems. For more information on how we use log data, see [Log management](/docs/logs/new-relic-logs/get-started/introduction-new-relic-logs).
<Collapser id="log-monitoring" title="Log monitoring"
Our [log management and monitoring](/docs/logs/enable-log-management-new-relic/enable-log-monitoring-new-relic/enable-log-management-new-relic) features give you the tools to collect, process, explore, visualize, and alert on your log data using your existing log forwarder. With all of your log data in one place, you'll be able to make better decisions, detect and resolve problems more quickly, and see your logs in context to troubleshoot faster.
<Collapser id="nr-logs" title="Logs"
Our [Logs](/docs/logs/new-relic-logs/get-started/introduction-new-relic-logs) feature is a scalable log management platform that allows you to connect your log data with the rest of your telemetry data. Pre-built plugins with some of the most common open-source logging tools make it simple to send your data from anywhere to New Relic.
<Collapser id="logs-in-context" title="Logs in context"
[Logs in context](/docs/logs/enable-log-management-new-relic/configure-logs-context/configure-logs-context-apm-agents) makes it easy to link to your log data with related data across the rest of our platform. Bringing all of this data together in a single tool allows you to quickly get to the root cause of an issue and find the log lines that you need to identify and resolve a problem.
<Collapser id="lookout-new-relic-lookout" title="lookout-new-relic-lookout"
New Relic Lookout provides an intuitive view of entities that are deviating from normal behavior, using circle visualization with color indicating severity and size conveying the scale of recent changes. You don't need to configure anything: New Relic Lookout automatically compares performance within the last five minutes against the previous hour.
<Collapser id="master-account" title="master account"
See [parent account](#parent-account).
<Collapser id="metrics" title="metric"
In the software monitoring industry, a metric means a numeric measurement of an application or system.
To learn how New Relic uses metrics, see New Relic data types.
<Collapser id="metric" title="metric timeslice"
New Relic reports [metrics in several ways](docs/telemetry-data-platform/understand-data/new-relic-data-types/#metrics). One variety of metric data is called **metric timeslice data**; this is the type of data used to generate many of the charts in APM, mobile monitoring, and browser monitoring (for more details, see [metric timeslice data](/docs/telemetry-data-platform/understand-data/new-relic-data-types/#timeslice-data)).
Over time, metric timeslice data is aggregated into longer timeslice data records for more efficient storage. For more about how we aggregate this type of data, see [Data aggregation](/docs/accounts/original-accounts-billing/product-based-pricing/overview-data-retention-components/#components-aggregate-metrics).
For how to query this type of data, see [Query metric timeslice data](/docs/telemetry-data-platform/understand-data/metric-data/query-apm-metric-timeslice-data-nrql/).
<Collapser id="metric-grouping-issue" title="metric grouping issue"
A **metric grouping issue** occurs when an account sends too many differently named [metric timeslice data points](#metric) to New Relic, and those individual web transactions are not properly aggregated. For example, rather than a single `/user/controlpanel/` metric name, you might see `/user/controlpanel/alice`, `/user/controlpanel/bob`, and `/user/controlpanel/carol`. For more information, see [Metric grouping issues](/docs/features/metric-grouping-issues).
<Collapser id="minion" title="minion"
The software that accepts [monitor](#monitor) jobs from a [private location](#private-location). A minion is a packaged virtual appliance that runs in your hypervisor. For more information, see [Private locations overview](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/private-locations/private-locations-overview-monitor-internal-sites-add-new-locations) and [install and configure private minions](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/private-locations/install-containerized-private-minions-cpms#install-update).
<Collapser id="nr-mobile" title="Mobile monitoring"
[Mobile monitoring](/docs/mobile-apps/new-relic-mobile) allows you to monitor and manage the performance of your mobile apps on Android, iOS, tvOS, and other systems. Mobile monitoring provides end-to-end details, including crashes, throughput, HTTP requests, error traces, and more.
Not to be confused with New Relic's own mobile apps for [Android](/docs/apps-for-new-relic/new-relic-android-app), [iPhone, and iPad](/docs/apps-for-new-relic/new-relic-iphone-app).
<Collapser id="monitor" title="monitor"
For our Synthetic Monitoring, a **monitor** ensures your website or API endpoint is available. For more information, see [Adding and editing monitors](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/using-monitors/adding-editing-monitors).
<Collapser id="namespace" title="namespace"
At New Relic, we use namespaces to help organize the data we store in the New Relic database (NRDB). From a customer perspective, the most practically relevant use of the namespace concept is how it pertains to [data retention](/docs/data-apis/manage-data/manage-data-retention). The namespace is what sets the default data retention period for various types of data. For example, data types in the `Logging` namespace all have the same data retention, and data types in the `APM` namespace all have the same data retention.
<Collapser id="navigator-new-relic-navigator" title="navigator-new-relic-navigator"
New Relic Navigator makes it easy to explore large numbers of entities as it displays the entire estate of your system in a highly dense honeycomb view with traffic light colors based on [alerts] (/docs/alerts-applied-intelligence/new-relic-alerts/learn-alerts/alerts-concepts-workflow/).
<Collapser id="nerdgraph" title="NerdGraph"
[NerdGraph](/docs/apis/nerdgraph/get-started/introduction-new-relic-nerdgraph) is our GraphQL API, an efficient and flexible query language that lets you request exactly the data you need, without over-fetching or under-fetching. NerdGraph calls get all the data you need in a single request. NerdGraph also makes it easier to evolve APIs over time and enables powerful developer tools.
You can use our [NerdGraph GraphiQL explorer](/docs/apis/nerdgraph/get-started/introduction-new-relic-nerdgraph#explorer) to explore the schema and find definitions. With [valid New Relic API key](/docs/apis/nerdgraph/get-started/introduction-new-relic-nerdgraph#authentication), you can try it out yourself at [api.newrelic.com/graphiql](https://api.newrelic.com/graphiql).
<Collapser id="nerdlet" title="Nerdlet"
A Nerdlet is a component of a [New Relic One application](/docs/new-relic-one/use-new-relic-one/build-new-relic-one/new-relic-one-build-your-own-custom-new-relic-one-application). It's a specific UI view, represented by a React JavaScript package. For more information, see [Nerdpack file structure](/docs/new-relic-one/use-new-relic-one/build-new-relic-one/new-relic-one-application-nerdpack-file-structure).
<Collapser id="nerdpack" title="Nerdpack"
A Nerdpack is a component of a [New Relic One application](/docs/new-relic-one/use-new-relic-one/build-new-relic-one/new-relic-one-build-your-own-custom-new-relic-one-application). It's the package containing all the files needed by that application. For more information, see [Nerdpack file structure](/docs/new-relic-one/use-new-relic-one/build-new-relic-one/new-relic-one-application-nerdpack-file-structure).
<Collapser id="new-relic-edge-infinite-tracing" title="New Relic Edge with Infinite Tracing"
New Relic Edge with Infinite Tracing is a fully managed, distributed tracing service that observes 100% of your application traces, then provides actionable data so you can solve issues faster.
For more information, see [/docs/understand-dependencies/distributed-tracing/get-started/how-new-relic-distributed-tracing-works](/docs/understand-dependencies/distributed-tracing/get-started/how-new-relic-distributed-tracing-works).
<Collapser id="new-relic-one" title="New Relic One"
For more information, see [Introduction to New Relic One](/docs/new-relic-one/use-new-relic-one/get-started/introduction-new-relic-one).
<Collapser id="new-relic-one-catalog" title="New Relic One catalog"
Our catalog is a collection of applications built on the New Relic One platform. The catalog includes custom apps we've built, public open source apps, and any apps that you buid.
You can browse the catalog on [New Relic One](https://one.newrelic.com/launcher/nr1-core.home?pane=eyJuZXJkbGV0SWQiOiJucjEtY29yZS5ob21lLXNjcmVlbiJ9&overlay=eyJuZXJkbGV0SWQiOiJucjEtY2F0YWxvZy5hcHAtZGlyZWN0b3J5In0=).
<Collapser id="nrql" title="NRQL (New Relic query language)"
[NRQL](/docs/query-your-data/nrql-new-relic-query-language/get-started/nrql-syntax-clauses-functions) is a query language, similar in form to SQL, that allows you to query the data stored in your New Relic account.
<Collapser id="non-web-transaction" title="non-web transaction"
APM identifies [transactions](/docs/apm/transactions/intro-transactions/transactions-new-relic-apm) as either web or non-web. When New Relic does not detect a transaction was initiated by a web request, this is called a non-web transaction. For more information, see [Background processes and other non-web transactions](/docs/apm/transactions/intro-transactions/monitor-background-processes-other-non-web-transactions).
<Collapser id="alert-notification" title="notification"
The message sent when an incident opens, is acknowledged, or closes. The [type of notification](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts-beta/managing-notification-channels/notification-channels-controlling-where-send-alerts) is defined by the [alert policy's notification channel](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts-beta/managing-notification-channels/add-or-remove-policy-channels).
For an explanation of how notifications relate to other basic alerts concepts, see [Concepts and workflow](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts/getting-started/alert-policy-workflow).
<Collapser id="alert-channel" title="notification channel"
Where we send a notification when an incident opens, is acknowledged, or closes. Available channels include [email, mobile push notifications, webhooks, and more](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts-beta/managing-notification-channels/notification-channels-controlling-where-send-alerts).
<Collapser id="obfuscating" title="obfuscating"
A security protocol that hides sensitive data in your logs through hashing or masking. After you've identified sensitive data you want to hide, you define it in the form of an expression. With that expression, you create an obfuscation rule that identifies instances of sensitive data in your logs, then automates masking or hashing, depending on the rule.
<Collapser id="on-host-integration" title="on-host integration"
**On-host integrations** refer to integrations that reside on your own servers or hosts and that communicate with our infrastructure agent. For more information, see [Introduction to on-host integrations](/docs/infrastructure/host-integrations/getting-started/introduction-host-integrations).
<Collapser id="organization" title="organization"
At New Relic, "organization" can refer to one or more concepts:
* We sometimes use "organization" in a general way to refer to a business or non-profit entity.
* For New Relic account management purposes, a "New Relic organization" refers to all the assets and data belonging to a New Relic customer (for example, their accounts, their users, and their data). For more about this concept, see [Organization and account structure](/docs/accounts/accounts-billing/account-structure/new-relic-account-structure).
<Collapser id="owner" title="owner"
For accounts on our [original pricing model](/docs/accounts/accounts-billing/new-relic-one-pricing-users/transition-guide-new-pricing-plan), this is a type of user role: the user who initially created the account. For more information, see [Users](/docs/subscriptions/users-and-roles).
<Collapser id="page-load-timing" title="page load timing"
With **page load timing**, New Relic monitors the full load time for end-user browsers. New Relic's [application agents](#agent) dynamically inject JavaScript into the page, then capture the following key load points:
* **Navigation start**: The user initiates the transaction.
* **First byte**: The browser receives the requested page.
* **DOM ready**: The browser has finished parsing DOM.
* **Page ready**: Page loading is complete.
Page load timing is sometimes referred to as RUM, or real user monitoring. Unlike standard RUM, page load timing also captures JavaScript errors and AJAX requests. For more information, see [Page load timing process](/docs/browser/new-relic-browser/page-load-timing-resources/page-load-timing-process).
<Collapser id="parameter" title="parameter"
Deprecated term; see [attribute](#attribute).
<Collapser id="parent-account" title="parent account"
New Relic organizations can have a parent/child account structure. This structure was much more important for organizations with users on our [original user model](/docs/accounts/original-accounts-billing/original-product-based-pricing/overview-user-models), but is still used for some features for organizations on the New Relic One user model. [Learn more about account structure.](/docs/accounts/accounts-billing/account-structure/new-relic-account-structure)
Parent accounts were previously referred to as "master accounts", and child accounts were previously referred to as "sub-accounts".
<Collapser id="permalink" title="permalink"
A unique URL that links to a view of your application at a specific point in time. **Permalinks** are useful for troubleshooting and for sharing interesting time windows with colleagues.
<Collapser id="pinger" title="pinger"
The component of New Relic that connects to your website to verify your website is accessible. New Relic has pingers in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Each pinger attempts to contact your website at least once every two minutes. If enough pingers are unable to reach your website, your application will be considered down.
For in-depth scriptable testing, including real browser tests and tests of API endpoints, see [Synthetic Monitoring](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/getting-started/new-relic-synthetics). Synthetic Monitoring includes free ping monitoring, which allows you to monitor your website from locations around the world. For more information, see [Types of Synthetic monitors](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/getting-started/types-synthetics-monitors).
<Collapser id="policy" title="policy"
A policy is bucket for similar conditions so that you can see them all in one place. So, if your team wants to examine all of the conditions for your Java application, you will need to create a policy to contain those conditions.
For more information, see [Alerts concepts and workflow](docs/alerts-applied-intelligence/new-relic-alerts/learn-alerts/alerts-concepts-workflow/).
<Collapser id="polling-interval" title="polling interval (AWS)"
Our Amazon integrations query your AWS services according to a **polling interval**, which varies depending on the integration. Each polling interval occurs for every AWS entity. For example, if you have thirteen Elastic Load Balancers (ELB), each one will be polled every five minutes.
Depending on the AWS integration, there may be delays in the timing between the API request and the metric data returned. If you notice unusual delays, follow the [integration troubleshooting procedures](/docs/infrastructure/amazon-integrations/troubleshooting/metric-data-delays-amazon-aws-integrations).
<Collapser id="ppm" title="PPM (pages per minute)"
The number of pages per minute your application serves.
<Collapser id="private-location" title="private location"
A Synthetic monitor feature that allows you to run Synthetic [monitors](#monitor) from within your own systems by creating [private minions](#minion). **Private locations** allow you to extend your Synthetic coverage to new geographical locations, and to monitor websites behind your firewall such as an intranet site. For more information, see [Private locations overview](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/private-locations/private-locations-overview-monitor-internal-sites-add-new-locations).
<Collapser id="recovery-period" title="recovery period"
A **recovery period** of time begins when a data source enters a non-violating state after being in a violating state. The recovery period is set in the condition's threshold. A violation will close when a source remains in a non-violating state and the recovery period time has elapsed. If the data source enters a violating state before the time has elapsed, the recovery period clock will reset and the violation won't close.
<Collapser id="restricted-user" title="restricted user"
A type of user role on a New Relic account. For more information, see [Users](/docs/subscriptions/users-and-roles).
<Collapser id="rollup" title="rollup"
Using the same application name for multiple applications. This allows you to combine data in APM, either from multiple applications, or from multiple instances of an application. For more information, see [Rolling up app data](/docs/apm/new-relic-apm/installation-configuration/using-multiple-names-app#rollup).
<Collapser id="root-span" title="root span"
For [distributed tracing](/docs/apm/distributed-tracing/getting-started/introduction-distributed-tracing), the **root span** is the first [span](#span) in a trace. In many cases, the root span duration will represent the duration of the entire trace, or be very close to it.
However, for more complex, modern systems that use a lot of asynchronous, non-blocking processes, this will not be true. For those systems, the root span’s duration may be significantly less than the duration of the trace.
<Collapser id="rpm" title="RPM"
The term **RPM** usually refers to the number of requests per minute your application receives from users. This is usually the same as [CPM](#cpm) (calls per minute).
Historically, some New Relic monitoring solutions, like APM and Browser Monitoring, used to contain **RPM** in the URL; for example, `https://rpm.newrelic.com`. This language use [originally referred to **Rails performance management**](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5252561/rails-new-relic-what-does-rpm-mean) because the first iteration of our product monitored Ruby on Rails applications. We monitor many more languages and systems than Ruby now.
<Collapser id="rum" title="RUM (real user monitoring)"
See [page load timing](#page-load-timing).
<Collapser id="alert-runbook" title="runbook"
A **runbook** contains standard procedures and operations typically used by system administrators, network operations staff, and other personnel to handle outages, alert incidents, and other situations. If your organization stores runbook instructions as URLs, you can link this information to an alerts policy so your personnel has [easy access to this information](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts-beta/reviewing-alert-incidents/provide-runbook-instructions-alert-activity) when an incident violates the defined policy thresholds.
<Collapser id="saml" title="SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language)"
**SAML** is an XML-based data format for sharing authentication data between two parties. New Relic accounts must obtain a SAML certificate in order to enable [Single Sign On](#sso) for their users. For more information, see [SAML service providers](/docs/subscriptions/saml-service-providers).
<Collapser id="selenium" title="Selenium"
**Selenium** is an open-source browser testing suite. [Synthetics](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/getting-started/new-relic-synthetics) uses Selenium to test monitored websites with real browsers. For more information, see [monitor types](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/using-monitors/adding-editing-monitors#setting-type).
<Collapser id="service" title="service"
A **service** is a cluster of runtime server processes that accomplish a particular task, usually service requests. Unlike an application, a service is not usually invoked by a human.
New Relic offers a variety of [integrations](https://newrelic.com/instant-observability) that allow you to report data from your services.
<Collapser id="signal" title="signal"
The stream of telemetry data that's watched and alerted on. You use NRQL queries to define a signal.
<Collapser id="signal-filter" title="signal filter"
When we receive data and it's routed to the streaming alerts platform, your NRQL `WHERE` clause will filter the data coming in.
The filtered streaming data is what's evaluated for loss of signal violations, for example.
<Collapser id="span" title="span"
In a distributed trace, a **span** is a "named, timed operation representing a contiguous segment of work in that trace" (from [OpenTracing.io](https://opentracing.io/docs/overview/spans/) definition).
For [distributed tracing](/docs/apm/distributed-tracing/getting-started/introduction-distributed-tracing), spans are displayed in the distributed tracing UI, and the data type [`Span`](/docs/apm/distributed-tracing/ui-data/distributed-tracing-attributes) is available to be [queried](/docs/using-new-relic/data/understand-data/query-new-relic-data).
See also [root span](#root-span).
<Collapser id="ssl-certificate" title="SSL certificate"
**SSL certificates** encrypt data that is being transmitted. While New Relic refers to security certificates as SSL because it is a more commonly used term, all certificates adhere to industry standards for secure encryption in transit.
<Collapser id="sso" title="SSO (single sign on)"
**SSO** (single sign on) allows you to manage user authentication in New Relic using an external SSO provider. For more information, see [Setting up SSO](/docs/subscriptions/setting-up-sso).
<Collapser id="streaming-algorithm" title="streaming algorithm"
This is what determines when the data in an aggregation window is processed. The streaming algorithm uses your server's clock time and the aggregation window size to trigger the alert evaluation process.
<Collapser id="sub-account" title="sub-accounts"
See [master account](#parent-account).
<Collapser id="nr-synthetics" title="Synthetic monitoring"
[Synthetic monitoring](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/getting-started/new-relic-synthetics) allows you to monitor your website or API endpoint via automated, scriptable tools. Use free ping monitor to ensure your website is accessible, or expand your monitoring with browser monitors, which test your website with real browsers. Go further with scripting, to script browsers or API monitors for sophisticated testing.
<Collapser id="alert-target" title="target"
A **target** is a resource or component monitored by a New Relic monitoring tool that has been [identified in an alert condition](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts-beta/configuring-alert-policies/select-product-targets-alert-condition). When the data source for that target crosses the defined critical threshold, we will open a violation. Depending on your policy's [Incident preference](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts/configuring-alert-policies/specify-when-new-relic-creates-incidents) setting, alerts may create an incident record and send notifications through the defined channels. See also [**entity**](#entity).
<Collapser id="tag" title="tag"
Tags are key:value metadata added to monitored apps, hosts, dashboards, and other entities to help you organize your data at a high level. For details, see [Tags](/docs/new-relic-one/use-new-relic-one/core-concepts/tagging-use-tags-organize-group-what-you-monitor).
<Collapser id="telemetry" title="telemetry"
Basically, when you're using New Relic, you're gathering telemetry data. The process of automating an instrument to collect data about your systems. You use New Relic to monitor your systems and collect data in the form of metrics, events, logs, and traces. New Relic then stores that collected data in our servers, which you can access and analyze through your dashboards.
<Collapser id="alert-threshold" title="thresholds"
**Thresholds** are alert condition settings that define a violation. Threshold values include the value a data source must pass to trigger a violation and the time-related settings that define a violation; for example:
* Passing a certain value for at least x minutes
* Passing a certain value only once in x minutes
While the data source passes a certain value, a [degradation period](#degradation-period) starts. Likewise, when that data source stops passing a certain value, a [recovery period](#recovery-period) starts. The durations of these two time periods are defined in the alert condition threshold settings.
Thresholds have a required critical (red) threshold and an optional warning (yellow) threshold. In the UI, the entity's [health status](#health-status) indicator will change to yellow or red when a threshold has been crossed and a violation will open.
For more information, see [Define thresholds](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts-beta/configuring-alert-policies/define-thresholds-trigger-alert). For an explanation of how thresholds relate to other basic alerts concepts, see [Concepts and workflow](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts/getting-started/alert-policy-workflow).
<Collapser id="throughput" title="throughput"
**Throughput** is a measurement of user activity for a monitored application. APM throughput and Browser Monitoring throughput are measured in different ways:
* APM: requests per minute (RPM)
* Browser: page views per minute (PPM)
<Collapser id="tier" title="tier"
A **tier** can refer to how New Relic categorizes or visualizes the various agent language ecosystems that we support. For example:
* In APM, the color-coded categories that appear on your [app's main **Overview** chart](/docs/apm/applications-menu/monitoring/apm-overview-page) show response time spent in various functions, processes, or agents as tiers; for example, request queuing, garbage collection, Middleware, JVMs, etc.
* In New Relic [labels](/docs/data-analysis/user-interface-functions/labels-categories-organize-your-apps-servers), `TIER` can be used to define or classify the client-server architecture; for example, front-end and back-end tiers.
"Tier" may sometimes be used to refer to our [pricing editions](https://newrelic.com/pricing).
<Collapser id="time-picker" title="time picker"
By default the New Relic UI shows data for the past 30 minutes, ending now. To change the time window, use the [time picker](/docs/site/timepicker-setting-time-periods-to-view-data).
<Collapser id="timerange" title="time range"
A **time range** can refer to a length of time selected in the New Relic UI. New Relic displays a time range depending on the range you select using the [time picker](#time-picker).
<Collapser id="timeslice-data" title="timeslice data"
See [metric timeslice data](#metric).
<Collapser id="trace" title="trace"
A **trace** is a description of how a request travels through a system. Trace data helps you understand the performance of your system and diagnose problems. For more information on how we use trace data, see [New Relic data types](/docs/using-new-relic/data/understand-data/new-relic-data-types#trace-data).
<Collapser id="traffic" title="traffic light"
See [health status](#health-status).
<Collapser id="transaction" title="transaction"
A **transaction** is defined as one logical unit of work in an application. This term primarily refers to server-side transactions monitored by APM. For more information, see documentation about [web transactions](/docs/apm/transactions/intro-transactions/transactions-new-relic-apm) and [non-web transactions](/docs/apm/transactions/intro-transactions/monitor-background-processes-other-non-web-transactions).
The term transaction is also sometimes used in Browser Monitoring. In that case, it primarily refers to activity beginning with a browser-side web request and ending with a complete page load.
<Collapser id="transaction-trace" title="transaction trace"
A **transaction trace** is a complete picture of a single [transaction](#transaction), down to the database queries and exact invocation patterns. With transaction traces, New Relic gives you much deeper visibility into a single slow transaction, which can help you understand a broader problem. For more information, see [Transaction traces](/docs/apm/transactions/transaction-traces/transaction-traces).
<Collapser id="ui" title="UI"
The New Relic user interface. For more information, see [Standard page functions](/docs/using-new-relic/user-interface-functions/view-your-data/standard-page-functions).
<Collapser id="user" title="user"
A **user** can refer to a specific user role in a New Relic account. For more information, see [Users](/docs/accounts/accounts-billing/new-relic-one-pricing-users/users-roles).
<Collapser id="utc" title="UTC"
**Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)**, or Coordinated Universal Time, is a standard timestamp for synchronizing time around the world.
<Collapser id="value-function" title="value function (metrics)"
The numeric value obtained from [metric timeslice data](#metric); for example, an average, minimum, maximum, total, sample size, etc.
<Collapser id="alert-violation" title="violation"
A **violation** occurs when the entity monitored by an alert condition reports a value that crosses the thresholds defined in that condition. For an explanation of how violations relate to other basic alerts concepts, see [Concepts and workflow](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts/getting-started/alert-policy-workflow).
You can view a summary of the [violations for a selected incident's page](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts-beta/reviewing-alert-incidents/view-incident-dashboard-details). You can also view the violations for a specific entity from the [product's UI](/docs/alerts/new-relic-alerts-beta/reviewing-alert-incidents/view-alert-violations-new-relic-products).
<Collapser id="web-external" title="web external"
**Web external** is the term applied to the portion of time spent in transactions to external applications from within the code of the application you are monitoring. That time can be a call to a third party company (a payment provider, for example) or it could be a call to another microservice within your own company. Web external demonstrates how performance is impacted by your code executing outside the application you are measuring.
<Collapser id="web-transaction" title="web transaction"
A **transaction** is defined as one logical unit of work in an application. This term primarily refers to server-side transactions monitored by APM.
Web transactions are initiated with an HTTP request. For most organizations, these represent customer-centric interactions and thus are the most important transactions to monitor. For more information, see [Web transactions](/docs/apm/transactions/intro-transactions/transactions-new-relic-apm) and [Non-web transactions](/docs/apm/transactions/intro-transactions/monitor-background-processes-other-non-web-transactions).
<Collapser id="webdriver" title="WebDriverJS"
**WebDriver** is a [Selenium](#selenium) component, used to control Synthetics [scripted browsers](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/scripting-monitors/writing-scripted-browsers). Specifically, Synthetics uses WebDriverJS, a Node.js-based flavor of Selenium. For more information, see [Writing scripted browsers](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/scripting-monitors/writing-scripted-browsers) and [Scripted browser examples](/docs/synthetics/new-relic-synthetics/scripting-monitors/scripted-browser-examples).
<Collapser id="workflows" title="workflows"
Workflows are how you route alert notifications to the right people when problems occur. To make troubleshooting easier, you can add queries to workflows to automatically enrich your notifications with more info around the incidents.
For more information, see Workflows.
<Collapser id="workload" title="workload"
Workloads let you group entities that work together to provide a specific business value. Then you can easily monitor availability and resource consumption for what's relevant to you. For example, you could make a workload with all the hosts that make up a data center.
For more information, see Intro to workloads.