What is software instrumentation?
Instrumentation for a software application is similar to the gauges and instruments on the dashboard of a car—it provides the information you need about the internal functioning of your application.

When the hooks needed to obtain this data are added as the application is built, instrumentation is easy. But most often little thought is given to instrumentation until the application is in testing or deployment. At that point, revising the code to add instrumentation is no longer cost-effective.

Aprobe is a powerful software instrumentation technology
The patented Aprobe software instrumentation technology offers a solution to this problem. It provides a way to transparently insert new code at runtime, while the application is in memory. This approach has several benefits:

• No changes are made to any application files
  Since the instrumentation is added at runtime, no changes are made to any application files stored on disk. This eliminates configuration management issues that can get in the way of adding instrumentation.

• No source code is needed
  Although it is always useful to have access to source code, instrumentation can be added without access to source or compiled code. There is no need to rebuild or recompile the application (or use a special JVM or application server).

• Entire application can be traced
  Since no source code is needed, the instrumentation can be applied to third-party applications, including shared libraries, Java Virtual Machines, application servers, compilers, browsers, and dynamically generated code. JNI boundaries can be crossed to instrument legacy components of the application.

• Define your own instrumentation
  Using Aprobe, you're no longer limited to the information the vendors who built your tools thought you would need. You can write your own instrumentation, tailored specifically to the unique needs of your system and your organization.

• Beyond monitoring to intelligent application management
  You're not limited to simply monitoring the functioning of your system. With Aprobe's software instrumentation, you can obtain parameter values and other data not available from most tools. You can also change the way the application executes. For example, you can pause an application while disk space is freed up or prototype bug fixes without making any changes to the application.

Aprobe gives you the control, the power, and the precision you need to more effectively manage your software applications.

More information

	Read about Aprobe, our patented software instrumentation technology.
	RootCause is a powerful tool for performing software instrumentation in a post-development environment.
	Our SureStart and SureResults services use our software instrumentation technology to improve performance for your applications.
	Our custom instrumentation services are designed to obtain the information you need about the functioning of your system and integrate it with your existing dashboard.