Environment-Specific Thresholds
This troubleshooting guide explains how to use environment thresholds for production monitoring and alert tuning with the Nodinite JMX Monitoring Agent.
Understanding Threshold Settings
The JMX Monitoring Agent monitors two values per Application Host, CPU and Heap Size (free heap). The JMX Configuration provides four threshold controls for each:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Enabled | Activates monitoring for this value |
| ⚠️ Warning Threshold % | CPU: usage over this value raises a Warning. Heap Size: free heap below this value raises a Warning |
| ❌ Error Threshold % | CPU: usage over this value raises an Error. Heap Size: free heap below this value raises an Error |
| Duration (seconds) | How long the value must stay past the threshold before the state changes |
The Duration setting is critical for reducing alert noise caused by temporary spikes during garbage collection, batch jobs, or deployments.
Recommended Thresholds by Environment
CPU Thresholds
| Environment | Warning % | Error % | Duration (s) | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development | 80% | 95% | 30 | Allow high CPU for builds and debugging |
| Test / QA | 75% | 90% | 60 | Catch regressions without excessive noise |
| Staging | 70% | 85% | 120 | Mirror production behavior |
| Production | 65% | 80% | 120 | Early warning for sustained high CPU |
Heap Size Thresholds
The Heap Size thresholds are the minimum free heap in percent: the state changes when free heap drops below the value.
| Environment | Warning % (free heap below) | Error % (free heap below) | Duration (s) | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development | 20% | 8% | 60 | Allow exploratory testing |
| Test / QA | 25% | 12% | 120 | Catch memory leaks early |
| Staging | 28% | 15% | 180 | Validate production behavior |
| Production | 30% | 18% | 180 | Maximize early detection |
Tip
For batch-processing JVMs that intentionally use high heap, increase the Duration to 300–600 seconds to avoid alerting during expected batch execution peaks.
Configuration Steps
Configure thresholds for each Application Host in the JMX Monitoring Agent Configuration:
- Open the Nodinite Administration panel.
- Navigate to the Monitoring Agent Configuration.
- Click Configuration to open Remote Configuration.
- Select the JMX tab and locate the Application Host to configure.
- Open the Heap Size tab for the host.
- Set Enabled, Warning Threshold %, Error Threshold %, and Duration.
- Open the CPU tab for the host.
- Repeat the threshold settings.
- Click Save to apply the monitoring configuration.
Environment Identification
Use the Environment setting in the Settings tab of Remote Configuration to label each monitored JVM with its environment, for example: DEV, TEST, QA, or PROD. This label appears in Nodinite alerts and helps operators quickly identify which environment triggered an alert.
Note
The Environment name is cosmetic. It labels alerts but does not automatically apply different threshold profiles. Configure thresholds explicitly for each Application Host.
Next Steps
Polling Frequency
Multi-JVM Monitoring
Related Topics
Heap Used vs Committed
Correlate Heap Spikes
JMX Troubleshooting Overview