Scale and architect a Synthetics deployment

Use these advanced considerations when using the Synthetics app for large and complex use cases.

In complex environments it’s common to have multiple task-specific Elastic Stack deployments with one centralized overview cluster using CCS or CCR to centralize Kibana dashboards and apps. Do not use this pattern with the Synthetics app. Instead, configure your synthetic monitors directly on the Kibana instance where you want to view and manage them.

You may, however, use Dashboards and the Discover feature with CCS to view synthetics-* indices.

The Synthetics app does not work with CCS/CCR because it would limit the rich user experience that the Synthetics app provides. Unlike the majority of Kibana apps, the Synthetics app relies heavily on state stored in Kibana shared objects in order to provide a rich user experience. Because Kibana saved objects cannot be shared via CCS/CCR, the Synthetics app will not show any user data even if CCS/CCR is configured.

When managing larger numbers of synthetic monitors, use tags to keep them organized. Many of the views in the Synthetics app are tag-aware and can group data by tag.

If the Synthetics app does not provide a UI for your exact needs, you can use Kibana dashboards to build custom visualizations. For a complete accounting of fields used by the Synthetics app, refer to Heartbeat’s exported fields.