Kong NGINX Timers Test

NGINX timers are background tasks scheduled by the NGINX event loop, often used by plugins for periodic operations like cleanup or data sync. Efficient timer management ensures smooth plugin execution without affecting request handling performance.

Monitoring NGINX timers helps administrators ensure background tasks run efficiently without overloading the system. It aids in detecting misbehaving plugins, preventing performance degradation, and maintaining smooth, reliable API gateway operations over time.

This test reports key metrics related to timers like number and percentage of timers. These metrics are key for administrators to keep an eye on the running jobs and take corrective actions whenever needed.

Target of the test : A Kong API Gateway

Agent deploying the test : An internal/remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the target Kong API Server being monitored.

Configurable parameters for the test

Parameter	Description
Test Period	How often should the test be executed.
Host	The IP address of the host for which this test is to be configured.
Port	Specify the port at which the specified Host listens. By default, this is 8001.
SSL Enabled	If the Kong API Gateway uses the HTTPS protocol, set the SSL ENABLED test parameter to Yes. By default, this parameter is set to No.

Measurements made by the test

Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Total nginx timers	Indicates the total number of timers in NGINX in this instance of Kong API Gateway.	Number	Total number of scheduled tasks (timers) in the NGINX server, including both running and pending timers.
Running timers	Indicates the total number of currently running timers in NGINX in this instance of Kong API Gateway.	Number	Number of active timers currently executing tasks, such as periodic DNS resolution, health checks, etc.
Pending timers	Indicates the total number of currently pending timers in NGINX in this instance of Kong API Gateway.	Number	Number of scheduled timers that are queued but not yet started. These represent tasks waiting to be executed.
Percentage timers pending	Indicates the percentage of timers that are pending in this instance of Kong API Gateway.	Percentage	This is a good indicator for identifying the percentage of timers pending. High pending timers suggest tasks are not being executed efficiently.