Yammer Operations Test

One of the reasons why users opt for Microsoft Yammer is that it enables them to quickly and securely share their knowledge/ideas with their peers in the organization. They can like, post, delete messages as well as upload and even delete files from a group created on Microsoft Yammer anywhere through any desktop/device. However, at runtime, if Microsoft Yammer is unable to deliver the high-quality experience it promises, IT administrators will be either forced to hunt for alternatives or discontinue the service of Microsoft Yammer. To avoid such an outcome, administrators should ensure that the guaranteed Yammer service levels are delivered at all times. For this, administrators need to periodically check the time it takes to like messages, post messages, upload and delete files from Microsoft Yammer, isolate bottlenecks proactively, and plug the holes before users complain. The Yammer Operations test helps administrators in this exercise.

At configured intervals, this test emulates a message post/like, file upload and delete to a group created on Microsoft Yammer and reports the time it takes to perform each of these operations. This provides administrators with early indicators of problem conditions, thus enabling them to resolve the problem before any irrepairable damage is done.

Target of the test : Microsoft Yammer

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the monitored Microsoft Yammer

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameters Description

Test period

How often should the test be executed

Host

The host for which the test is to be configured. By default, this is portal.office.com

Tenant Name

Azure AD certificate-based authentication (CBA) enables customers to allow or require users to authenticate with X.509 certificates against their Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) for applications and browser sign-in.

This test requires a valid X.509 certificate, so that it can securely access the target tenant and its resources. For this purpose, you should do the following:

  1. Enable Azure AD Certificate-based authentication for the target O365 tenant; this can be achieved manually, via the Office 365 portal, or automatically, using Powershell scripts we provide. For the manual procedure, refer to Manually Enabling Certificate-based Authentication For an Office 365 Tenantunder Microsoft Office 365. For the automatic procedure, refer to Automatically Fulfilling Pre-requisites in a Modern Authentication-Enabled Environmentunder Microsoft Office 365.

    When enabling certificate-based authentication, an X.509 certificate will be generated for the target tenant.

  2. Configure the Tenant Name parameter with the name of the tenant for which certificate-based authentication is enabled. Using the tenant name, the eG agent will be able to read the details of the X.509 certificate that is generated for that tenant, and use that certificate to access that tenant's resources. To determine the tenant name, do the following:

    • Log in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center as an administrator.

    • Under Setup, click on Domains.

    • Find a domain that ends with .onmicrosoft.com - this is your Microsoft O365 tenant name.

O365 User Name, O365 Password, and Confirm Password

For execution, this test requires the privileges of an O365 user who has been assigned the Service support admin role and is vested with the user_impersonation permission. Configure the credentials of such a user against O365 User Name and O365 Password text boxes. Confirm the password by retyping it in the Confirm Password text box.

While you can use the credentials of any existing O365 user with the afore-said privileges, it is recommended that you create a special user for monitoring purposes using the Office 365 portal and use the credentials of that user here. To know how to create a new user using the Office 365 portal and assign the required privileges to that user, refer to Creating a New User in the Office 365 Portalunder Microsoft Office 365. You can also use eG's proprietary PowerShell script to automatically create a new user, or assign the required privileges to an existing user. To know how to use this script, refer to theAutomatically Fulfilling Pre-requisites in a Basic Authentication-Enabled Environmenttopicunder Microsoft Office 365 .

Domain Name, Domain User Name, Domain Password, and Confirm Password

These parameters are applicable only if the eG agent needs to communicate with the Office 365 portal via a Proxy server.

In this case, in the Domain text box, specify the name of the Windows domain to which the eG agent host belongs. In the Domain User Name text box, mention the name of a valid domain user with login rights to the eG agent host. Provide the password of that user in the Domain Password text box and confirm that password by retyping it in the Confirm Password text box.

On the other hand, if the eG agent is not behind a Proxy server, then you need not disturb the default setting of these parameters. By default, these parameters are set to none.

Proxy Host, Proxy Port, Proxy User Name, Proxy Password and Confirm Password

These parameters are applicable only if the eG agent needs to communicate with the Office 365 portal via a Proxy server.

In this case, provide the IP/host name and port number of the Proxy server that the eG agent should use in the Proxy Host and Proxy Port parameters, respectively.

If the Proxy server requires authentication, then specify the credentials of a valid Proxy user against the Proxy User Name and Proxy Password text boxes. Confirm that password by retyping it in the Confirm Password text box. If the Proxy server does not require authentication, then specify none against the Proxy User Name, Proxy Password, and Confirm Password text boxes.

On the other hand, if the eG agent is not behind a Proxy server, then you need not disturb the default setting of any of the Proxy-related parameters. By default, these parameters are set to none.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Message post status

Indicates whether/not posting a message to a Yammer group was successful.

 

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:

Measure Value Numeric Value
Success 1
Failed 0

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed in the table above. However, in the graph of this measure, the message posting status is indicated using the numeric equivalents only.

Message post time

Indicates the time taken to post a message to the yammer group.

Seconds

Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. A high value is indicative of a poor user experience while posting a message to a Yammer group. The reasons for the same should be investigated.

Message like status

Indicates whether/not liking a message posted on a Yammer group was successful.

 

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:

Measure Value Numeric Value
Success 1
Failed 0

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed in the table above. However, in the graph of this measure, the message liking status is indicated using the numeric equivalents only.

Message like time

Indicates the time taken to like a message that was posted on a Yammer group.

Seconds

Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. A high value is indicative of a poor user experience while the user tries to like a message posted on a Yammer group. The reasons for the same should be investigated.

Message deletion status

Indicates whether/not deleting a message from a Yammer group was successful.

 

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:

Measure Value Numeric Value
Success 1
Failed 0

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed in the table above. However, in the graph of this measure, the message deletion status is indicated using the numeric equivalents only.

Message deletion time

Indicates the time taken to delete a message from a Yammer group.

Seconds

Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. A high value is indicative of a poor user experience while the user tries to delete a message from a Yammer group. The reasons for the same should be investigated.

File upload status

Indicates whether/not the upload of a file to a Yammer group was successful.

Percentage

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:

Measure Value Numeric Value
Success 1
Failed 0

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed in the table above. However, in the graph of this measure, the status for uploading a file to a group is indicated using the numeric equivalents only.

File upload time

Indicates the time taken to upload a file to a Yammer group.

Seconds

Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. A high value is indicative of a poor user experience while the user tries to delete a message from a Yammer group. The reasons for the same should be investigated.

File deletion status

Indicates whether/not the deleting of a file from a Yammer group was successful.

 

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:

Measure Value Numeric Value
Success 1
Failed 0

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed in the table above. However, in the graph of this measure, the status for deleting a file from a group is indicated using the numeric equivalents only.

File deletion time

Indicates the time taken to delete a file from a Yammer group.

Seconds