How to identify the real cause of slow requests

Question

We often see slow requests, but they may just be symptoms. How can we identify the real cause (e.g., CPU-heavy process, database issue)?

1. Analyze transactions for slow sub-transactions

• Go to Web Requests and select History or Slow Transactions from the dropdown.
• Optionally set a minimum request duration using the right-hand filter.
• Select a slow request and navigate to Tracing > Transaction Hierarchy.
• This highlights the slowest path through the transaction, helping to pinpoint where time was lost.

2. Examine the Detailed Trace

• From the same Tracing screen, click the button on the far right to open the Detailed Trace.
• This shows all spans involved in the transaction, including any external calls.
• Use this to identify exactly where delays occurred.

3. Review server-level metrics

• Open the Metrics tab in FusionReactor to review CPU, memory, and request throughput at the time of the slowdown.
• Check the Enterprise Dashboard for a multi-instance overview and to spot resource saturation across servers.

Learn more

Crash Protection can be configured to alert you when requests exceed defined thresholds.