The Private Monitoring Agent allows you to run monitoring tests from inside your private network or behind a firewall. During installation, you can choose between two editions:
- Protocol Edition – for API, server, and infrastructure monitoring.
- Full Edition – for browser-based and complex internal web application monitoring.
Both editions operate within your internal infrastructure. The difference lies in the monitoring capabilities and system resource requirements.
Key Differences
| Feature | Full Edition | Protocol Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Browser-based monitoring | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Multi-step transactions | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| JavaScript execution | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Lighthouse Report | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| API monitoring | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Postman/Insomnia | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Network/service checks | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Resource usage | Higher | Lower |
| OS Requirements | Windows Server 2016 or higher x 64bit | Windows 10 or higher x 64bit |
| Installation footprint | Larger | Installation Guide | Lightweight | Installation Guide |
| Cost | Higher | Lower |
Protocol Edition
The Protocol Edition provides protocol-level monitoring from inside your firewall. It is a lightweight agent designed for API, server, and network-level checks, without the overhead of a browser engine.
Supported Monitoring Types
- HTTP and HTTPS monitoring
- Postman Collection monitoring
- Insomnia Collection monitoring
- REST and SOAP API checks
- TCP port monitoring
- DNS, SMTP, FTP, and other protocol-based monitoring
- Server and network availability checks
The Protocol Edition does not execute browser-based monitoring tasks and does not render web pages or support Rich Internet Applications, including Silverlight, AJAX, JavaScript, etc.
Typical Use Cases
Use the Protocol Edition when monitoring:
- Internal APIs and microservices
- Web server availability and response codes
- Database or application ports
- Infrastructure and network services
- Lightweight uptime checks within restricted environments
Full Edition
The Full Edition provides both browser-based and protocol monitoring from inside your firewall. It enables full synthetic visibility behind firewalls, including complex workflows and internal web applications.
In addition to protocol checks, the Full Edition supports recording and execution of monitoring scripts in a real browser.
Supported Monitoring Types
All Protocol Edition capabilities, plus:
- Real browser-based monitoring
- Multi-step web transactions
- Authentication workflows
- JavaScript execution
- Lighthouse metrics for public and login protected websites
- Dynamic content rendering
Typical Use Cases
Use the Full Edition when monitoring:
- Internal web portals requiring login
- Multi-step user journeys
- Rich Internet Applications
- Complex internal applications
System Requirements Considerations
Both editions follow the general Private Agent system requirements (Windows OS, supported versions, network connectivity, required ports, etc.). However, the Protocol Edition has lower CPU and memory requirements since it performs protocol-level checks only and does not perform browser-based tasks.
The Full Edition requires additional system resources to support browser execution and synthetic transaction processing and is recommended for dedicated monitoring servers with sufficient CPU and RAM capacity.
Before deployment, ensure the selected host system meets the applicable requirements outlined in the Private Agent installation documentation.