What is the difference between RUM (Real User Monitoring) vs. Synthetic monitoring?

RUM, or Real User Monitoring, is a type of monitoring that involves tracking the performance of a website or application as experienced by actual users. This type of monitoring can provide valuable insights into how a website or application is performing in the wild, and can help identify issues that may not be apparent when using other types of monitoring.

Synthetic monitoring, on the other hand, involves using simulated traffic to test the performance of a website or application. This type of monitoring can be useful for providing a baseline measure of performance, and can be used to test specific user journeys or transactions on a website or application.

The main difference between RUM and synthetic monitoring is that RUM involves tracking the performance of a website or application as experienced by real users, while synthetic monitoring involves using simulated traffic to test performance. Both approaches have their own strengths and weaknesses, and can be used together to provide a more complete picture of a website or application’s performance.