This article describes the Tests page, which is where you view and manage Kentik’s Synthetics tests.
Main UI Elements
The Tests page has the following main UI elements:
Subnav:
Credit Utilization (button): Click to open a sidebar with your total current (this month) and projected (next month) usage of test credits.
Share (button): Opens the Share dialog to enable you to share the current view (see Sharing via the Share Dialog).
Actions: Choose from the dropdown menu to export the current view as a Visual Report (PDF) or CSV Report (CSV) covering the page’s visualizations and tables. A notification appears when the PDF/CSV is ready to download.
Title Pane:
Add Test (button, Admins only): Opens the Add Test page.
Search (field): Enter text by which to restrict the Tests list. Also shows lozenges for any applied filters (e.g., Type, Alert Status). Click a lozenge to remove a filter.
Customize: Click to choose which columns are included in the Tests list.
Show Labels: Click to toggle labels On/Off. Enabled (On) by default.
Refresh (button): Click to retrieve the latest test data. Hover to see the last fetched date-time.
Filters (pane): Use the set of filter fields and checkboxes on the left to restrict the Tests List.
Tests List: A list of the currently configured tests in your organization.
Test Config (sidebar, Admins only): Click a test’s row to open a sidebar with the test’s settings and an Edit Test button. (Exception: clicking the name opens the test’s results page instead).
Notes:
Only Admin users can manage Synthetics tests (add, edit, delete) in the Kentik portal.
A notification appears when your organization has run out of Test Credits. Click Submit a Request to open a Contact Support popup (see Support Request), where you can request for a quote from Kentik for additional credits.
Credit Utilization
The Credit Utilization sidebar displays your organization's total current (this month) and projected (next month) usage of test credits (see About Test Credits), as follows:
Current Credit Utilization: Indicates your organization's total current month-to-date usage of test credits:
Used: The credits your organization has actually used so far this month.
Projected Total: The credits Kentik expects your organization to use during this entire month based on the credits currently being consumed by active tests.
Projected Remaining: The credits from your organization's allocation for this month that will go unused if your actual usage matches your projected usage.
Next Month Projection: Indicates your Kentik-projected consumption of credits for the month following the current month:
Projected Total: The credits Kentik expects your organization to use during the entire next month based on the credits consumed by the tests that are currently active.
Projected Remaining: The credits from your organization's allocation for next month that will go unused if your actual usage matches your projected usage.
Tests List
The Tests list provides information about the Synthetics tests currently configured in your organization.
Tests List Columns
The Tests list provides the following information and controls for each test by default.
Select (checkbox, Admins only): Click the checkbox next to one or more tests to clear or apply labels (see Label Controls).
Status: The current test status, e.g. Active, Paused, Failing (see Test Status Reference).
Name: The custom name of the test.
Agents: The total number of agents (see About Synthetics Agent) involved in running the test.
Target: The destination endpoint or entity being monitored. Depending on the test type, this could display an IP address, URL, hostname, ASN, CDN, or Country. For multi-target tests (like a Network Mesh), this field may display a dash.
Alert State: Shows the current alert state of the test.
Note: Alert state may differ from health based on Alerting settings.
Health Timeline: Displays a visual timeline representing the worst health value recorded across all agents and enabled metrics for every 30 minute interval over the selected time range. The blocks are color-coded to match the test’s status (e.g., green for Healthy, red for Critical).
Ping Latency: Displays a mini sparkline chart of the trend of the average round-trip time (RTT) latency, measured in milliseconds (ms), across the test's active agents over the selected time range.
Packet Loss: Displays a mini sparkline chart showing the trend of packet loss (percentage) during the test's polling intervals over the selected time range.
Actions (dropdown, Admins only): Use the vertical dots button at the far right of each row to perform quick actions for an individual test:
Edit Test: Opens the Test Settings page to modify the configuration.
Pause/Resume: Suspends or restarts this test.
Clone Test: Duplicates the test to use as a template for a new one.
Delete Test: Deletes the test from your organization (prompts a confirmation).
Tip: Click Customize to add columns, e.g., Monthly Credits, a projected monthly consumption of test credits (see About Test Credits) by this specific test.
Tests List Filters
Use the Filters pane on the left to filter the Tests list. The pane includes the following settings:
Reset To Default (button): Click to clear all currently applied filters. Button only visible when filters are applied.
Time Range (dropdown): Select the time range for the Health Timeline, Ping Latency, and Packet Loss metrics. Default is Last 24 Hours.
Search (field): Enter text to filter the Tests list by name (partial match) or ID (exact match).
Type: Check one or more test types to display only tests of those types. Only test types in current use by your organization are listed.
Alert Status: Select only certain alert status (e.g., Critical) to be shown in the Tests lists.
Test Status: Choose one or more test statuses, e.g. Active, Pending, Failing.
AND/OR (radio buttons): Determines how selections across different filter categories are combined (see Understanding Filter Logic (AND/OR)).
Labels: Select a label to filter the Tests list to only tests with that label (see More About Applying Filters).
Agents: Select an agent to filter the Tests list to only tests involving that agent.
Credentials (Super Administrators only): Select a credential to filter the Tests list to only tests using that credential. Only credentials in current use by your organization are listed.
For information about the listed credentials, choose Credentials Vault from the portal main navbar's Organization Settings menu to go to the Credentials Vault page.
More About Applying Filters
Applying filters for Labels, Agents, or Credentials uses the same multi-select dropdown interface. You can manage them using these identical steps:
To add filters: Click the filter field, browse the list or type to search, and click a checkbox to select an item. You can select multiple items from the list, or when available, click Select All to add all items. Click anywhere outside the dropdown to apply your choices.
To remove individual filters: Click the small X next to a specific item's name inside the filter box.
To clear an entire filter category: When available, click Clear in the search field to remove all selected items at once.
Understanding Filter Logic (AND/OR)
By default, selecting multiple items within a single filter box (such as choosing two different labels) expands your results to show tests matching either selection.
To control how different filter boxes combine with one another, use the radio buttons at the top of the Filters pane:
OR (Any): Displays tests that match at least one of your filter categories. For example, selecting Label A and Agent B will show all tests with Label A, plus all tests using Agent B.
AND (All): Displays only the tests that match every filter category simultaneously. For example, selecting Label A and Agent B will only show tests that have Label A and are actively using Agent B.
Label Controls
Kentik's labeling feature enables you to create a label (i.e. a property whose value is text) and apply it to one or more of your Synthetics tests. This creates a group of tests that can be referred to (e.g., filtered for) collectively rather than individually.
When you select one or more tests using the checkboxes in the Tests list, a label control bar appears above the table with the following options:
Selection Indicator: Displays exactly how many tests are currently selected (see Tests List Columns).
Add/Edit Labels: A link to the organization-level Labels settings page, where you can create new labels or manage existing ones.
Clear Labels: A button that instantly removes all labels applied to the selected tests.
Apply Labels: A dropdown menu displaying available labels. Click a label to apply it to all currently selected tests.
Select All (checkbox): A checkbox in the table header (next to Alert Status). Clicking this toggles the selection state for every test in the list simultaneously, allowing for massive bulk label updates.
Notes:
Only Admin users can manage Labels on Synthetics tests.
Labels can also be applied to or removed from an individual test via the Test Information Tab of the Test Settings page.
Test Config Sidebar
Clicking anywhere on a test's row (except for the test name) opens the Test Config sidebar on the right side of the screen. This panel provides a quick, read-only summary of the test's configuration without requiring you to navigate away from the Tests List.
The sidebar includes the following key elements:
Close (button): Dismisses the sidebar and returns you to the full-width Tests list view.
Edit Test (button): Opens the full Test Settings page where you can modify the test's parameters.
Test Header: Displays the custom name of the test and a subtitle confirming that the displayed information is based on current test and health settings.
General Settings: A high-level summary of the test's core attributes, including its Test Type, Status, Frequency, and IP Family.
Configuration Accordions: Collapsible sections detailing the specific, granular parameters of the test. The available sections dynamically change based on the Test Type, but typically include:
Ping Config: Details such as the protocol used, ping count, and timeout limits.
Trace Config: Traceroute settings, including the protocol, max hops, target port, and timeout limits.
Health Thresholds: The specific metric thresholds (e.g., Ping Latency, Ping Jitter, Ping Packet Loss) that dictate when the test's status shifts to Warning or Critical.
Alert Window: The conditions required to trigger an alert, such as how many times a threshold must be crossed within a specific time frame.