GermainUX-RUM Extension

📡 GermainUX RUM Extension

The GermainUX Real User Monitoring (RUM) Extension captures user interactions, application performance, errors, and session-replay data for web applications where the GermainUX RUM JavaScript cannot be added directly.

⚙️ Use cases

It is particularly useful for:

The extension provides the telemetry required to identify, reproduce, and analyze the UX, process, and technical issues affecting real users.

For details about the resulting analytics, see User Session Monitoring, Replay, and Heatmaps.

❓ RUM Extension or RUM JavaScript?

Choose the deployment method based on your control over the monitored application.

Both methods send real-user telemetry to GermainUX for analysis. The extension provides access to applications and page contexts that an externally injected script may not be able to monitor.

✨ Capabilities

Depending on the selected UX monitoring profile and privacy configuration, the extension can capture:

Captured activity can be correlated with application, service, infrastructure, and business-process telemetry available in GermainUX.

👑 Centralized configuration

The extension retrieves its monitoring configuration from GermainUX Enterprise. Administrators can define which applications are monitored and apply consistent settings across the organization without configuring every browser separately.

Centralized configuration supports:

🌐 Multiple GermainUX environments

A single extension installation can support multiple GermainUX URLs. This is useful when an organization operates separate QA and production environments for both its monitored applications and GermainUX.

The extension determines the appropriate GermainUX environment from its configuration and sends the captured telemetry to the corresponding destination.

🖼️ Cross-origin frames

The extension can monitor supported content embedded in cross-origin frames. This extends visibility into applications that combine content from different domains.

Confirm that monitoring such content complies with your organization’s security, privacy, and third-party application policies.

🔒 Locked configuration

Administrators can lock the distributed extension configuration so that monitored users cannot change or remove the GermainUX URLs or disable the configured monitoring.

Use managed browser policies when monitoring must remain consistently enabled across the organization.

🔁 Configuration refresh

The extension periodically retrieves its configuration from GermainUX Enterprise. A manual refresh option is also available, allowing administrators and testers to apply updated website definitions without reinstalling the extension or waiting for the next automatic refresh.

🛡️ Privacy and compliance

The extension can be deployed centrally without requiring each user to install it manually. However, users must be informed about monitoring in accordance with your organization’s privacy notices, employment policies, consent requirements, and applicable regulations.

Before deployment:

GermainUX privacy controls can prevent selected data from being collected or anonymize it before storage. See the GermainUX security and privacy documentation for the available controls and recommended policies.

⬇️ Download the extension

The RUM Extension is available for supported Chromium-based browsers and Firefox.

Organizations may self-host the extension when required by their security, governance, or browser-management policies.

🚧 Deployment options

The extension can be installed manually for an individual user or deployed centrally to managed browsers.

👤 Individual installation

For a local Chrome installation:

1. Open the GermainUX RUM Extension in the Chrome Web Store.

2. Select Add to Chrome.

3. Select Add extension to confirm.

4. Verify that the GermainUX extension appears in the browser’s extension list.

5. Refresh any application pages that were already open.

Manual installation is appropriate for evaluations, troubleshooting, and small test groups. Use managed deployment for production rollouts.

🏗️ Enterprise deployment

Use your organization’s browser-management platform to install and configure the extension across managed devices.

Common deployment mechanisms include:

For Chrome environments managed through Windows Group Policy, install Google’s current policy templates and configure the extension as force-installed.

Example Chrome extension-management policy:

{
  "fkcljfeejffnjajnpjflfammljcmdfnh": {
    "installation_mode": "force_installed",
    "update_url": "https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx"
  }
}

Enter the policy in the format required by your browser-management platform. Some Group Policy fields require the JSON to be provided on a single line.

Because browser-management procedures and policy formats can change, refer to the current Google Chrome Enterprise documentation when preparing a production deployment.

🔧 Configure monitoring in GermainUX

After installing or deploying the extension, define the application that it should monitor.

1. Sign in to Germain Workspace.

2. Go to Wizards.

3. Open Browser Extension Agent.

   

4. Select Add.

5. Select or create the host associated with the monitored application.

6. Select or create the monitored application.

7. Enter a descriptive label for the extension configuration.

8. Select the appropriate UX monitoring profile.

9. Configure the application URL and scheme.

10. Review the configuration and select Finish.

Use a label that clearly identifies the application and environment, such as:

The UX monitoring profile determines the data collected, privacy rules, and monitoring behavior. Review it carefully before enabling the configuration for production users.

✅ Verify the configuration

After creating the Browser Extension Agent:

1. Go to Germain > State in Germain Workspace.

2. Open the Browser Extensions view.

3. Search for the label assigned during configuration.

4. Open the corresponding entry.

5. Confirm that the extension is registered and receiving its configuration.

6. Open the monitored application in a browser where the extension is installed.

7. Perform several representative actions.

8. Confirm that the resulting sessions and telemetry appear in GermainUX.

Test the configuration with a small pilot group before deploying it to the entire organization.

📋 Production rollout recommendations

For a controlled enterprise rollout:

1. Configure the monitored application and privacy rules in a test environment.

2. Install the extension for administrators and testers.

3. Confirm that only the intended applications and URLs are monitored.

4. Validate masking, exclusion, and anonymization rules.

5. Confirm that performance, error, interaction, and replay data are received.

6. Deploy to a limited pilot group.

7. Review data quality, browser performance, and user impact.

8. Inform affected users according to company policy.

9. Expand the deployment in stages.

10. Monitor extension status and incoming telemetry after rollout.

🐛 Troubleshooting

⛔ The extension is installed but no data appears

Confirm that:

🔄 A new configuration is not applied

Use the extension’s manual refresh option, and then reload the monitored application. For managed browsers, also confirm that the latest organizational policies have been applied.

In Chrome, open chrome://policy, select Reload policies, and verify that the GermainUX extension policy is present.

🔕 Users can disable or modify monitoring

Enable the lock option in the distributed configuration and deploy the extension through a managed browser policy. Verify that the policy is applied at the appropriate computer or user level.

🔍 Only part of the application is monitored

Check for:

Add only the domains required for the intended monitoring scope.

📋 Requirements

A GermainUX Cloud or on-premises environment is required to configure the extension, receive its telemetry, and analyze the resulting data.