How to configure Forward Proxy for HTTP Monitors on Private Locations (Per-monitor vs. Global)?

[DanielHagbi]

Hi Community,

We are exclusively using Private Locations (ActiveGates) for our Synthetic HTTP Monitors.

We have a requirement to route the synthetic traffic through a forward proxy. We are struggling to find a definitive answer in the documentation regarding the best practice for this specific setup.

Specifically, we are looking for a solution for one of the following scenarios:

1. Per-Monitor Proxy: Is there a way to define a proxy configuration specifically for a single HTTP Monitor (e.g., for specific target domains)?

2. Global Proxy for Synthetics: If per-monitor is not possible, how do we correctly configure the Private Location (ActiveGate) to route the HTTP Monitor traffic through a proxy?

Does the standard ActiveGate proxy configuration in custom.properties apply to the Synthetic engine's traffic as well? If so, is there a specific syntax or flag required to ensure the HTTP checks utilize this proxy?

Any examples or references to the correct configuration would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[t_pawlak · Accepted solution]

Hi,
Per-monitor proxy (HTTP monitor): There’s no per-monitor proxy setting for HTTP monitors in the UI. The only per-monitor proxy override Dynatrace supports is for private Browser monitors via PAC file in the monitor script (and it overrides ActiveGate-level [synthetic] proxy).
Here link to documentation:
https://docs.dynatrace.com/docs/observe/digital-experience/synthetic-monitoring/private-synthetic-lo...

You can do workaround, like create separate Private Locations (different Synthetic-enabled ActiveGates) with different proxy configs and assign monitors accordingly.

Global proxy for Synthetics (Private Location / ActiveGate): Yes—configure it on the Synthetic-enabled ActiveGate in custom.properties using the [synthetic] section (this is the proxy “to the tested resource”, i.e., what your HTTP monitors hit).
https://docs.dynatrace.com/docs/ingest-from/dynatrace-activegate/configuration/set-up-proxy-authenti...

Acording to documentation you can try something like this:

[synthetic]
proxy-server=proxy.xyz.local
proxy-port=8080
proxy-scheme=http
proxy-user=username
proxy-password=password
# optional: bypass proxy for specific hosts/domains
proxy-non-proxy-hosts=localhost|*.xyz.local

Then restart the ActiveGate service.

Does standard ActiveGate proxy in custom.properties apply to synthetics?
Yes—Synthetics has its own section: [synthetic] (tested resource). If you want the same proxy for both ActiveGate → Dynatrace communication and ActiveGate → tested resources, use [http.client] instead.
Link to documentation above