Patent ID: 8752015

Claim:
A computer-implemented method, comprising: configuring an agent with a current version of a configuration file, the current version of the configuration file comprises metadata entries, the metadata entries comprise a customized entry; using the agent, instrumenting and monitoring an application according to the current version of the configuration file; receiving an updated version of the configuration file, the updated version of the configuration file comprises metadata entries comprising a corresponding entry which corresponds to the customized entry; based on a rule, determining whether the customized entry is preferred over the corresponding entry; and creating a merged version of the configuration file based on the current version of the configuration file and an updated version of the configuration file, the merged version of the configuration file uses the customized entry as a selected entry in place of the corresponding entry as an unselected entry if the customized entry is preferred over the corresponding entry, and the merged version of the configuration file uses the corresponding entry as the selected entry in place of the customized entry as the unselected entry if the customized entry is not preferred over the corresponding entry; and using the agent, instrumenting and monitoring the application according to the merged version of the configuration file.