Advantages and Uses of MIDAS boom

Transcription

1 Whitepaper Advantages and Uses of MIDAS boom Availability of central monitoring of hardware and software components in heterogeneous IT infrastructures.

2 Contents Introduction... 3 IT monitoring with MIDAS boom... 3 Good IT availability and a high degree of performance are the key to low operating costs... 3 MIDAS boom A modern and integrated control panel for IT operations... 4 Availability of hardware and software component monitoring... 4 Monitoring hardware and software component performance in IT infrastructure and reporting... 4 End-to-end monitoring... 4 Agent-based and agent-free monitoring... 5 Overview: Uses and Advantages... 6 Technical advantages: Effective IT monitoring... 6 Organizational uses... 6 Economic advantages: investment security through cost savings... 7 Contact... 8 Blue Elephant Systems Your specialist for IT monitoring... 8 Copyright... 8 BLUE ELEPHANT SYSTEMS GmbH Page 2 / 8

3 Introduction Information technology (IT) has established itself as the universal infrastructure system in companies. It is hard to think of carrying out many business processes in companies today without the use of IT. Unexpected incidents or complete server outages can have painful consequences for businesses and can quickly become time and cost intensive. According to a 2013 representative survey, more than 75 per cent of German medium sized businesses surveyed had been affected by significant outages over the previous year. But only 61 per cent of IT officers were actually familiar with the theoretical hourly outage costs for their company (TechConsult, 2013). The results of the study are even more remarkable because efficient and affordable tools are available that can ensure professional IT operation. Solutions like MIDAS boom, many problems can be identified and prevented in advance long before they have the chance to pose any danger to a company s IT security and stability. IT monitoring with MIDAS boom With MIDAS boom Blue Elephant Systems provides a modern and effective solution for monitoring IT infrastructures. MIDAS boom automatically and continually monitors your entire IT system - from network equipment and server systems to businesses applications and IT services. Should an error occur, MIDAS boom promptly and dependably reports it to the appropriate administrators. In addition, this solution facilitates hardware-related resource planning as availability trends are measured. You ll find a competent and experienced partner in Blue Elephant Systems both for expanding and replacing existing, expensive monitoring systems, as well as for specifications for a new solution with MIDAS boom. Good IT availability and a high degree of performance are the key to low operating costs Because IT components can usually be exchanged more quickly and economically than production machinery for example, IT monitoring is often neglected. However, a high savings potential lies hidden away for the organisation responsible for the IT department. With the lowest possible initial costs in the early project phases, high and constant earnings can be attained and operating costs can be minimized. An appropriate monitoring system is helpful if its costs have already been calculated before the first instance of a significant IT error. With BLUE ELEPHANT SYSTEMS GmbH Page 3 / 8

4 complex business applications and corresponding services, however, the amortisation period is extended through time-consuming troubleshooting. MIDAS boom A modern and integrated control panel for IT operations Many IT monitoring products are based on approaches that were considered modern by manufacturers at the time. MIDAS boom on the other hand combines and integrates various approaches. Companies profit from additional opportunities and are able to implement effective IT monitoring solutions at a lower cost. Availability of hardware and software component monitoring MIDAS boom monitors the status of IT systems in order to ensure a high degree of availability for servers, applications and IT services in the network. To this end, the monitoring systems evaluate information from numerous sources, for example log files, process tables and protocols, e.g. SNMP or WMI. The aim is the earliest possible identification and preventative removal of errors and providing alerts for them. Monitoring hardware and software component performance in IT infrastructure and reporting MIDAS boom regularly measures the performance of servers, applications and IT services. In addition, the performance parameters provided by particular operation or application systems, e.g. key processing data, are calculated cyclically. The aim is continual collection and processing of important key data in order to deliver valuable advice for IT resource planning. End-to-end monitoring In terms of end-to-end monitoring, MIDAS boom simulates typical user behaviour. At the same time, objective data is made available at defined checkpoints and data is collected on the response times of individual application transactions. Synthetic transactions monitor IT services and applications from a user view. Companies gather valid data on the performance of applications that significantly support internal business processes. This makes it an important element of IT service management and business service management. BLUE ELEPHANT SYSTEMS GmbH Page 4 / 8

5 Agent-based and agent-free monitoring With agent-based monitoring, software is used for every monitored system. This provides measured monitoring of resources, applications and services using a previously defined configuration. In contrast, agent-free monitoring only involves external monitoring of a system, meaning no software is installed on the system. In discussing the advantages and disadvantages of both solutions, proponents of the agent-free approach often point out the low cost, while agent-based approach proponents highlight the improved opportunities for intervention and diagnostics. MIDAS boom offers both options and leaves the decision up to you. BLUE ELEPHANT SYSTEMS GmbH Page 5 / 8

6 Overview: Uses and Advantages Technical advantages: Effective IT monitoring MIDAS boom provides round-the-clock monitoring the availability and performance of all servers, applications and services in your IT infrastructure. In doing so, you can identify errors early and quickly react, even on the weekends. The thresholds are configurable and intervals can be precisely adjusted. MIDAS boom includes monitors for databases, SAP, , active directory, Java applications and more. Suitable monitors can be selected from a range of modules. In addition, monitors can easily be added with very few steps for additional applications. MIDAS boom offers the opportunity to integrate previously un-monitored applications into the IT monitoring infrastructure. MIDAS boom completely and dependably monitors IT infrastructure from one or more centralized locations. You receive all essential information at a glance because MIDAS boom provides the information collected in one clearly arranged GUI. MIDAS boom handles many different IT management protocols and mechanisms, e.g. from SNMP, ICMP to WMI. The appropriate administrator is immediately notified of errors. Critical incidents can be effectively and efficiently resolved using a graduated alert scheme and dedicated escalation mechanism. Preventable error statuses can be identified early and resolved. Organizational uses Low training costs, quick and easy to learn with an intuitive user interface geared towards IT operation processes. Organizations benefit from MIDAS boom s built-in expertise in operating applications and server platforms. With its flexible user model, MIDAS boom is very adaptable to organizational conditions and can easily adjusted to existing IT operation processes. BLUE ELEPHANT SYSTEMS GmbH Page 6 / 8

7 Economic advantages: investment security through cost savings As a cost-efficient solution, MIDAS boom has low license fees. Minimal operating costs accrue with our simple administration and ability to automate large portions of IT operations. By minimizing routine IT systems work or by economizing on cancellation expenses with a higher degree of IT availability, IT operations costs can be reduced even further. Recycling existing configurations and making use of HPOM policies and Nagios plug-ins can possibly bring implementation costs down even further. MIDAS boom prevents resources on monitored systems being damaged. The MIDAS boom agent runs smoothly on embedded controls and other minimal systems. BLUE ELEPHANT SYSTEMS GmbH Page 7 / 8

8 Contact If you would like to know more information on IT infrastructure monitoring or are interested in a web demo, please visit send us an at sales@blue-elephant-systems.com or call us at Blue Elephant Systems Your specialist for IT monitoring Blue Elephant Systems GmbH researches, develops, markets, and implements solutions for managing and monitoring large-scale IT infrastructures. Blue Elephant Systems GmbH is your partner for projects in any industry thanks to its extensive experience in the business and its longstanding business relationship with major corporations. The company also provides consulting in IT monitoring and IT management training programs, in addition to the MIDAS Product Family. The expertise gained at Blue Elephant Systems GmbH has been put to the test by more than 100 companies on the Fortune Global 500 list. These companies rely on the support and migration services as well as the software solutions offered by Blue Elephant Systems GmbH. The company s main headquarters are located in Stuttgart, Germany. Its subsidiary Blue Elephant Systems Inc. is based in Tuscaloosa, AL, USA. Copyright Author: Joachim Hörnle, August Copyright 2013, Blue Elephant Systems GmbH. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be copied, reproduced, translated, transferred to an electronic medium or machine-readable language without Blue Elephant Systems GmbH s express prior agreement in written form. The information contained here is non-binding. All product and service names are the property of the respective trademark owner. BLUE ELEPHANT SYSTEMS and the BLUE ELEPHANT SYSTEMS logo are registered with the US Patent & Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of the respective owner. Should you have questions regarding these conditions, please contact us via at info@blue-elephant-systems.com. BLUE ELEPHANT SYSTEMS GmbH, Zettachring 2, Stuttgart, Germany. BLUE ELEPHANT SYSTEMS GmbH Page 8 / 8