Data Center Real User Monitoring

Transcription

1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Getting Started Release 12.1

2 Please direct questions about Data Center Real User Monitoring or comments on this document to: APM Customer Support FrontLine Support Login Page: Copyright 2013 Compuware Corporation. All rights reserved. Unpublished rights reserved under the Copyright Laws of the United States. U.S. GOVERNMENT RIGHTS-Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in Compuware Corporation license agreement and as provided in DFARS (a) and (a) (1995), DFARS (c)(1)(ii) (OCT 1988), FAR (a) (1995), FAR , or FAR (ALT III), as applicable. Compuware Corporation. This product contains confidential information and trade secrets of Compuware Corporation. Disclosure is prohibited without the prior express written permission of Compuware Corporation. Use of this product is subject to the terms and conditions of the user's License Agreement with Compuware Corporation. Documentation may only be reproduced by Licensee for internal use. The content of this document may not be altered, modified or changed without the express written consent of Compuware Corporation. Compuware Corporation may change the content specified herein at any time, with or without notice. All current Compuware Corporation product documentation can be found at Compuware, FrontLine, Network Monitoring, Synthetic Monitoring, Server Monitoring, Transaction Trace Analysis, Compuware APM, VantageView, Compuware APM, Real-User Monitoring First Mile, and Gomez Performance Network are trademarks or registered trademarks of Compuware Corporation. Cisco is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc. Internet Explorer, Outlook, SQL Server, Windows, Windows Server, and Windows Vista are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Firefox is a trademark or registered trademark of Mozilla Foundation. Red Hat and Red Hat Enterprise Linux are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. J2EE, Java, and JRE are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation. VMware is a trademark or registered trademark of VMware, Inc. SAP and SAP R/3 are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG. Adobe Reader is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Build: August 5, 2013, 10:30

3 Contents Contents Introduction Who Should Read This Guide Organization of the Guide Related Publications Customer Support Information Reporting a Problem Chapter 1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview Basic Product Architecture Concept of Protocol Analyzers Central Analysis Server Overview Integrating Compuware APM Solutions CAS Personality CAS Reports Advanced Diagnostics Server Overview ADS Scalability Modes ADS Reports Alerts and Traps Data Mining Interface Support for Citrix Servers and Windows Terminal Services Chapter 2 Purchase Options Chapter 3 System Requirements Recommended Hardware Supported Browsers and Connectivity Internationalization Support Third-Party Software Required and Recommended for Report Server Chapter 4 Designing and Implementing a DCRUM Solution Gather Facts on Application Topology Define and Prioritize Goals, Objectives, and Requirements Solution Instrumentation Design Pre-Installation Checklist

4 Contents Configuration Process System Verification Selecting Reports, Creating Customized DMI Reports and Alerts Chapter 5 Example DCRUM Usage for a Small Site Defining CAS Basic Configuration Settings Configuring AMD with the RUM Console Defining Software Services with a Wizard in RUM Console Connecting AMD to CAS Verify Traffic is Monitored Viewing CAS Reports for Monitored Traffic Defining a Custom DMI Report Chapter 6 Installation Process Media Browser Navigation DCRUM Installation Process Overview Chapter 7 Licensing Data Center Real User Monitoring Components Compuware Warranty Licensed Features Supported by CAS, ADS, and AMD Per-Measurement Licensing Microsoft SQL Server Licensing Policy License Expiration Notifications Chapter 8 Multi-Level Hierarchy Reporting Chapter 9 Applications, Transactions, and Tiers The Concept of Tiers and Front-end Tiers Appendix A Protocols Supported by CAS Appendix B Protocols Supported by ADS Index

5 INTRODUCTION Who Should Read This Guide This guide is intended for new users of Data Center Real User Monitoring (DCRUM), including Agentless Monitoring Device, Advanced Diagnostics Server, and Central Analysis Server. It guides you through basic features of DCRUM and explains how to start using the product. Organization of the Guide The Guide is organized as follows: Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview [p. 9] - Describes the Data Center Real User Monitoring product, its architecture, and its basic components. Purchase Options [p. 23] - Lists solutions you can choose from when buying Data Center Real User Monitoring products. System Requirements [p. 25] - Lists the recommended and required hardware and software. Designing and Implementing a DCRUM Solution [p. 31] - Describes designing and implementing a DCRUM solution as a process consisting of many steps, beginning with fact gathering and defining and prioritizing goals. Example DCRUM Usage for a Small Site [p. 43] - Describes monitoring all of the HTTP traffic in general, monitoring traffic to a specific server and reporting all URLs for that server. DCRUM Installation Process Overview [p. 54] - Describes how to install Data Center Real User Monitoring. Licensing Data Center Real User Monitoring Components [p. 57] - Describes Compuware licensing options. Multi-Level Hierarchy Reporting [p. 61] - Describes the data organization for reports. Applications, Transactions, and Tiers [p. 67] - Provides definitions and conceptual information for applications, transactions and tiers. Protocols Supported by CAS [p. 71] - Provides reference to protocols supported by CAS. 5

6 Introduction Protocols Supported by ADS [p. 79] - Lists protocols supported by ADS. Related Publications Documentation for your product is distributed on the product media. For DCRUM, it is located in the \Documentation directory. It can also be accessed from the Media Browser. You can also access online documentation for Compuware products via our FrontLine support site at FrontLine provides fast access to information about your Compuware products. You can download documentation and FAQs as well as browse, ask questions, and get answers on user forums (requires subscription). The first time you access FrontLine, you are required to register and obtain a password. Registration is free. PDF files can be viewed with Adobe Reader version 7 or later. If you do not have the Reader application installed, you can download the setup file from the Adobe Web site at Customer Support Information FrontLine Support Website You can access information for Compuware products via our FrontLine support site. You can review frequently asked questions, read or download documentation, access product fixes, or your questions or comments. The first time you access FrontLine, you are required to register and obtain a password. Registration is free. To access FrontLine, log in to Select your product from the Product Support dropdown list. Contacting Customer Support Phone USA and Canada: or All other countries: Contact your local Compuware office. Contact information is available at Web You can report issues via the Report and Track Calls tab on the FrontLine home page. NOTE Please report all high-priority issues by phone. APM Community You can find product documentation, forums with product experts, product fixes and more information at the Compuware APM Community. You must register and login to access the Community. apmsupport@compuware.com Mail Customer Support Compuware Corporation 6

7 Introduction One Campus Martius Detroit, MI Corporate Website To access the Compuware website, go to The Compuware site provides a variety of product and support information. Reporting a Problem When contacting APM Customer Support, please provide as much information as possible about your environment and the circumstances that led to the difficulty. You should be ready to provide: Client number. This number is assigned to you by Compuware and is recorded on your sales contract. The version number of the AMD, report servers, and RUM Console with RUM Console Server. Report Server Use the report server GUI by selecting Help Product Information About, or Tools Diagnostics System Status. AMD In RUM Console, navigate to Devices and Connections Manage Devices, select an AMD from the devices list and read the version. RUM Console and RUM Console Server Use the RUM Console GUI by selecting Help About menu item. TCAM Use the TCAM GUI by selecting Help About menu item. Environment information, such as the operating system and release (including service pack level) on which the product (AMD, report server) is installed, memory, hardware/network specifications, and the names and releases of other applications that were running. Problem description, including screen captures. Exact error messages, if any (screen captures recommended). Whether or not the problem is reproducible. If it is, include a sequence of steps for problem recreation. If it is not, include a description of the actions taken before the problem occurred. A description of the actions that may have been taken to recover from the problem, and their results. Debug information for specific components obtained from RUM Console. Information about the RUM Console itself. To export all the information, navigate to Help Export Console Diagnostics in the RUM Console menu. Information about the report servers. 7

8 Introduction To export the information for a specific ADS or CAS, navigate to Devices and Connections Manage Devices, and choose Export diagnostic information from the context menu of the particular device. Include data collector diag. Option to include diagnostic information on data collectors attached to the report server. Installation logs Option to include installation information logged and saved on the server. SQL trace logs Option to include trace logs of SQL queries. Save as Destination path and filename for the diagnostic package file. Information about the AMD. To export the information for a specific AMD, navigate to Devices and Connections Manage Devices, and choose Export diagnostic information from the context menu of the particular device. Include data files Option to include fragments of traffic data. Begin and End Time range of the monitoring data to be included with the diagnostics. Data file filter (RegEx) Regular expression filter for monitoring data files generated during the defined time range. Save as Destination path and filename for the diagnostic package file. Information from the TCAM System Event log of the machine where the TCAM is operating. TCAM logs which by default are stored in C:\ProgramData\Compuware\VTCAM for Windows Server 2008 and C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Compuware\VTCAM for Windows Server NOTE Please compress all the files before sending them to Customer Support. Compuware values your comments and suggestions about the Compuware APM products and documentation. Your feedback is very important to us. If you have questions or suggestions for improvement, please let us know. 8

9 CHAPTER 1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview Data Center Real User Monitoring (DCRUM) is an effective, non-intrusive choice for monitoring business applications that are accessed by employees, partners, and customers outside the corporate enterprise or from the corporate network (intranet or extranet). DCRUM passively collects data from a switch port or tap in your data center using an Agentless Monitoring Device (AMD). This approach complements Synthetic Monitoring agent-based monitoring, which measures predictable, predefined transactions from a steady-state client. Together, agentless and agent-based monitoring give you total visibility of the infrastructure so you can see when and where slowdowns occur, respond to them faster, and prevent them from impacting business. DCRUM targets Web-based applications and their supporting middleware and databases, providing an excellent picture of end-user experience, supplemented by analysis of the network and Web server impact on transaction performance. The software highlights the most widely used Web pages to help with the prioritization of problem resolution efforts. Monitoring between server tiers provides response times for database and middleware operations. In a Citrix environment, agentless monitoring ties these back-end performance measurements to the end user who initiated the transaction. For all other enterprise applications, DCRUM can be used to gauge application performance using metrics such as user wait time, server delay, network delay, and throughput. Key features of DCRUM products Excellent visibility DCRUM shows you all users, all applications, all the time for internal and remote workers, business partners, and customers. No network overhead DCRUM introduces no additional load to the application infrastructure. Low administration The AMD enables you to monitor the end-user experience of external Web users and communication between application tiers without the need to modify application code. This lowers the cost of monitoring your application, regardless of its complexity and architecture. 9

10 Chapter 1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview Benefits of choosing the DCRUM solution DCRUM: Ensures measuring actual end-user experience for both Web and non-web applications (including Oracle ebusiness, Citrix-hosted, Siebel, PeopleSoft, SAP and other packaged and homegrown mission critical applications) in a single solution. Helps to identify the root cause of performance issues with detailed client, network, server and application performance analysis. Helps to diagnose application performance problems with deep insight into application tier interaction, including SOAP, XML, Informix, WebSphere MQ, SQL Server, Oracle, and Sybase. Scales with the needs of the largest organizations to manage enterprise applications. Integrates with Compuware APM solutions for Business Service Management and Application Analytics. Basic DCRUM monitoring concepts When working with DCRUM reports, you will come across terms relating to Compuware APM Service Model components, or other basic monitoring concepts: Operation Operations in the context of the particular protocol, and can mean HTTP/HTTPS page loads, database queries, XML (transactional services) operations, Jolt transactions on a Tuxedo server, s, DNS requests, Oracle Forms submissions, MQ operations, VoIP calls, MS Exchange operations, or SAP operations. A collection of operations (sequenced or not) or a single operation may constitute a transaction. Transaction Transaction can mean one of the following: A single operation such as a Web page load. Sequences of operations: DCRUM monitors sequences of Web page loads and sequences of XML calls, and it reports on these sequences (as transactions) and on individual operations within sequences. Collections of non-sequenced operations. Transaction defines a logical, business goal, like registration in an online store. One or more transactions constitute an application. Note that a transaction can only have one parent application. 10

11 Chapter 1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview Figure 1. Hierarchy of Applications and Transactions Application Transaction 1 Transaction 2 Transaction n. Operation 1. Operation 2. Operation XML call 1 XML call Operation n. XML call n Application The base measurement unit that end users access: a universal container that accommodates transactions. Each application can contain one or more transactions. Software service A service, implemented by a specific piece of software, offered on a TCP or UDP port of one or more servers and identified by a particular TCP port number. Software services are identified on reports by either port numbers or assigned names. Site It is also possible to configure the report server to define software services as services on particular ports of particular servers. In this case, a software service is identified by a combination of a port number and a server IP addresses. An IP network from which users log in to a monitored network. A site can be a range of IP addresses set manually, referred to as a class-c IP network, or an automatically set class-b network, or it can be a range of addresses defined by a customized network mask, or a set of IP networks which is based on the BGP routing table analysis. Sites can be grouped together into areas, which in turn can be grouped together into regions. Basic Product Architecture The Data Center Real User Monitoring (DCRUM) solution consists of two logical tiers and a configuration component: Measurement data collector Agentless Monitoring Device (AMD), a network device that analyzes network traffic and feeds the application and network performance data to report servers. This is the basis for the analysis of end-user experience and IT resource usage. There may be one or more, depending on the sizing requirements and monitored application/network topology. Report server Both of the following, or only Central Analysis Server: Central Analysis Server (CAS) CAS is the main reporting component for DCRUM. CAS reads data from one or more AMDs and Network Monitoring Probes, maintains a short-term and long-term database 11

12 Chapter 1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview of the measurements data, and provides reports, alerts, and configuration means for the whole DCRUM system. Advanced Diagnostics Server (ADS) ADS provides detailed, graphical analysis of individual, multi-page Web transactions. This is supplemented with tools that help identify the system causes of performance degradation. RUM Console DCRUM component for configuring the monitoring system (both monitoring and reporting devices), traffic monitoring rules and the alert system. Use this to verify the quality of sniffing points traffic detection, record traffic, preview the captured traffic traces, and view top application categories. It offers a step-by-step guide to configuring application traffic monitoring for first-time Compuware APM users and a wizard-based process for creating and editing software service. One CAS can read performance data from more than one AMD. Multiple AMDs may be necessary to handle all the monitored traffic or to cover all the monitored physical locations (data centers). One AMD can also feed more than one report server (CAS or ADS or both). Figure 2. An example of a simple DCRUM topology Load balancer Web server 1st tier application servers 2nd tier application servers Database and back-end servers Internet/Intranet AMD RUM Console Advanced Diagnostics Server Central Analysis Server Report user Concept of Protocol Analyzers An analyzer (or decode) is a software component that monitors, parses, and analyzes a network protocol detected in the monitored traffic. Some of the analyzers perform transaction monitoring: they can recognize exchanges of information where there is a recognizable question-and-answer dialog. The analyzers present on your AMD depend on the license you purchased. Even if the AMD monitors a specific protocol and you are able to configure the AMD to monitor that protocol using a particular analyzer, performance data regarding that protocol will not be generated by 12

13 Chapter 1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview the AMD if you do not have a license for that analyzer. When there is no license present for a protocol, RUM Console displays a warning message stating that the license for that particular analyzer is missing. Central Analysis Server Overview The Central Analysis Server provides real-time access to information about performance and usage of key business applications. It monitors user session performance, application performance, and server performance in different configurations, with the purpose of identifying when and where problems occur and how to address them. Analysis options give insight into business application performance on the transaction and operation level. The information is aligned with the business structure of the organization (such as branches, working groups, and business units) and is not dependent on the infrastructure components. It is delivered via comprehensive, interactive, service-oriented reports, and via event-driven alerts that inform you about important events such as performance degradation or traffic pattern anomalies. CAS reports enable you to see a complete view of your application performance. The report structure reflects business organization priorities and allows for quick determination of the root causes of problems. The CAS is equipped with powerful data mining and report building tools for creating new or customized reports quickly and easily. The CAS uses measurement data provided by passive network monitoring devices referred to as Agentless Monitoring Devices or Network Monitoring Probes, and by synthetic network monitoring agents referred to as Synthetic Monitoring Agents. The CAS can also read data from the Cisco Network Analysis Module (NAM). In real user monitoring, one or more AMDs, Network Monitoring Probes, or NAMs are attached to the monitored network near the core switch of the data center or near VPN access switches. The AMDs and Network Monitoring Probes collect data from the monitored network, preprocess it, and deliver it to the report server. Each report server can handle a number of AMDs and Network Monitoring Probes. The report server processes the received data further, stores it in a database, and then generates user-friendly reports. Reports can then be viewed and analyzed regularly or only when a network problem occurs. The CAS provides: Web analysis and reporting Decryption and analysis of HTTPS traffic Monitoring of SSL errors Analysis of middleware transactions (XML, SOAP, and others) Analysis of various database protocols Analysis of the Oracle Forms protocol Analysis of Microsoft Exchange and SMTP protocols Analysis of a selection of SAP protocols Thin client (ICA) protocol analysis VoIP analysis 13

14 Chapter 1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview VPN analysis WAN analysis Enterprise applications analysis and reporting Real-time reports, trending reports, and baseline calculations Detection of abnormal application usage and network usage patterns User diagnostics Report access management, publication, and sharing Customizable reports For more information, see Protocols Supported by CAS [p. 71]. Integrating Compuware APM Solutions There are several integration points between Compuware APM and Gomez SaaS solutions. Customers using the Data Center Real User Monitoring solution can have Compuware APM Integrated Health View link to Central Analysis Server reports. Customers using the Data Center Real User Monitoring solution can see data from the Central Analysis Server directly in the Gomez Platform. Customers using Business Service Management solution can use a new script adapter to bring Compuware APM data into their Service Model. CAS Personality The CAS can be licensed in one of two personalities: Web or Network. The personality determines the types of reports offered. CAS-Web and CAS-Network are intended to work separately, on separate hardware, but they can also be installed together in the same CAS instance. This option is particularly useful for monitoring sites with relatively low traffic, where one machine has much more capacity than is required either by CAS-Web or CAS-Network. Web CAS-Web is used primarily for analysis of end-user experience with Web-hosted applications: Analysis options for HTTP, SMTP, and DNS Dedicated reports for HTTP (including per-url reports), SMTP, and DNS DMI access to all data, including HTTP (with per-url data), SMTP, and DNS Network CAS-Network is used for analysis of performance and usage of key IT resources: Analysis options for HTTP, SMTP, DNS and TCP generic transactions Reports providing a unified view of all applications; no dedicated reports for HTTP, SMTP, or DNS DMI access to all data, including HTTP (no per-url data), SMTP, and DNS 14

15 Chapter 1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview Regardless of the CAS personality settings and licenses, the reports from the Reports menu are always available. CAS is licensed with one or more supplemental analysis options, unrelated to personality settings and depending on the presence of their own licenses. Get the full list of licensed features from your account manager. For more information on CAS analysis capabilities, see Protocols Supported by CAS [p. 71]. NOTE Personality selection or change is allowed only if the product is licensed for the target personality, although the license may be temporary. CAS Reports CAS provides detailed tabular and graphical interactive reports. These reports illustrate near real-time visibility of all user traffic to monitored Web sites and enterprise applications. CAS recognizes and counts all real Web site users and application server users. It also reports on usage, availability, network and server performance, and errors for all Web and non-web applications. CAS reporting includes: Pre-built scorecard and dashboard reports for Web and enterprise applications. These reports drill down to detailed reports for instant diagnosis of performance degradation. Real-time, trending, and baseline reports A rules-based alerting engine with advanced programming capabilities Data Mining Interface (DMI), a powerful report design tool used to create customizable reports Detection of abnormal application and network usage patterns and application performance and error exceptions. Predefined alerts are delivered as SNMP traps and s. For a complete description of CAS reports, please refer to Data Center Real User Monitoring Central Analysis Server User Guide or user guides specific for licensed features you purchased. For example, reports related to Cerner Millennium are described in Data Center Real User Monitoring Cerner Application Monitoring User Guide. Advanced Diagnostics Server Overview The ADS analyzes key transactional application protocols and delivers definite answers to individual user problems regarding performance and errors of business-critical front-end and back-end applications. ADS measurements have sub-millisecond accuracy for precisely identifying faulty components and operations. The ADS analyzes the following transactional application protocols: HTTP/HTTPS Oracle Forms SAP 15

16 Chapter 1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview Oracle MS SQL Sybase DB2 SOAP XML The ADS also supports sequential transaction monitoring with exact measurements of the transaction sequence path, inter-step timings, and execution flow. This helps you troubleshoot business processes supported by monitored applications. Performance, usage, and errors for each application user are mapped to the transactions executed through the Web site interaction. The ADS builds an analytical model of Web site performance to find systemic problems that cause the HTTP/S-based application performance degradation. Systemic problem occurrences, reasons, and effects are quantified and assigned to the network, server, client delays or content design domains. Effect quantification and severity are presented simpley as the number of slow operations due to a particular domain failure. This helps to focus efforts on addressing the most severe Web site problems. The ADS provides you with: Detailed analysis of every application user, including every single operation and sub-operation (for example, HTTP page and page component) requested by the user, down to insight into the complete HTTP request header, request content, and response header. Problem-solving reports for sites that find systemic problems caused by HTTP-based application performance degradation (slow operations are categorized due to the operation size, application design, client link speed, or server issues). Detailed reporting on the users' request attributes and response messages communicated to users through HTML pages. These are soft errors like information on a requested product that is out of stock or the inability to process a reservation because a partner site did not respond. Transaction troubleshooting with insight into the exact sequence of steps taken by the user and with a drilldown to individual step execution flow and performance influencers. Integration with CAS reporting. This extends the CAS report workflow with detailed reporting on key application protocols. Concurrently, the ADS is capable of filtering out all but the most critical operations, transactions, and users, so the database is not overloaded with unnecessary details. ADS Scalability Modes The Advanced Diagnostics Server has only one personality, but you can set it up in one of two scalability modes. Large Web site mode Using this scalability mode, the ADS does not record per-http-hit information, which reduces the volume of information kept in the SQL database to about 10M page loads per day. Keeping only per-page data, however, results in limited access to the HTTP hit 16

17 Chapter 1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview information. Whenever a user requests information on the analyzed page loads, the data is read directly from AMDs. This option makes it possible to view load sequence charts for an individual page load, but does not allow for aggregation of the information for more than one page load. Small Web site mode Using this scalability mode, the ADS records each individual page and each individual page hit in the database, so hit-level information can be used for planning purposes and historical analysis. A disadvantage to this solution is that the hit-level database affects the whole ADS database size. Additionally, since report response time influences ADS capacity, the capacity drops down and it is affected by the response time of hit-level reports. In practice, it means about 2M pages (approximately 10M hits) per day. ADS Reports The Advanced Diagnostics Server provides detailed insight into Web page and transaction performance, which helps troubleshoot specific Web site problems. ADS provides: A pre-built scorecard and dashboard reports for Web and enterprise applications with drilldown to detailed reports for instant diagnosis of performance degradation. A rules-based alerting engine with advanced programming capabilities. The Data Mining Interface (DMI), which is a powerful tool for creating customizable reports quickly and easily. The detection of abnormal application and network usage patterns and application performance and error exceptions. Includes pre-defined alerts that are delivered as SNMP traps and s. For a detailed description of ADS reports, please refer to the Advanced Diagnostics Server User Guide. Alerts and Traps The report server has a very flexible problem-detection and alert system with multiple levels of filtering. Alerts are sent to recipients based on subscriptions. Users (referred to as alert subscribers) can select which alerts they want to receive, apply additional filtering criteria, and select the delivery mechanism. Alerts can be sent to a specified address or via an SNMP trap. You can also generate alerts without subscribers. These are recorded in the alert logs, which store records of all generated alerts. The alert subsystem caters to various requirements. You can modify the existing alert definitions (those owned by System) or define new alerts. You can send an alert when an error condition is observed for a certain period of time or repeated several times. You can cancel an alert can immediately after the error condition disappears, and has not reappeared for a specified number of minutes or reporting cycles. 17

18 Chapter 1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview You can receive an alert when: An alert condition occurs The situation reverts back to normal An alert occurs at regular intervals throughout the duration of the condition that caused it Data Mining Interface The Data Mining Interface (DMI) is a Web-based, interactive, dynamic report-building module. DMI reports immediately access current data and refresh automatically when new data becomes available. Trending and baseline data is also available for customized reports. Trending data is transparently used when necessary, while baseline data is mixed with current data on the same screen. DMI reports have variable time-range settings, variable resolution settings, and dynamic sorting and filtering mechanisms. Trending and baseline data is also available for DMI reports. Trending data is transparently used when necessary, while baseline data is mixed with current data on the same screen. Use DMIto generate tabular reports and charts and mix multiple report sections on the same page. The reports can have a hierarchical structure with contextual drilldown, sibling, and parent reports. Report definitions are saved in the database and reports are re-run when opened. The DMI is equipped with an integrated persistent report cache that optimizes report re-run requests in the context of real-time data changes in the database. The DMI integrates with a Data Center Real User Monitoring database, providing access restrictions, based on the Data Center Real User Monitoring user identity. Predefined DMI reports are available for various types of users and include high-level scorecards for IT executives, and dedicated planning and monitoring reports for staff responsible for application service delivery. The DMI can also be integrated with VantageView and used as the custom reporting engine. Figure 3. An example of a Subject Data tab 18

19 Chapter 1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview Data Views Within each section, for each data provider you can select a data view from the Data Views list. A data view is a set of dimensions and metrics maintained internally by DMI and related to specific issues or topics. The name of the data provider (for example, Central Analysis Server) appears in each section on the left-hand side of the header bar. Figure 4. An example set of data views for a data provider Data Sources You can select the data source in the Data Sources list below the Data Views list. Display Name To give a section a name, type the name in the Display Name edit box. NOTE To cancel all of the selections that you have made and clear the form, click the Reset button in the bottom-right corner of the screen (not provided if you are using DMI in VantageView). Refer to the Data Center Real User Monitoring Data Mining Interface (DMI) User Guide. Support for Citrix Servers and Windows Terminal Services Thin Client Analysis Module (TCAM) is a software module that supports monitoring application traffic in enterprise environments that use Citrix Servers or Windows Terminal Services. 19

20 Chapter 1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview The TCAM does the following: Creates an association between users and their sessions. Monitors performance of hardware to which TCAM is applied. Creating Associations Between Users and Sessions The TCAM creates an association between a user and their sessions. This information is then passed to AMD as shown in Figure 5. Thin Client Analysis Module Operation [p. 20]. Figure 5. Thin Client Analysis Module Operation Front-end traffic (ICA protocol) Presentation data Citrix Presentation Server Back-end traffic Application data Users Performance data Session mapping data Application server AMD At the front end, there is a terminal session between a user and the presentation server. The user runs an application that causes a back-end session to open a session between the presentation server and an application server. The back-end session carries the actual user transactions, but it is impossible to determine which users the back sessions belong to because no user identification is carried in the sessions at the back end. The monitoring system determines which back-end sessions belong to which user. Only this association allows for actual user experience monitoring. NOTE To create the associations between users and sessions, TCAM relies on applications being executed under specific user names. However, when a user runs an application that has been started as a system service, the association is not possible. Also, the session is not associated with the user if the user, using a Citrix server communicating with a monitored application, logs in and then disconnects. Monitoring Hardware Performance TCAM also monitors the performance of the hardware to which it is applied and sends the results to the AMD. The performance information includes: CPU utilization Physical disk utilization Memory utilization 20

21 Chapter 1 Data Center Real User Monitoring Overview Number of Terminal Services sessions Number of active Terminal Services sessions Limitations Monolithic applications The TCAM works for distributed applications (such as Oracle Forms and Web-enabled applications) but not for monolithic applications that run solely on Citrix server within the user's memory space (such as image processing). For monolithic applications, it may be the case that performance cannot be assessed by looking at network packets behind the Citrix server. We may not even know that this application is in use by the end users. For information on how to install and configure TCAM and about monitoring and reporting on Citrix-based environments refer to Data Center Real User Monitoring Citrix/Windows Terminal Services Monitoring User Guide. 21

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23 CHAPTER 2 Purchase Options All Data Center Real User Monitoring devices can be delivered as a software or turnkey solution. This means that you can buy Compuware software alone or as part of a ready-to-use hardware and software installation. AMD Software Solution The kickstart file. This is required for installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, which is the supported operating system for the AMD. Customers must obtain the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 or 6 from Red Hat. NOTE Red Hat Enterprise Linux is sold on a per-socket-pair basis, so that the prices in the vendor's directory affect every two populated sockets in the server. Choose a subscription based on the target hardware architecture for your AMD. For more information on operating system licensing, refer to the Red Hat Web site ( Except as noted, the AMD has the same functionality and performance on all versions of the supported versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system. AMD software. Product documentation. All the AMD software and documentation is shipped with the AMD installation media. It enables you to build the AMD on hardware that conforms to the Compuware specifications, rebuild the AMD in case of hardware failure, or upgrade it to the current version. The media contains the AMD software without the operating system. AMD Turnkey Solution Hardware (a rack-mounted, server-grade computer; network adapters; and an optional SSL accelerator card).compuware provides a complete list of hardware recommended by, please refer to Recommended Hardware Configurations. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 operating system, already installed on the hardware; the installation media is also included. 23

24 Chapter 2 Purchase Options NOTE The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system can be obtained and activated either by a customer, or by Compuware on behalf of a customer. AMD software installed on the hardware. Product documentation. All the AMD software and documentation is shipped with the AMD installation media. It enables you to build the AMD on hardware that conforms to the Compuware specifications, rebuild the AMD in case of hardware failure, or upgrade it to the current version. CAS/ADS software solution CAS/ADS software. Product documentation. All Compuware CAS/ADS software and documentation is shipped with the CAS/ADS installation media. Note that CAS software requires a third-party operating system and database software to run, and it should be installed on hardware that meets the Compuware recommendation for processing capacity. CAS/ADS turnkey solution Hardware (a rack-mounted, server-grade computer). For a complete list of hardware recommended by Compuware, please refer to Recommended Hardware Configurations. CAS/ADS software. Product documentation. Third-party software required to run the report server, such as operating system, database server, and other utilities. Refer to the list of the recommended software. For more information, see Third-Party Software Required and Recommended for Report Server [p. 29]. Each of the third-party software packages and its end-user license agreement is delivered on a separate CD or as a downloadable installation program on the hard disk of the server. Compuware delivers the CAS/ADS turnkey solution with five Microsoft SQL Server User CALs, which means that you have five CALs to assign to users accessing CAS reports, and another five if you have purchased both CAS and ADS. All Compuware CAS/ADS software and documentation is shipped with the CAS/ADS installation media. 24

25 CHAPTER 3 System Requirements Ensure that your system meets the requirements to run DCRUM components. NOTE Satisfying the minimum requirements may not ensure optimal usability. Choose the most appropriate hardware and system platform to achieve a successful installation. Recommended Hardware Please refer to Data Center Real User Monitoring - Hardware Recommendations at FrontLine ( for details on hardware configurations that have been tested by Compuware with AMD, CAS, and ADS installations. This document also provides information on add-on cards, network taps (fiber and copper) that can be used as an alternative to the mirrored ports as source of monitored data, and recommended software configurations. Contact your sales support representative for help on choosing the best hardware for running the devices in your environment. Sizing and Scalability Compuware has tested hardware specifications provided for CAS and ADS for performance to ensure capacity and scalability levels as described in the Sizing and Scalability of Real-User Monitoring - Data Center Solution guide. Compuware does not provide CAS/ADS capacity and performance numbers on hardware platforms different from those specified: we cannot guarantee that CAS/ADS installation on hardware other than the hardware tested by us would satisfy your system performance needs. We recognize that there are stronger hardware configurations available than those that we tested, and that CAS/ADS can scale beyond what we specified in the sizing guide if hardware and Microsoft SQL database throughput were increased. Available options include usage of a Storage Area Network (SAN) instead of a local hard disk array and an increased number of CPUs and RAM for Microsoft SQL Server usage. Note that CAS and ADS scalability in 80 to 95 percent of all cases depends on the underlying Microsoft SQL Server database scalability. 25

26 Chapter 3 System Requirements Supported Browsers and Connectivity DCRUM users can access report servers through supported web browsers. The following browsers are supported: Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 8 through 10. JavaScript and HTTP 1.1 must be enabled. IMPORTANT When using Internet Explorer 10, do not use Compatibility View. 1. On the Internet Explorer 10 main menu bar, select Tools F12 developer tools. 2. On the F12 developer tools menu bar, select Browser Mode Internet Explorer 10. Data is handled differently in the HTML. Internet Explorer may experience performance degradation when viewing reports which contain many columns or tooltips. Mozilla Firefox versions 5 through 11. JavaScript, cookies, and HTTP 1.1 must be enabled. Before using the report server, you may have to adjust Java, JavaScript, and HTTP 1.1 settings in your browser. NOTE Some configuration screens require a web browser with Java plug-in version or later. If you use 32-bit and 64-bit browsers interchangeably, you need a Java plug-in for each browser. The Windows 64-bit operating system comes with 32-bit and 64-bit Internet Explorer browsers and the 32-bit version runs as a default. Java Web Start-based RUM Console requires Java JRE 6 installed on the desktop. Compuware recommends to use the latest Java JRE 6 update available from the Oracle Web site. Note that Java Web Start-based RUM Console will only run on Windows and a 32-bit JRE. In Java plug-in version 1.5, TLS is turned off by default. This may cause some applets to not work in your web browser. You must turn on TLS in the Java 1.5 Control Panel to have full access to all report server features. For more information, see Enabling TLS 1.0 for the Java 1.5 Plug-In [p. 27]. If JavaScript is not enabled, the top menu of the report server will not be visible and you will see the following message instead: This product uses JavaScript. Please make sure JavaScript is enabled in your browser settings. Because of the Internet Explorer security policy, you may encounter some issues when executing Java applets. You need to modify the default settings for Internet Explorer 9 to run applets. For more information, see Enabling Java Support in Internet Explorer 9 in the Data Center Real User Monitoring Administration Guide. ADS and CAS can be accessed using HTTP or, over secured connections using HTTPS. Compuware recommends secure access with a browser that supports TLS v.1. You may configure 26

27 Chapter 3 System Requirements older versions of the protocol, such as SSL2 or SSL3, but generally, you should not use them. For more information, see Configuring Report Server to Use Private Keys and Certificates in the Data Center Real User Monitoring Administration Guide. Enabling JavaScript and Support for HTTP 1.1 in a Browser Internet Explorer To enable JavaScript: 1. Select Tools Internet Options from the top menu in your browser. 2. Select the Security tab. 3. Click Custom level to display the Security Settings dialog box. 4. Enable Active scripting in the list of options. To enable HTTP 1.1: 1. Select Tools Internet Options from the top menu in your browser. 2. Select the Advanced tab. 3. Scroll within the Settings list to the section titled HTTP 1.1 settings and ensure that Use HTTP 1.1 is selected. 4. Click OK and restart your browser. Mozilla Firefox To enable JavaScript: 1. Select Tools Options from the top menu in your browser. 2. Select the Content tab. 3. Select Enable JavaScript. To enable HTTP 1.1: 1. Open the browser and, in the address bar, type about:config and press [Enter]. The browser displays a list of current preferences. 2. Scroll to the network.http.version preference and make sure its value is 1.1. If the value is other than 1.1, double-click that row, change the value to 1.1, click OK, and restart your browser. Enabling TLS 1.0 for the Java 1.5 Plug-In TLS for the Java plug-in is turned on in the Security settings of the Advanced tab of the Java Control Panel. 1. Access the Java Control Panel in one of the following ways: Windows control panel In Windows, select Start Settings Control Panel, then select Java to open the Java Control Panel. Note that the Java Control Panel opens for the default Java installation, which may not be correct for the plug-in that you are trying to modify. 27

28 Chapter 3 System Requirements Java installation directory: Navigate to the bin directory where the Java version you intend to modify is installed (for example <install_dir>\jre1.5.0_11\bin). Click the file javacpl.exe to activate the configuration tool. Java platform icon in system tray: Right-click the icon and choose Open Control Panel from the menu. 2. In the Java Control Panel, select the Advanced tab. 3. Expand the Security tree to display the Use TLS 1.0 option. Make sure the option is selected. 4. Click OK. Internationalization Support Data Center Real User Monitoring supports international environments on both ends: report server and client browser. Localized Server Support The user interface of the report server is rendered in the following languages: English Japanese Korean Chinese simplified English is the default language setting. To support other languages, install the required font set for the target language and customize the regional options accordingly. Character Encoding Support for Monitored Traffic By default, only UTF-8 encoding is supported, and support for other encodings is turned off. Turn UTF-8 off selectively for HTTP processing and XML processing through the configuration options in the RUM Console. Data Center Real User Monitoring recognizes the following character encodings: HTTP and XML/SOAP ISO ISO Unicode (UTF-8) UTF-16 (XML/SOAP only) Japanese: EUC-JP, Shift_JIS, Unicode (UTF-8) Korean: EUC-KR, ISO-2022-KR, Unicode (UTF-8) Chinese: Big5, Big5-HKSCS, EUC-TW, GB18030, GB2312, GBK, HZ, ISO-2022-CN, Unicode (UTF-8) 28

29 Chapter 3 System Requirements MQ Unicode (UTF-8) Database/SQL (Oracle, TDS, DRDA, Informix) UTF-8 (all DB analyzers) UTF-16 (TDS analyzer only) EBCDIC (DRDA analyzer only) DB statements that were not sent in a supported encoding are encoded such that all non-ascii characters are replaced with their hexadecimal value in the form %XX, where X is a hexadecimal digit. SMB and Kerberos Character encoding in monitored traffic does not affect SMB and Kerberos analyzer operations. Jolt and FIX Character encoding in monitored traffic does not affect Jolt and FIX analyzer operations. Generic TCP Character encoding in monitored traffic does not affect generic TCP analyzer operations. In addition to international character support in monitored traffic, locale-specific characters can also be used in AMD configuration and in names defined in the protocols.xml file. If you use locale-specific characters in the configuration files, save the files in UTF-8 encoding. Turning on internationalization support will adversely affect AMD performance. Performance degradation will depend on the nature of the monitored traffic. Third-Party Software Required and Recommended for Report Server To operate correctly, the report server must integrate and operate successfully with third-party software. Windows and Microsoft SQL Server are required components. Install these before you install the report server. The following are supported versions: Operating System Select a server capable of running one of the following Windows editions with the latest release, service packs, and 5 Client Access Licenses (CALs). The Standard Edition is appropriate for installations up to 32 GB RAM; the Enterprise Edition is appropriate for installations exceeding 32 GB RAM. Microsoft Windows 2003 Microsoft Windows 2008 Microsoft Windows 2012 SQL Server Only Microsoft SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2008 R2, and SQL Server 2012 are supported. 29

30 Chapter 3 System Requirements Compuware recommends that you acquire a Microsoft SQL Server Standard Edition license with 5 Server - User Client Access Licenses (CALs). This recommendation is based on the following assumptions: You need a single database user connection to Microsoft SQL Server. Only one server application is connected. All CAS, ADS, and RUM Console users connect through these applications to SQL Server using a web connection (Internet or intranet, depending on the deployment). Compuware assumes that you are licensing SQL Server only for this deployment of the Compuware software configurations discussed here. If the machine on which you install CAS or ADS also co-hosts other software that uses SQL Server, or if you are connecting CAS or ADS to a SQL Server installation deployed on another machine, you may need a different licensing arrangement. Be sure to examine your total configuration (including Compuware software and any other software that uses SQL Server) and acquire appropriate SQL Server licensing. In future releases data from other Compuware modules may be co-hosted on the same SQL Server, expanding on the current single database connection. Default User and Database Ownership Privileges You can install the report server and Microsoft SQL database on separate machines. In such installations, however, where the database server and the report server may be governed by different security policies, be aware that the user which connects to the database has ownership privileges over the databases created for the report server. It is possible to change the default username delta to a more meaningful value, for example you can enter Windows domain user ID. Database space requirements Database space required for the report server greatly depends on the type and amount of traffic that is planned to be monitored and on the report server configuration. For more information, see ADS Basic Configuration Settings in the Data Center Real User Monitoring Administration Guide and CAS Basic Configuration Settings in the Data Center Real User Monitoring Administration Guide. 30

31 CHAPTER 4 Designing and Implementing a DCRUM Solution Designing and implementing a DCRUM solution consist of many steps, beginning with fact gathering and defining and prioritizing goals. In practice, we often have an initial instrumentation and configuration setup and use it to conduct application discovery, mirrored port validation, and actual traffic capacity and volume measurement. The process is iterative and is refined with each iteration. After many iterations, you may have numerous custom DMI reports and alerts. As a variation you can start with a small installation, monitoring one application, and then add more applications with each iteration. Start with user-defined software services only. The database will not overfill and the solution progresses controllably. It is not very useful for application discovery, however. You can also start large and monitor all traffic. This is effective in a small environment where there is not too much data. This approach makes application discovery possible. The process of deploying a DCRUM solution is as follows: 31

32 Chapter 4 Designing and Implementing a DCRUM Solution Figure 6. Designing and Implementing a DCRUM Solution Start Gather facts on application topology List all known problems and define goals Design solution instrumentation Install software on AMD and perform system pre-configuration Install report server(s) and perform basic configuration Install RUM Console Configure software services to be monitored Verify report server system status Interpret a system problem Problems found? Yes No Correct mirrored port connection to network Correct monitoring configuration Yes Traffic correctly seen on reports? No Complete TCP sessions present on sniffing ports? No Yes Re-evaluate instrumentation and configuration Deployment complete 1. Gather facts on application topology 2. Goal definition and prioritization - objectives and requirements Decide on the granularity of monitoring, assessing sizing and capacity Establish key performance indicators, baselines, degradation patterns and violation thresholds 32

33 Chapter 4 Designing and Implementing a DCRUM Solution Decide on mode of utilization: making use of DCRUM reporting capabilities or using DCRUM as a data collection tool only, to feed into other report servers 3. Solution instrumentation design Determine the number of AMDs you need Determine the number and type of capture interfaces you need Determine the connection points on either side of the firewall Determine the use of SSL cards for decryption 4. Installation and basic configuration Install software on AMDs and performing system pre-configuration Install report servers: CAS and/or ADS and performing basic configuration Install RUM Configuration server and client (console) 5. Major configuration decisions and system configuration Decide on level of granularity: whether to monitor individual IP addresses/user IDs or if site level granularity is sufficient, and if individual URLs need to be monitored Decide if to monitor all traffic or only user-defined software services 6. System status verification Check the System Status screen for each report server Verify that the traffic expected from each AMD (software services and volume of traffic) is correctly seen on reports Correct port spanning, if there are no complete TCP sessions on AMDs Eliminate duplicate packets Re-evaluate monitoring configuration settings with emphasis on choice of analyzer, if traffic is present on AMDs but not visible on reports 7. Reporting and notification mechanisms design Select the set of ready-made reports to be used Define alerts 8. Continuous service improvement Go over all of the steps and repeating each step as required Create custom DMI reports Decide on target audience for reports Re-evaluate the monitoring granularity, re-assessing sizing and capacity Refine and extend the set of alerts 33

34 Chapter 4 Designing and Implementing a DCRUM Solution Gather Facts on Application Topology Gathering facts on application topology is the first step in implementing a DCRUM solution. Understanding the structure and nature of the network to be monitored and its operating applications help to establish appropriate objectives for your solution. In large enterprises, several servers provide multiple applications. These servers are behind a device that acts as a load balancer (and firewall). External users access the applications via the virtual IP address of the load balancer. In addition, local users access the applications over a fast network, and remote users access the applications over a wide area network with higher latency. Figure 7. A typical IT Structure of an Enterprise TCP session irregularities, such as source/destination IP substitutions. HQ users Individual DB servers IPs Load balancer Remote users Switches Active DB Server Standby DB Server Corporate WAN/Internet Firewall / Load balancer Web Front End Application Middle Tier DB Cluster / Load balancer VIP Individual server IPs VIP and individual server IPs Cluster IP/VIP This structure includes a front end consisting of two separate tiers: A first tier consisting of remote users and ending at the load balancer A second tier consisting of Web servers behind the load balancer NOTE If the firewall is pass-through and this is where TCP sessions terminate, then this is your entire front end. Usually the sessions do not terminate there, and go all the way through to the Web servers. Therefore it is important to understand the topology of the solution at the TCP level. To fully monitor the complete user experience, it is important that monitoring be performed for both of these tiers. Capturing traffic in the data center behind the load balancer enables you to observe your network transfer characteristics and see whether there are any problems with any individual Web servers. 34