HP OpenView Smart Plug-in for Active Directory Data sheet As the primary enterprise directory service in Windows environments, the criticality of monitoring and maintaining Microsoft Active Directory cannot be overstated. The HP OpenView Smart Plug-in for Microsoft Active Directory provides superior breadth in monitoring, usability, visualization, problem resolution and scalability, adding single master operations, replication, DNS, DIT, GC and trust monitoring/mapping capabilities to OpenView Operations for Windows. The Active Directory SPI continually monitors key Active Directory health indicators throughout the enterprise for example: Data is consistent across all Domain Controllers Replication is successfully completed in a timely manner Domain controllers are not contending with over-utilized CPUs Active Directory is not experiencing capacity and fault-tolerance issues Services, events, processes, and synchronizations are at acceptable performance levels Index and query activities for authentications and LDAP client sessions are occurring at acceptable levels Trust relationship status between domains is as expected Forests, sites, domain controllers appear as expected in both hierarchical and map renderings through the OpenView Topology Viewer tool (included with the Active Directory SPI) Key features and benefits Get service-level performance monitoring and reporting with pre-written policies and reports, administrators can quickly see the health of services that depend on Active Directory Deploy fast and get immediate value - pre-defined, customizable thresholds enable fast time to value, yet still allow individual policy customization over time Manage Active Directory through a familiar interface - full integration with the OpenView Operations for Windows service map ensures existing users get up to speed quickly Enhanced troubleshooting quickly see which components of the Active Directory are running on what physical machines, correlate AD errors to physical machines and reduce your Mean Time to Fix The HP OpenView Smart Plug-in for Microsoft Active Directory helps Windows operations personnel maintain the proactive control, synchronization and integrity of Microsoft enterprise directory resources 1
Product Functionality Overview The HP OpenView Smart Plug-in for Microsoft Active Directory brings market-leading HP OpenView management and control capabilities to Active Directory environments. It enables you to perform business-centric service management, event management, performance monitoring and reporting on your directory service and NOS infrastructure, in support of your critical business processes. Event/Action The HP OpenView Smart Plug-in for Microsoft Active Directory monitors operational activities (services, performance counters, WMI counters, event logs) of key Microsoft Active Directory resources: Replication latency for both inter-site and intra-site purposes can be tracked Flexible Single Master Operations and consistency Directory Information Tree Monitoring DNS services and components Global Catalogs Sysvol Response Time Trust Monitoring OpenView Operations has a sophisticated policy engine that can be used to define automated or operator assisted actions that can be embedded into operational procedures, ensuring the correct action is always quickly taken. The Microsoft Active Directory SPI monitors and reports on key operational services, ensuring that the health of the Active Directory is understood at all times - allowing for proactive action to be taken to maintain Service Level Agreements Performance Active Directory is the gatekeeper on the network and having up-to-date information on who is allowed to access what resources is critical to its success in that role. Factor in the tight integration of Exchange 2003 with the AD global catalog and proper maintenance of the Active Directory is now crucial to business health. The Active Directory SPI monitors a set of internal Active Directory services to ensure that information is flowing through the enterprise in acceptable timeframes. These include: Global Catalog replication FSMO Bind and Ping times DIT operations and space taken Trust monitoring Once the correct data is on place on a domain controller, the time for a client request to be satisfied is also a key factor in Active Directory performance. Policies in this area include: Active Directory query response time DNS Server response time 2
Service reports and graphs Active Directory-specific reports and graphs are installed when you install the AD SPI. These reports cover both availability and activity in DIT, DNS, Global Catalogs, replication, FSMO operations, Sysvol, and trust relationship changes for each domain controller running those services. If you use OpenView Reporter, you can install the Active Directory SPI reports on the Reporter system so that you can customize and apply them as desired. Figure 1. Predefined reports can highlight performance trends before users are impacted Figure 2. Graphs give quick insight into important Active Directory performance metrics. 3
Service views The Active Directory SPI provides two methods by which you can visualize your Active Directory infrastructure: 1. Service Maps - by integrating Active Directory components into the OpenView Operations Service Map, service dependencies can be visualized, helping understand the criticality of certain infrastructure elements or assist in troubleshooting Figure 3. Understand the business impact of Active Directory problems through HP OpenView Operations service views 2. OpenView Topology Viewer - comes bundled with both the Active Directory and Exchange SPIs and supplements the information in the Service Map by providing a role - based view of the forests, site links and connection objects within your Active Directory and Exchange environments. Snapshots of the Active Directory and Exchange environments can be saved and manipulated offline for layout and design purposes. Figure 4. Active Directory and Exchange roles are graphically represented in the Topology Viewer display 4
Figure 5. The OpenView Topology Viewer shows Active Directory sites, links and roles Technical specifications System requirements Software Microsoft Windows 2000 Server and Server 2003 Supported platforms, servers, and applications Managed nodes Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003 Management Server Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003 OpenView Platforms HP OpenView Operations Agent, HP OpenView Performance Agent, HP OpenView Operations, HP OpenView Performance Manager, HP OpenView Reporter, HP OpenView Performance Insight Ordering information Part number Product name B9169AA HP OpenView Smart Plug in for Microsoft Active Directory LTU, Tier 3 B9170AA HP OpenView Smart Plug in for Microsoft Active Directory LTU, Tier 2 B9171AA HP OpenView Smart Plug in for Microsoft Active Directory LTU, Tier 1 B9172AA HP OpenView Smart Plug in for Microsoft Active Directory LTU, Tier 0 Media and manuals are included with the media kit for HP OpenView Operations 5
A complete solution For more information about the SPI for Active Directory visit www.managementsoftware.hp.com/products/spi/spi_msad/index.html Get the most from your software investment HP provides high-quality software services that address all aspects of your software application life-cycle needs. With HP, you have access to standards-based, modular, multiplatform software coupled with best-in-class services and support. The wide range of HP service offerings from online self-solve support to proactive mission-critical services enables you to choose the services that best match your business needs. For an overview of HP software services, visit: www.managementsoftware.hp.com/service To access technical interactive support, visit Software Support Online at: www.hp.com/managementsoftware/services To learn more about HP Software Customer Connection, a one-stop information and learning portal for software products and services, visit: www.hp.com/go/swcustomerconnection Comprehensive training HP provides a comprehensive curriculum of HP OpenView and IT Service Management courses. These offerings provide the training you need to realize the full potential of your HP solutions, increase your network optimization and responsiveness, and achieve better return on your IT investments. With more than 25 years experience meeting complex education challenges worldwide, HP knows training. This experience, coupled with unique insights into HP OpenView software, positions HP to deliver the optimum training experience. For more information about these educational courses, visit: www.hp.com/learn The smartest way to invest in IT HP Financial Services provides innovative financing and financial asset management programs to help you cost-effectively acquire, manage and ultimately retire your HP solutions. For more information on these services, contact your HP sales representative or visit: www.hp.com/go/hpfinancialservices Copyright 2005 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. Microsoft and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. For more information, visit www.openview.com 5982-XXXXEN, 10/2005 6