Unified Monitoring A Business Perspective

Transcription

1 Unified Mnitring A Business Perspective

2 Unified Mnitring Table f Cntents Executive Summary... 3 Intrductin... 3 Sectin 1: Tday s Emerging Cmputing Envirnments... 4 Tday s Trends: The Opprtunities and Challenges... 4 Sectin 2: Challenges f Mnitring Tday s Envirnments with Yesterday s Tls... 4 Sectin 3: The Five Requirements fr Gaining a Unified Mnitring Perspective... 6 Sectin 4: Nimsft Delivers a Single View f the Entire Cmputing Envirnment... 7 Cnclusin Unified Mnitring

3 Unified Mnitring The Executive Summary In the past few years, the enterprise cmputing landscape has changed dramatically. Virtualizatin, utsurcing, SaaS, and clud cmputing are creating fundamental changes, and ushering in an era in which enterprises distribute increasingly critical IT assets and applicatins acrss multiple service prviders. These changes are rendering legacy mnitring tls, which have their rts in the cmputing envirnments f a decade r mre ag, virtually useless. This paper explres tday s cmputing trends and their mnitring implicatins in detail. In additin, it reveals hw a new mnitring paradigm, the Nimsft Unified Mnitring architecture, uniquely addresses the mnitring realities f tday s and tmrrw s enterprises whether they rely n internal platfrms, external service prviders, r a cmbinatin f bth. Intrductin In a remarkably shrt time, changing technlgies and ecnmic realities have cmpletely altered the face f enterprise cmputing. And the changes are just beginning. Virtualizatin is rippling thrugh data centers. Ecnmic pressures are frcing IT managers t accelerate utsurcing t managed service and hsting prviders. Enterprise class SaaS applicatins have emerged. And, amidst all the hype, the era f clud cmputing really has arrived. Tgether, these trends are ushering in an increased reliance n externally hsted cmputing services, marking the beginning f what sme believe will be a mve t the all clud enterprise, an rganizatin that relies slely n externally hsted services fr its cmputing infrastructure. Whether r nt this visin turns ut t hld true fr mst enterprises, there is n dubt that external SaaS and clud fferings are here t stay, and will play increasingly imprtant rles in hw enterprises deliver and cnsume business applicatins in the years ahead. Already, these trends are delivering significant benefits and even mre significant challenges fr IT peratins grups. Specifically, hw, in an envirnment with an increasing mix f externally hsted services, d enterprises mnitr and manage service levels? Clearly, in tday s always-n business envirnments, the benefits f adpting external services can t cme at the expense f service availability r perfrmance. Trends in IT Service Delivery Emergence f the next generatin data center: Virtualizatin mving int prductin New technlgies enabling internal cluds. Cst and regulatin fcus n pwer cnsumptin and savings. Availability and rapid adptin f enterprise class SaaS applicatins. Third party hsting f infrastructure cmpnents and applicatins. Outsurcing f applicatin management t service prviders. Early trial and adptin f clud cmputing, with mainstream adptin lming. Tday, virtualizatin, SaaS, clud cmputing, and utsurced infrastructures have made it difficult fr IT peratins staff t understand, let alne cntrl, service levels. Tmrrw, as rganizatins cntinue t rely increasingly n external platfrms, the challenges will grw mre prnunced rendering the legacy mnitring systems f the past irrelevant. In rder t successfully leverage these new service delivery platfrms, IT peratins teams will need a chesive, sphisticated view f the disparate, remte services n which their business relies. The Nimsft Unified Mnitring architecture delivers just that. It is a cmplete technical and business slutin fr mnitring the perfrmance and availability f business services acrss all disparate cmputing envirnments. With the Nimsft Unified Mnitring architecture, IT peratins can understand perfrmance and availability f services, react t and prevent prblems, and ptimize service delivery regardless f the type and 3 Unified Mnitring

4 cmbinatin f cmputing envirnments n which thse services are based. As a result, rganizatins can cnfidently leverage the pprtunities f tday s emerging trends withut increasing staffing r peratinal csts, r requiring new tls r training. Sectin 1: Tday s Emerging Cmputing Envirnments Mnitring IT assets t ensure service delivery in tday s emerging data centers which are emplying virtualizatin, internal cluds, and ther cmplex technlgies is plenty challenging in its wn right. At the same time, the increased utsurcing f vital services whether thrugh SaaS, clud, r traditinal utsurcing further cmpunds matters. These technlgies and appraches all prmise great benefits, but als raise imprtant implicatins and mnitring requirements fr IT peratins staffs. Fllwing is an verview f these benefits and challenges. Tday s Trends: The Opprtunities and Challenges THE TREND THE OPPORTUNITIES THE MONITORING CHALLENGES Next Generatin Virtualizatin and internal cluds prviding Gaining ptimal utilizatin f the Data Center expandable cmputing resurces t internal virtualized envirnment business custmers Ensuring timely issue identificatin and risk mitigatin f virtualized and shared resurces SaaS SaaS reduces start up, infrastructure, and Making sure SaaS platfrms prvide the maintenance csts requisite availability and respnsiveness withut direct access t cmputing resurces Mitigating risks f service degradatin and dwntime Strategic Outsurcing Outsurcing delivers lwer cst f capital Mnitring perfrmance against acquisitin, faster start-up time, and lwer cntracted service level agreements peratinal cst thrugh efficiencies f scale freeing internal resurces t handle mre Wrking cllabratively with service strategic prjects prviders t d effective resurce allcatin and planning Clud Cmputing Clud fferings prvide rganizatins with Understanding and managing the near infinite scalability and unprecedented cmplexity and dynamism f agility in adapting t changing market virtualizatin, and the additinal layers f requirements all delivered thrugh a cst cmplexity psed by the utsurced effective, pay-as-yu-g pricing mdel nature f the clud 4 Unified Mnitring

5 Sectin 2: Challenges f Mnitring Tday s Envirnments with Yesterday s Tls In an era f tight spending, reduced prfit expectatins, and rising energy csts and envirnmental cncerns, enterprise cmputing infrastructures are increasingly reliant upn virtualizatin, utsurcing, SaaS, and clud cmputing. As utlined abve, fr all the benefits prmised by these emerging cmputing appraches, there is a flip side, with each new paradigm presenting a new set f demands and challenges. In these emerging envirnments, mnitring and service level management grw bth mre challenging and mre critical t success. As a result, internal IT peratins grups, already resurce cnstrained, play a vital rle in mnitring and managing service levels. As figure 1 shws, acrss utsurced/hsted, SaaS, and clud envirnments, a large mnitring burden still falls n the end user rganizatin. Management Respnsibilities Vary By Delivery Platfrm Figure 1: All emerging cmputing trends require different mnitring respnsibilities fr cnsumers and service prviders. While the scpe f respnsibilities may change, in all cases mnitring and management remains a critical means t ensure availability. Legacy Slutins Require Many Prducts t Prvide Cmplete Mnitring Fr mst enterprises, it s traditinally been difficult t cst effectively mnitr and manage service level delivery. With traditinal mnitring slutins, mnitring a business service hused entirely in the internal data center was difficult in its wn right. Much f the frustratin with legacy slutins is that, t get a full view f the perfrmance and availability f an internal business service, IT needs t deply anywhere frm 6 t 12 prducts, as shwn in Figure 2. Further, these traditinal slutins were architected lng befre the advent f virtualizatin and were slely designed t manage internally hsted envirnments. In tday s emerging cmputing envirnment, these limitatins and cmplexity make mnitring service levels next t impssible. Take an e-cmmerce service fr example. In the very near future, that e-cmmerce service may rely n an SaaS vendr, a clud-based Figure 2. The frustratin with traditinal mnitring slutins can be summed up in ne wrd: cmplexity. As the chart abve illustrates, t d data center mnitring including business service and SLA management, event crrelatin, and perfrmance and availability management a business may require up t 12 distinct prducts. 5 Unified Mnitring

6 service prvider, an internal virtualized data center, and mre. An example f such a service is shwn in Figure 3. If a custmer reprts an issue encuntered during a transactin, hw des an IT rganizatin quickly and accurately assess where the surce f the issue lies? Simply put, with traditinal tls, they can t. In the past, because f the cmplexity f their legacy systems, enterprises were frequently frced t settle fr sub-ptimal service mnitring, unacceptable TCO, and huge investments in staff time. Unfrtunately, as utlined abve, emerging trends are nly ging t exacerbate these penalties. A Hybrid E-Cmmerce Business Service Figure 3. When a business service depends n a cmbinatin f clud-based resurces, SaaS applicatins, a hsted Exchange implementatin, and the internal virtualized data center, discvering and islating the cause f perfrmance and availability issues is nt pssible with legacy slutins. Sectin 3: The Five Requirements fr Gaining a Unified Mnitring Perspective In rder t affrdably and effectively address tday s mnitring challenges, rganizatins need a mnitring slutin that ffers a truly unified perspective, ne that ffers several key capabilities: An architecture that scales and extends t meet evlving challenges. Any architecture built fr this envirnment must have the fllwing characteristics: High scalability. The architecture must scale bth within and acrss envirnments. A single, integrated set f cmpnents. Appraches that require different cmpnents and prducts and integratin amng them, simply can t be deplyed cst effectively in the hybrid envirnments f the future. High availability. The architecture must be resistant t bth cmpnent and cmmunicatin failures. Rapid deplyment. The architecture must be fast and easy t deply int all relevant envirnments. Flexible and Extensible data cllectin layer. T mnitr tday s emerging cmputing envirnment, rganizatins need a means t cllect mnitring data, wherever that data exists including acrss disparate platfrms, virtualized and nn-virtualized envirnments, externally and internally hsted and managed systems, and SaaS and clud envirnments. Data cllectin must be extensible t accmmdate new metrics, whether pwer r facilities, r thse driven by elastic and virtualized cmputing capabilities. The cllectin f infrmatin must present minimal verhead fr the target systems and include the mnitring f lg files. Lastly, the slutin must be able t accmmdate a cmbinatin f agent and agentless mnitring, depending n requirements and accessibility f systems. 6 Unified Mnitring

7 Business service crrelatin acrss multiple cmputing infrastructures. While ultimately cmprised f an array f systems and infrastructures, in the end what really matters is the perfrmance f the business service, whether that s e-cmmerce, , r any ther vital service a business relies n. Cnsequently, the mnitring data being generated acrss disparate surces needs t be intelligently analyzed and crrelated in rder t deliver service level insights. Intuitive visualizatin and rbust reprting capability. All f the mnitring data being cllected and aggregated needs t be useful. Tward that end, administratrs and business management need visual, intuitive dashbards, alarms, and reprts and thse views need t be based n real-time status. Further, views need t be tailred based n rles, s users get nly the infrmatin they need r are authrized t see. IT peratins grups must be able t deliver multi-tenant based prtals, especially as they becme mre like service prviders, delivering utility cmputing capabilities t grups f internal business custmers. A flexible business mdel. Finally, withut the right business mdel t supprt it, event the best slutin wn t be fully adpted. T be viable, a prduct must be supprted by a flexible pricing structure, ne that takes int accunt the differences in varius deplyment appraches. Fr example, if utilizing a managed service prvider s infrastructure and mnitring services, the enterprise shuld nt be frced t pay again fr leveraging the mnitring infrmatin prvided. Clud mnitring must be effectively licensed n a pay-asyu-g basis, and internal cluds shuld nt drive up mnitring csts just because f their flexibility. Sectin 4: Nimsft Delivers a Single View f the Entire Cmputing Envirnment The Nimsft Mnitring Slutin (NMS), built n the Nimsft Unified Mnitring architecture, is the mst practical, csteffective way t leverage a cmplete mnitring slutin fr tday s and tmrrw s emerging cmputing envirnments. With NMS, rganizatins gain the insights they need t cst effectively manage all business services and ensure they deliver the availability and perfrmance required. The Nimsft Unified Mnitring architecture is a next generatin, integrated architecture that delivers unprecedented infrastructure cverage, breadth f functinality, scalability, ease f deplyment, ease f use, and extensibility. Via Nimsft Unified Mnitring Prtal applicatin, rganizatins can get a cmplete view f the systems and services that underpin vital business services, whether thse are based n any cmbinatin f virtualized infrastructures, SaaS fferings, clud-based services, r utsurced envirnments. The Nimsft Unified Mnitring architecture is shwn in Figure 4. NMS addresses these five key mnitring requirements: Nimsft Unified Mnitring Architecture: Business Benefits Business Enablement. IT peratins grup is an enabler rather than a barrier t adptin f new technlgies. Lwest ttal cst f wnership. Nimsft custmers can extend their 80% ttal cst f wnership advantage t new cmputing envirnments. Rapid time t value. Realized benefits in days rather than quarters r years acrss all cmputing envirnments. Cntrl ver third party cmmitments. Delivers cmplete visibility int the actual levels f service delivery. Optimize peratinal efficiency. Prvides insight needed t ptimize resurces, planning, and investments. Bst service levels. Mre effectively cntrl the perfrmance f the services n which the business relies, regardless f the cmputing envirnment. An architecture that scales and extends t meet evlving challenges. The Nimsft Unified Mnitring architecture is based n a unique, ne-f-a-kind message bus that uses a publish/subscribe framewrk. This architecture inherently delivers scalability, high availability, extensibility, and rapid deplyment. By standardizing the cmmunicatin between data cllectin, data aggregatin, and data analysis, the architecture prvides 7 Unified Mnitring

8 a single and extensible implementatin acrss all cmputing cmpnents and infrastructures. With NMS, there is n stitching tgether f multiple prducts and slutins as with ther alternatives. Extensible data cllectin. NMS represents a single slutin that can supprt the mnitring and management f the entire IT infrastructure tday and the emerging cmputing envirnments f tmrrw. Thrugh Nimsft Unified Mnitring APIs, new prbes can be easily built and integrated int the architecture. This allws NMS t easily extend t emerging clud cmputing infrastructures, accmmdate new metrics like pwer utilizatin, and supprt a hst f new infrastructure cmpnents. Business service crrelatin. Nimsft nt nly enables aggregatin f mnitring data frm disparate surces, but it enables the effective crrelatin f this data t prvide an effective view f a business service regardless f the number r type f systems r services n which it is based. Intuitive visualizatin and reprting. NMS ffers a means fr rganizatins t fully leverage the mnitring data being gathered. The slutin delivers the intuitive, sphisticated dashbards, reprts, and alerts that enable fast analysis and prvide real insights. Plus, NMS makes it easy t tailr views and reprts based n users grups and rles. In additin, the slutin cmes ut f the bx with a full multi-tenant architecture, allwing fr full custmizatin, nt nly f reprts, but even f entire prtals. Flexible Pricing and Licensing. Because NMS has been bradly deplyed in bth enterprises and in SaaS, clud, and service prviders envirnments, Nimsft has created a variety f flexible licensing and pricing mdels. In additin, Nimsft Cnnect services allw fr the sharing f data between custmers (including service prvider t enterprise and service prvider t service prvider) withut requiring duplicate license purchases. Further, Nimsft is nt cnstrained by the traditinal mdels f a bigger business, and will cntinue t evlve its pricing mdels t take int accunt new and emerging market needs. The Nimsft Unified Mnitring Architecture Figure 4. The Nimsft Unified Mnitring architecture is scalable and extensible acrss data, applicatin, and presentatin layers. NMS is a single prduct implementatin built n this architecture. 8 Unified Mnitring

9 NMS enables enterprises t fully explit the benefits f clud cmputing, virtualizatin, SaaS, and utsurcing while enjying these benefits: Business enablement. With NMS, IT peratins can deliver the apprpriate mnitring f any IT infrastructure that the business may want t use. As a result, IT can becme an enabler, rather than a barrier, t adpting new technlgies. Lwest ttal cst f wnership. Nimsft custmers realize a ttal cst f wnership that is up t 80% lwer than legacy systems management vendrs and they can nw extend their mnitring t new cmputing envirnments, withut having t make new prduct, staffing, r training investments. Rapid time t value. With the slutin s extensibility and ease f deplyment and use, rganizatins can deply, and start enjying the benefits f, the slutin with unprecedented speed. With NMS, custmers realize benefits in days rather than quarters r years, acrss all cmputing envirnments. Better cntrl ver third-party cmmitments. NMS delivers unprecedented insights int the actual levels f service delivery, prviding vital evidence as t whether external service prviders are meeting their service level cmmitments. Optimize peratinal efficiency. IT peratins can reduce the time and cst assciated with mnitring, while business and IT management can gain the insights needed t ptimize resurces, planning, and investments. Bst service levels. With NMS, businesses can mre effectively imprve the perfrmance f the services n which the business relies and s bst business perfrmance. Cnclusin Virtualizatin, SaaS, utsurcing, and clud cmputing can deliver real and meaningful benefits acrss a range f rganizatins. With the benefits f these emerging trends cmes a crrespnding increase in the cmplexity and criticality f mnitring service levels. In rder t take advantage f the benefits f these emerging service delivery platfrms withut encuntering rapidly escalating csts and cmplexity rganizatins need a mnitring slutin that ffers a truly unified perspective. Nimsft delivers just such a slutin. With the Nimsft Unified Mnitring architecture, rganizatins can efficiently and cst effectively ensure tday s and tmrrw s emerging cmputing platfrms deliver ptimal perfrmance and reliability. As a result, Nimsft enables rganizatins t take full advantage f the prmise ffered by emerging cmputing appraches, bth tday and in the lng term. 9 Unified Mnitring

10 Abut Nimsft Nimsft is a glbal leader in IT Management-as-a-Service. The cmpany s lightweight ITMaaS slutins make it easy fr enterprises and service prviders t implement cmprehensive, adaptable mnitring and service desk capabilities essential fr managing tday s dynamic cmputing envirnments. Learn mre at Nrth America Headquarters U.S. tll free: SLA MGMT ( ) inf@nimsft.cm Web: United Kingdm +44 (0) Nrway & Nrthern Eurpe Germany +49 (0) Australia +61 (0) Brazil Mexic City +52 (55) Singapre New Delhi +(91 11) Mumbai +(91 22) Cpyright 2012 CA. All Rights Reserved. One CA Plaza, Islandia, N.Y Nimsft is a trademark r registered trademark f Nimsft LLC. All ther trademarks, trade names, service marks, and lgs referenced herein belng t their respective cmpanies. nimsft-num-bus-wp