Silver Peak, F5 Put Virtual Appliances in Amazon Cloud
December 04, 2012 07:10 AM
Many networking vendors offer virtualized appliances that can run in a hypervisor. Now more vendors moving those appliances into public clouds.
Public Cloud APM Is Useless. Focus On Private Cloud APM
August 30, 2010 12:30 PM
APM in the public cloud services is of very little value, since you can't get to the root cause of problem. As distributed application workloads move to cloud environments, the fundamental architecture of applications is poised to change dramatically. One of the barriers to cloud adoption is that legacy applications do not yet function in a virtualized, cloud environment. As new applications are developed that operate divorced from physical hardware, the data collection techniques must shift to enable an equal level of visibility that managers have in traditional applications.
APM Success: Know Your Requirements
August 24, 2010 09:19 AM
Almost a month ago, we got to know an IT manager, Jim, who was selecting an application performance management (APM) product. After releasing his RFI to 14 vendors, he received six responses. Jim structured the RFI around three major sections: data collection, visualization and reporting. For data collection, Jim wanted different options for monitoring the components of his applications, including components that might reside in a cloud environment. Data collection was also important for an application mapping topology that understands all aspects of the components of the system. He also wanted to be able to integrate network management data into the APM system, so that key measures such as packet loss and latency could be layered on top of the application-specific metrics.
The Application Performance RFI
August 16, 2010 11:00 AM
Over the past few weeks, we have gotten to know Jim - a veteran IT manager who needs to deploy an application performance management (APM) solution. His objectives are to establish key performance indicators around the application including performance metrics and service licensing agreements (SLA). His billing system also has service catalog and fairly detailed security and reporting modules built into the system. As a web-based application, the backend database is distributed, and the application services just under 2,000 users. He knew there was value in APM, but it was hard to quantify. Jim created a detailed requirements document and created the business case. With the CIO, it was time to present his case to the CFO.
Building APM Requirements And A Business Case
August 06, 2010 18:52 PM
Last week we looked at laying the foundation for an APM solution, but now it's time to get to work. We introduced Jim - a veteran IT manager who lacks any APM solution. As we discussed, he needs to establish key performance indicators around a critical application, including performance metrics and SLAs. His billing system also has a service catalog and detailed security and reporting modules built into the system. As a Web-based application, the backend database is distributed and the application serves just under 2,000 users. As Jim lacks application fault or performance monitoring, he really is starting from scratch. So we are going to start with creating a document Jim can use for his requirements and build his business case.
Application Performance Management: Laying The Groundwork
July 26, 2010 11:30 AM
This week I was working with a client, we will call him Jim, who was telling me about their mission critical business application. It's primarily a billing system, but also has service catalog and fairly detailed security and reporting modules built into the system. As a web-based application, the backend database is distributed and the application services just under 2,000 users. The CIO is seeking to establish key performance indicators around the application including performance metrics and SLAs. Unfortunately, there is currently no fault or performance monitoring in place. The current performance of the application is judged based on anecdotal calls to the help desk. Obviously, this will not cut it.
End-to-End APM, Who Needs It Anyway?
July 15, 2010 09:00 AM
Determining if your organization needs APM requires careful assessment of how application performance is affecting the bottom line. If application performance does not have a direct impact on the business, you may not need APM. The added management effort, deployment costs and maintenance fees may just add more overhead to an already strained IT budget. Using existing component level monitoring and management tools may be sufficient for your needs.
Shake Up Your APM
June 28, 2010 09:47 AM
One of the challenges surrounding APM is figuring out what do do with our legacy management tools. Sure, end-to-end APM makes sense in a new, greenfield environment where we can drop in a just purchased suite of tools to provide holistic monitoring. There are many software tools that can help us accomplish this. However, the reality is that most IT organizations have already invested in an array of framework or point management solutions. The challenge for them is how to eek more performance out of tools that really can't deliver the needed solutions.
Six Questions To Ask Before Buying End-To-End APM
June 21, 2010 09:31 AM
While the market for end-to-end APM is heating up, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered before plunking down your hard fought IT budget on new tools. With several dozen APM vendors in the market, it can be confusing to weed through the marketing hype and determine what capabilities you really need. While good overall requirements will guide your decisions, be sure to ask the right questions before getting too far down the path with a vendor. I've summarized six key questions to ask before you buy.
Justifying APM
June 10, 2010 01:27 AM
As the economy crawls out of recession, organizations will examine ways to improve the quality of their application services, and many will turn to end-to-end application performance management (APM). While the business case for APM varies based on the type of organization, all organizations must develop the ROI as an initial step. Business units that rely on critical applications to drive revenue or internal efficiencies cannot afford to experience application performance issues or application failures, and will be the biggest benefactors of APM.
Five Boutique APM Vendors To Watch
June 04, 2010 14:23 PM
The shift from infrastructure management to application management for enterprise organizations has resulted in a renewed interest in end-to-end Application Performance Management (APM). When we reviewed APM products two years ago, it was one of our largest lab reviews that we performed. We tested suites from BMC, Compuware, Indicative (purchased by Nimsoft), NetIQ, NetQoS, Network General, Nimsoft (purchased by CA), Quest Software and Symantec (spun back out as Precise). Those vendors continue to evolve their holistic APM solutions and capture a lot of the overall APM market share.
Application Performance Aggregation: The Next Wave In Cloud APM
June 01, 2010 10:00 AM
As organizations start the slow move toward cloud computing and begin deploying more of their infrastructure in off-premise private cloud environments, the challenge of end-to-end APM becomes increasingly complex. Application Performance Aggregation (APA) as the next big wave in end-to-end application performance monitoring (APM) and where the APM market will be in a few years.
Holistic APM, 24 months later
May 24, 2010 09:00 AM
Two years ago, we completed an ambitious test of nine APM vendors over the course of almost a year. We designed a thesis around holistic APM products that not only identify problems but take corrective action to resolve performance issues before they impact users and customers. Actions may include allocating additional bandwidth or server processing capacity, even rolling back configuration changes.
The BSM Debate
May 21, 2008 12:30 PM
My recent article on BSM generated more email than just about any other story this year.
APM Comes Together
April 22, 2008 10:22 AM
Both tested in our APM review, Nimsoft acquires Indicative Software.
BMC Buys BladeLogic For $800M
March 17, 2008 13:09 PM
BMC's second shot at Server Configuration Management
Pre-Production Application Testing
March 10, 2008 13:04 PM
Pre-production APM tools are valuable for organizations that have mission critical custom applications, where production-based APM tools may never find the root cause of the problem.
Automating The Windows World
February 26, 2008 02:24 AM
Specops is working to automate a lot of the routine tasks associated with managing a Windows environment.
Take A Bite Out Of Communication Costs
February 15, 2008 17:10 PM
Digital Fairway released Provergent Circuit Manager Software as a Service to manage telecommunication assets.
Symantec Says Goodbye To APM
February 06, 2008 15:13 PM
After an aggressive push into the APM market, Symantec has decided to sell its Application Performance Management business.
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