System and Application Management, Tools, and Systems

Managing the components of the System/Application Domain means ensuring that the computers and devices are operating properly and that the application components are running efficiently. These tasks can be grouped into the following goals:

• Ensure your computers and devices are operating properly.

• Ensure your data center network is operating properly, including interfaces to the networks outside your data center.

• Ensure your application components are operating properly.

Proactive monitoring provides assurance that everything is working as planned and raises alerts anytime issues are identified. Application performance monitoring software is the highest level monitoring and analysis tool. If your application performance monitoring software reports that all is well, you have the assurance that application components, networks, and computers and devices are all operating properly. If a component has issues, your applications won’t operate properly. Although it is possible that an issue can develop that does not immediately manifest an application problem, most application performance monitors can periodically run basic tests on idle applications to ensure that all is well.

If your application performance monitoring software does indicate a problem, the course of action may include any of the following:

• Alert appropriate personnel to initiate troubleshooting procedures on the problematic application.

• Launch network monitoring and analysis software to evaluate network components and connections.

• Launch system monitors or interrogators to evaluate data center computers.

The tools you can use include application performance monitoring software as well as system and network monitoring software. Managing computers, devices, networks, and software in the System/Application Domain doesn’t introduce any new tools or topics. The practice of ensuring domain components are operating properly consists of tools and techniques that are appropriate and in use for other domains as well. Using these tools and techniques can help ensure the System/Application Domain is providing your users with application components to fulfill business requirements.