Application and Transaction Monitoring for Microsoft SCOM

BlueStripe has bridged the IT Operations gap between IT OPerations' application & transaction performance management needs and Microsoft SCOM's server and resource management capabilities.  While Microsoft System Center Operations Manager organizes Microsoft-based servers for configuration and performance reporting, BlueStripe overlays application and transactions maps, as well as performance & availability metrics across those servers, as well as other platforms across any environment - physical, virtual, and private cloud.

The resulting joint solution is the only way to effectively manage distributed applications from inside SCOM. The key application management and integration features that make this possible include:

• Dynamic application and transaction maps inside SCOM
• Integrated SCOM performance & configuration data with Application Maps
• Application performance alerts inside SCOM message center
• Direct Launch of FactFinder problem solver, in context, directly from SCOM

Application Maps in SCOM

FactFinder automatically identifies and maps all applications and transaction paths throughout the infrastructure.  With BlueStripe's Microsoft Management Pack, those maps are loaded into the SCOM Console - with SCOM performance and configuration data overlaid on the map.  When application system changes occur, the map is automatically updated in real-time.

Managing Applications with SCOM

Microsoft System Center Operations Manager organizes resources, such as servers, to allow Operations teams to control their infrastructure.  SCOM can alert IT Ops when resources are depleted, or when a server stops responding, allowing the team to take actions such as resetting servers, updating configuration, or provisioning resources.

FactFinder understands how those infrastructure components, servers, and resources work together to deliver the applications and transactions that make up business services.  FactFinder can alert IT operations teams when application slow-down or outages occur, and isolate the cause of an application problem to a specific server or resource.

Where SCOM server management stops, FactFinder application management starts, showing which application systems are impacted by a specific server.

Sending Application Performance Alerts to SCOM

In addition to the overlay maps, BlueStripe's Microsoft Management Pack also enables application performance alerts to be sent directly in Microsoft SCOM, putting those alerts in two specific places:

• A dedicated FactFinder directory in the Ops Manager tree
• In the System Center Operations Manager Event Console, with all other messages

Now, Operations teams can see alerts about their devices, connections, and applications in a single event console and take action appropriately.  That action may require additional application problem solving, which also takes advantage of the BlueStripe Management Pack.

Launching FactFinder In Context

When alert messages appear in the SCOM event console, the System Center user can launch directly into a FactFinder triage session  – focused on the specific machine or system designated in the alert message. Instantly, the user can see

• List of all applications that depend on a specific server
• Performance of all back-end connections from the specific server
• Application performance data, including HTTP or SQL transaction data

Learn more about FactFinder application management software.

Management Pack Availability

The FactFinder Management Pack for Microsoft System Center Operations Manager is available on request from BlueStripe. Request your copy.