HP IT/Operations -- What Is It?
Pete Wilson
What is HP IT/Operations (was "Operations Center")?
A customer is telling me that it's a software
product that allows management of application
software (as if this couldn't be done via SNMP).
Anybody have any idea what this is and how it fits
in the management framework? How it works with HPOV?
Thanks.
--
Regards, Pete Wilson (pwi...@world.std.com)
Eric A. Henderson
Pete Wilson (pwi...@world.std.com) wrote:
: What is HP IT/Operations (was "Operations Center")?
It is the integration of 2 HP OpenView products:
Network Node Manager (for network management)
Operations Center (for system management)
Following are excerpts from the product description.
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Manage System and Network Complexity
HP OpenView IT/Operations collects information from distributed
multivendor computing environments, and processes the information to
determine and report the status of elements within your IT
environment. The status information is presented to operators,
guiding them through problem resolution, and acting on events. All
of the collected information and activity logs are stored in a
central data repository.
IT/Operations graphically shows the current status of all of your
elements within your IT enterprise including networks, systems,
applications, and databases, using color-specific icons and detailed
view maps. All managed elements are dealt with in a consistent and
technology independent way, thereby providing what appears to be a
single homogeneous managed environment. Centrally managing your
environment in a consistent and process-oriented manner allows you to
create an IT environment which supports core business strategies and
goals.
Reduce System and Network Downtime
In order to provide a reliable computing environment, a robust and
active process for problem resolution must be in place.
IT/Operations offers you the ability to define thresholds and
monitoring intervals. It also allows you to intercept network,
system, database, and application- messages and alerts. Once a
threshold value is exceeded, IT/Operations Intelligent Agents will
run a pre-defined automatic action and/or generate and send a message
to alert an operator(s) on a central management console; messages can
also be forwarded to a pager or trouble-ticketing application. To
help you focus on the most critical problems, IT/Operations Message
Browser Window displays six severity levels, from stable- to
critical-state, for incoming problems and events. Using
IT/Operations integrated history database, you can audit and analyze
system and network activities, identify trends and anticipate
problems before they occur; activity displays and reports can be
customized to meet your needs.
Implement Flexible Solutions
To handle problems effectively, your management solution must be
flexible. IT/Operations can escalate problems through pre-defined
management hierarchies. Based on pre-defined policies, specific IT
teams (i.e. a competence center for database management) or
individual staff members can be notified of mission-critical events
relating to their area of expertise. Central control of the
enterprise can be delegated around the world with IT/Operations'
follow-the-sun management capabilities, thereby providing efficient
24x7 response capabilities. IT/Operations manages your enterprise
from the high-end server to desktop machines, including links to
legacy systems. Customizable operator responsibilities as well as
graphical user interfaces (GUIs), offer clear definitions of Operator
roles and their individual management domains.
Incorporate Extensible Solutions
IT/Operations provides an integration point for over 225 OpenView
partner applications, providing solutions for virtually every need.
With the integration of MC/Service Guard, high-availability
management, your mission critical data is always accessible.
Event and Problem Management System
The event and problem management system allows you to quickly
identify, locate, and resolve system and network faults to keep your
enterprise computing environment operational while increasing
end-user satisfaction. The event and problem management system
allows you to:
Collect messages from a variety of sources, including: system and
application logfiles, SNMP variables & trap, and a number
of open APIs
Define powerful monitors that check against pre-defined thresholds
for effective, proactive management
Filter messages at their source on type, severity, time of day, and
other criteria, suppressing unwanted or
unimportant messages
Display color-coded and prioritized events to relevant operators
along with detailed information about the event and
instructions
Configure and deploy a consistent, corporate-wide IT management
solution to a distributed environment from a central
point
Provide the ability for multiple operators to work together
effectively with clear ownership, escalation policies, and audit
trails
Easily resolve problems through the configurations of automated
corrective actions, pre-defined operator-initated
actions, and customized management tools.
Flexible Solution
IT/Operations provides an open, scaleable IT management framework
that is ready for change when you are. To meet the ever-changing
needs of IT environments like your own, IT/Operations can:
Assign specific views, tools, and responsibilities based on
organizational needs or structure, and Operator skill
Take advantage of pre-defined, powerful knowledge modules and
templates
Create powerful and extremely flexible Manger-of-Manager solutions
that provide:
- filtering and forwarding of time-based messages allowing
follow-the-sun management;
- forwarding of messages to specific competence centers where
experts can deal with them effectively; and
- escalating of messages based on pre-defined escalation policies
Providing high availability through the use of MC/ServiceGuard or
backup server functionality
Distributed Discovery and Monitoring
IT/Operations discovery and layout algorithm automatically discovers,
monitors, and updates your network environment, saving you hours of
time. The discovery system will:
Discover devices across Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area
Networks (WANs) and across noisy or busy connections
Automatically generate and maintain a map of your discovered TCP/IP
networks and systems
Continually monitor the status of all network nodes
Graphical Interface
Based on OSF/Motif, the HP OpenView Windows interface allows the
enterprise management staff to easily and intuitively monitor and
control the entire computing environment. IT/Operations allows you
to perform the following tasks effortlessly and without programming:
Create task oriented work environments suited to the
responsibilities and skills of individual operators
Determine the operational status of system and network elements at a
glance
See detailed information on specific problems, and instructions on
how to solve them in the Message Browser window
Easily navigate through complex environments using the sophisticated
locate, pan and zoom, and quick navigator features
Initiate frequent tasks from the intuitive tool bar
Use hypertext Help System for fast and intuitive assistance
Integrate applications smoothly, providing a single point of
monitoring and control,
Define map symbols and create toolbar icons to automatically
initiate a program shell script or explode into multiple icons to
represent complex objects
Customize maps by defining new bitmaps and adding detailed
background graphics
Contributed Applications
IT/Operations serves as a solution framework for the integration of
hundreds of integrated HP OpenView Solution Partner applications for
your specific network, system, application, and database needs. See
the HP OpenView Solutions Catalog for information on all the Solution
Partner applications.