Method and system for monitoring transaction based system

• US 8,856,312 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2005
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: MacLellan, Scot, Sciacca, Vincenzo
• Primary Examiner(s): SHAW, PETER C
• Application Number:
  US11/722,583
• Publication Number:
  US 20080097801A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,268 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/217, 709/223, 709/220, 705/7, 705/11
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/81 Threshold
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/865 Monitoring of software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/87 Monitoring of transactions

Abstract

A method for monitoring transaction based systems monitoring their system resource and transaction performance data with thresholds on metrics, said method comprising the steps of collecting system resource data and transaction performance data on a period basis and each time a transaction performance metric is passed, triggering the collection of the system resource and storing an identifier correlating the transaction performance data and the system resource data; merging the collected system resource and transaction performance data; calculating the mean value for each system resource or transaction performance metric of merged data; identifying the metrics for which there is a significant difference between mean value obtained with triggering or without triggering; according to the identified metric mean value, calculating new thresholds of system resource metrics to be used for monitoring.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring transaction based systems having a system resource monitor and a transaction performance monitor, said method comprising the steps of:

periodically collecting on a time period basis, system resource metrics values using the system resource monitor and transaction performance metrics values using the transaction performance monitor, the system resource metrics pertaining to information technology resources (IT resources) consumed in operating a data processing system;

detecting using the system resource monitor when the system resource metric threshold value is exceeded;

detecting using the transaction performance monitor when the transaction performance metrics threshold value is exceeded;

triggering, from the transaction performance monitor, the system resource monitor for additionally collecting system resource metrics values each time a transaction performance metric threshold value is exceeded outside of a time period;

calculating, for a number of time periods, the mean value of each periodically collected system resource metrics values;

calculating, for the same number of time periods, the mean value of each additionally collected system resource metrics values;

identifying the system resource metrics for which there is a greater than specified difference between mean value obtained with additional collections of system resource metrics values and mean value obtained with collections of system resource metrics values done on period of time basis; and

setting new threshold values between the two calculated mean values for the identified system resource metrics.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein

the triggering step further comprises the transaction performance monitor itself performing, each time a transaction performance metric threshold value is exceeded, an additional collection of transaction performance metric values including an identifier of said additional collection, this identifier being provided to the system performance monitor to be included in the system monitor additional collection of metric values;

and

the calculating steps further comprise calculating, for a number of time periods, the mean value of transaction performance metrics values.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

using the new threshold values for system monitoring; and

repeating all the steps of the method as many times as necessary until the monitoring of system is satisfying.

4. A service offering method for monitoring from a manager server transaction based servers able to monitor locally their system resource and transaction performance, said system comprising:

locally installing on managed servers the system resource and transaction performance monitoring tools;

locally periodically collecting on a time period basis, system resource metrics values using the system resource monitor and transaction performance metrics values using the transaction performance monitor, the system resource metrics pertaining to information technology resources (IT resources) consumed in operating a data processing system;

detecting using the system resource monitor when the system resource metric threshold value is exceeded;

detecting using the transaction performance monitor when the transaction performance metrics threshold value is exceeded;

locally triggering on managed servers, from the transaction performance monitor, the system resource monitor for additionally collecting system resource metrics values each time a transaction performance metric threshold value is exceeded outside of a time period;

sending data including periodically collected and additionally collected system resource metrics values from the managed servers to the manager server;

calculating on the manager server, for a number of time periods, the mean value of each periodically collected system resource metrics values;

calculating on the manager server, for the same number of time periods, the mean value of each additionally collected system resource metrics values;

identifying on the manager server the system resource metrics for which there is a greater than specified difference between mean value obtained with additional collections of system resource metrics values and mean value obtained with collections of system resource metrics values done on period of time basis;

setting new threshold values between the two calculated mean values for the identified system resource metrics; and

sending new threshold values of system resource metrics from the manager server to the managed servers.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein

the triggering step further comprises the transaction performance monitor itself performing, each time a transaction performance metric threshold value is exceeded, an additional collection of transaction performance metric values including an identifier of said additional collection, this identifier being provided to the system performance monitor to be included in the system monitor additional collection of metric values;

and

the calculating steps further comprise calculating, for a number of time periods, the mean value of transaction performance metrics values.

6. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of:

using locally on the managed servers the calculated threshold for system monitoring;

repeating all the steps of the method starting from the collecting step as many times as necessary until the monitoring of system resource is satisfying; and

locally un-installing on managed servers the transaction performance data monitoring tool.

7. A computer program product in a non-transitive computer readable storage medium for monitoring transaction based systems having a system resource monitor and a transaction performance monitor, when said program is executed on a computer said program executing a method comprising the steps of:

periodically collecting on a time period basis, system resource metrics values using the system resource monitor and transaction performance metrics values using the transaction performance monitor, the system resource metrics pertaining to information technology resources (IT resources) consumed in operating a data processing system;

detecting using the system resource monitor when the system resource metric threshold value is exceeded;

detecting using the transaction performance monitor when the transaction performance metrics threshold value is exceeded;

triggering, from the transaction performance monitor, the system resource monitor for additionally collecting system resource metrics values each time a transaction performance metric threshold value is exceeded outside of a time period;

calculating, for a number of time periods, the mean value of each periodically collected system resource metrics values;

calculating, for the same number of time periods, the mean value of each additionally collected system resource metrics values;

identifying the system resource metrics for which there is a greater than specified difference between mean value obtained with additional collections of system resource metrics values and mean value obtained with collections of system resource metrics values done on period of time basis; and

setting new threshold values between the two calculated mean values for the identified system resource metrics.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein

the triggering step further comprises the transaction performance monitor itself performing, each time a transaction performance metric threshold value is exceeded, an additional collection of transaction performance metric values including an identifier of said additional collection, this identifier being provided to the system performance monitor to be included in the system monitor additional collection of metric values;

and

the calculating steps further comprise calculating, for a number of time periods, the mean value of transaction performance metrics values.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

using the new threshold values for system monitoring; and

repeating all the steps of the method as many times as necessary until the monitoring of system is satisfying.

10. A system including processor and memory for monitoring transaction based systems having a system resource monitor and a transaction performance monitor, said system comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor for storing instruction of a computer program product which when executed by the processor perform the method comprising;

periodically collecting on a time period basis, system resource metrics values using the system resource monitor and transaction performance metrics values using the transaction performance monitor, the system resource metrics pertaining to information technology resources (IT resources) consumed in operating a data processing system;

detecting using the system resource monitor when the system resource metric threshold value is exceeded;

detecting using the transaction performance monitor when the transaction performance metrics threshold value is exceeded;

triggering, from the transaction performance monitor, the system resource monitor for additionally collecting system resource metrics values each time a transaction performance metric threshold value is exceeded outside of a time period;

calculating, for a number of time periods, the mean value of each periodically collected system resource metrics values;

calculating, for the same number of time periods, the mean value of each additionally collected system resource metrics values;

identifying the system resource metrics for which there is a greater than specified difference between mean value obtained with additional collections of system resource metrics values and mean value obtained with collections of system resource metrics values done on period of time basis; and

setting new threshold values between the two calculated mean values for the identified system resource metrics.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

using the new threshold values for system monitoring; and

repeating all the steps of the method as many times as necessary until the monitoring of system is satisfying.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein

the triggering step further comprises the transaction performance monitor itself performing, each time a transaction performance metric threshold value is exceeded, an additional collection of transaction performance metric values including an identifier of said additional collection, this identifier being provided to the system performance monitor to be included in the system monitor additional collection of metric values;

and

the calculating steps further comprise calculating, for a number of time periods, the mean value of transaction performance metrics values.