IT monitoring system – Operation

Once you set up an IT development and management environment, it can be difficult to keep everything under control. IT monitoring systems come in handy, specifically designed to keep the entire system monitored.

The monitoring system of an ICT infrastructure allows you to report any anomalies that may occur within the components of the IT network. In this world, it is easy to predict and resolve problems before they can cause a service outage.

Monitoring system in practice

In the practice of an IT operator, the monitoring system is the equivalent of a dashboard for a motorist.

Modern cars have sensors and controls for every measurable value in the car. Thanks to a sensor system and a central computer for signal management, any failure or malfunction is signaled immediately. When a certain warning light comes on, or the sound of a certain buzzer sounds, the driver knows that something is not working as it should. In this way serious problems can also be avoided.

A monitoring system works with the same intentions. A set of software components, installed on the various machines connected together in the infrastructure, controls the correct operation by measuring certain parameters. The result is that a system collapses and stops functioning due to malfunctions that have gone unnoticed.

How an IT monitoring system works

Perche’ il sistema di monitoraggio funzioni correttamente, e’ necessario installare sulle macchine dei software agent. Queste applicazioni, disponibili per ogni tipo di sistema operativo, tengono sotto controllo i parametri della macchine e inviano le informazioni a un software che e’ preposto per la raccolta. Questo, chiamato server, dopo la raccolta dei dati inviati dagli agenti, mostra i risultati dei rilevamenti attraverso della grafica per renderli facili da consultare.

I componenti del sistema di monitoraggio comunicano tra di loro in modo sicuro. Nel sistema offerto dalla Secure Online Desktop (SOD), Zabbix, questo avviene accettando solo connessioni da IP autorizzati. Con il sistema di monitoring di SOD, inoltre, e’ possibile anche un controllo agent-less, cioe’ senza il bisogno di installare alcun software agent sulle macchine controllate.

Perche’ monitorare?

La risposta semplice alla domanda e’: per prevenire interruzioni di servizio e danni fisici alle macchine fisiche, seppur queste potrebbero essere di competenza esclusiva del provider. La salute delle architetture IT utilizzate per fornire un servizio ai clienti, e’ importante quanto il servizio stesso.

Il segreto e’ avere tutte le risorse sotto controllo. Questo include l’hardware cosi’ come il software utilizzato.

In particolare e’ bene tenere a mente che molti fattori entrano in gioco quando parliamo di efficienza di un sistema. Per esempio il carico di lavoro di un server, i suoi tempi di risposta e le performance dei database coinvolti possono influenzare l’esperienza dell’utente finale.

Strategia d’uso di un sistema di IT monitoring

After installing the software needed to collect and process data on the machines involved, it is time to prepare a solid system control strategy.

The steps are not many, but all fundamental for maintaining the effectiveness of the control high.

1) Data collection

In the first step it is necessary to verify that the data are: available, collected and usable for subsequent analysis.

Obviously, the first thing to do is to collect data. If you don’t have the data, it can’t be analyzed. Make sure that the data collected is usable and relevant to achieving your goals.

2) Identification of the parameters

In the second step, thanks to a first analysis of the systems, the “normal” performances are identified for the machines and applications involved.

By setting the monitoring on the application performance level for each metric, you can compare the performance of the infrastructure in real time, having a basis of comparison to identify possible anomalies.

3) Alarm levels

The time has come to identify what the parameter alarm levels are and consequently which thresholds to set before receiving a malfunction warning. The approach is possible in two ways: it is based on generic statistical thresholds or on the deviation of the basic services analyzed in step 2.

It is not easy to decide which approach to use. To avoid triggering a disproportionate number of warnings, you should be able to specify what the acceptable deviation is for each metric.

4) Data analysis

Finally, the data must be analyzed to verify that the decisions made in the previous steps are always valid and that the systems are operating efficiently.

A proactive analysis is essential to always keep the architectures involved in order. This ensures that future problems that can negatively impact customer services are avoided.

Conclusions

An efficient and well-structured monitoring system is an indispensable prerogative for IT infrastructures.

On the market there are various possibilities to implement this service to your system. SOD offers a web control console through Zabbix, an enterprise solution for system monitoring.

Give yourself the advantage of improving the quality of your services without sacrificing operating costs.

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Useful links:

ICT Monitoring Service

How to have your computer network under control

Datacenter in Italy