Application Monitoring

The performance of complex, multi-tier applications is impacted by many interconnected factors, including system resources, database and application architecture, the efficiency of application code, and network infrastructure. As a result of these interdependencies, symptoms of performance problems usually appear at one or more tiers. Typical approaches of isolating the root cause involve time-consuming, manual analysis of performance metrics reported by disparate tools often owned by different IT teams. When problems occur, remediation can be a complex, lengthy, and costly process.

OPNET Panorama™delivers comprehensive performance management for critical Java and .NET applications throughout the application lifecycle, beginning with development and QA, and continuing through deployment and operations. Panorama continuously monitors thousands of system and application metrics within each server, across all tiers, and automatically spots performance anomalies with advanced deviation tracking. Panorama’s unique correlation technology automatically detects patterns in metrics and events, identifying cause-and-effect relationships and pinpointing symptoms that might otherwise go undetected. With deep transaction tracing from within the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR) virtual machine, Panorama provides method-level visibility into application code, enabling root-cause analysis and rapid problem remediation.

View metrics whose values have been the furthest outside of their 'normal' range for a particular time interval

Panorama's Competitive Edge: Advanced Analysis

Panorama dynamically establishes limits by learning what is normal for every metric for a particular time of day, for every day of the week. Metrics that exhibit deviations from normal are automatically identified and assigned scores based on “how abnormal” their behavior is. This enables disparate metrics from different tiers to be compared and ranked.

Panorama’s statistical correlation engine provides the unique ability to relate events and metrics across multiple application tiers, technologies and platforms. Metrics that move in tandem over time, or exhibit limit violations at the same time, are automatically tagged as related metrics, and can be brought into a single view for analysis.

With these advanced analysis, Panorama automatically sifts through thousands of KPIs to identify patterns and relationships, answering contextual questions such as

• Did any metrics, on any tier, change dramatically relative to what’s normal for that time of day?
• Did these changes occur at the same time my application exhibited performance problems? Do they occur every time my application is slow?
• Whenever my reporting webpage is slow, are any database metrics correlated?
• Is there a relationship between intermittent CPU spikes and the execution of particular ASP.NET pages, servlets or generic classes?
• My application is slow. What are the usual suspects?

Key Use Cases

Production Monitoring

Round-the-clock performance monitoring of critical applications is essential for enabling 24X7 business activity and for meeting production SLAs. In production, Panorama continuously monitors KPIs across all servers in the application environment, providing real-time dashboard views and proactive notification alerts when performance thresholds are breached. Forensic ‘snapshots’ capture in-depth data on key events, enabling troubleshooters to perform detailed analysis without having to reproduce the problem. Panorama’s advanced analysis guides users directly to problem areas, enabling application support teams to rapidly remedy performance issues and achieve service level objectives.

Pre-Deployment Testing

Analyzing the performance of applications prior to deployment, under load conditions that are similar to production, is an essential step towards assuring application quality throughout the application life cycle. In the QA test lab, Panorama monitors system and application metrics from within the different servers in the test environment, and integrates with load testing tools to analyze performance bottlenecks under transaction load conditions. Panorama’s automated baselining and advanced deviation tracking identify components that scale disproportionately under load, providing actionable feedback to development teams for performance optimization. With Panorama, QA teams can rapidly identify and resolve potential performance bottlenecks, and confidently deploy applications that meet production service level objectives. Monitor load, throughput, and response time for the major components in your J2EE/.NET application environment

SOA Performance Management

SOA and other composite environments present unique challenges in ensuring performance and scalability of applications during production.Panorama continuously monitors performance across all application tiers, back-end databases, and Web Services, providing the deep visibility required to pinpoint and address performance bottlenecks within the application code and correlating web performance issues to root causes that originate on the back-end, ensuring effective SOA performance management.