Network and Systems Management: Bulldozing the Mountain of Complexity

by Denise Kalm, Rob Steiskal
December 1, 2008

Today, IT is all about delivering the services the business needs when it needs them and at the lowest possible cost. This has caused the systems management focus to shift from a platform- centric view to an end-to-end application view. Usually, the mainframe systems programmer doesn’t control application transaction service time, nor do the distributed systems or network administration folks. SLAs are achieved based on delivering endto- end computer services, not on the availability of a single infrastructure component.

Mountain Grading Tools

Network and systems managers need versatile tools that let them do more with less. The time saved by using such tools to automate routine and repetitive tasks can be redirected to addressing business and technical issues that really require their individual skills and experience.

Key properties of a good management solution are:

• The solution components must be easy to install, customize, and deploy with quick time-to-value.

• All major functions should be easily accessible. A command line interface should be available for those who prefer it and to facilitate additional automation.

• Both a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and a 3270-style interface should be included. (Each should provide access to the same core functionality so the solution can provide immediate value, regardless of the user’s experience base.)

• The solution should provide navigational shortcuts to optimize problem analysis and resolution.

Additional properties that can enhance a solution’s value include:

• A minimal resource footprint

• Built-in data/event logging functions that can be used to implement or enhance auditing capabilities • The ability to control access to functions with sufficient granularity to enable implementation of role-based security

• Support for a broad range of operating environments, standards, and technologies that enable integration with other operating system and management software components/solutions.

These features are just the basics. You need more to do these jobs well and deliver business process resilience and performance. Ideally, you’d be able to manage all infrastructure elements in your domain of control from a single viewport, where multiple products and technologies are seamlessly integrated to create a single virtualized management facility.

In a z/OS environment, network administrators must be able to monitor business application service levels and manage the IP, SNA, and tunneled traffic upon which those services depend from a single access point. This facilitates resource management from a business, rather than technology, perspective. The ability to progressively and seamlessly navigate from a business service view through its implementing subsystems and system hardware/software components provides the mainframe systems programmer with the tools required to quickly diagnose and resolve critical issues.