Manage.Com last week unveiled one of the first applications of Extensible Markup Language (XML) technology in management software - a tool that monitors transactions across firewalls.
FrontLine e.M provides a way for a company to configure devices, diagnose problems and measure performance - even if the gear resides on the other side of a firewall.
FrontLine e.M is intended to give an enterprise greater control over equipment used by business partners across an extranet. Naturally, a Manage.com customer's business partners need to grant permission to go through their firewalls.
While many vendors have talked about using XML for management, Manage.Com is actually using it in an innovative way in FrontLine e.M, says John McConnell, president of McConnell Associates in Boulder, Colo.
Just as HTML is a standard way of presenting a document, XML offers a standard way of presenting tables of information. When coupled with a database using the standard Common Information Model (CIM), XML opens the door for sharing management information across the Web.
Manage.Com's Web site will have a CIM database, called e.Registry, which will contain information about how to manage routers, switches and other devices. The database will also include rules for managing e-mail and other applications. Users of FrontLine e.M would subscribe to Manage.com's e.Connect service, which would let them access e.Registry via XML. The software downloads information from e.Registry about how to manage new devices.
FrontLine e.M can monitor specific services and ensure that they meet predefined service levels. If levels drop below an acceptable threshold, FrontLine e.M can find the cause of the problem and take actions to correct it. For example, if the software determines that a service is failing because there isn't enough disk space on the server that runs it, FrontLine e.M can be configured to free up space automatically.
The software includes a Web server at the user site that alerts net managers to problems and collects performance data over time to show trends. Java-based software agents are distributed to devices on a company's extranet and report performance problems to the server.
Manage.Com has focused its development efforts on Web-based management, creating software for mid-size companies. The new product is part of Manage.Com's plan to get an even narrower focus, managing electronic commerce transactions.
FrontLine e.M will ship in July, starting at $50,000. The price includes one year of e.Connect service.
Manage.Com: (888) 567-9990
RELATED LINKS
FrontLine overview from Manage.com
Includes online demo and request form for eval copy.
Downloads: XML
Links to downloadable demos and eval software.
XML Net Resources
Links to primers and other documents that explain XML.
The SGML/XML Web Page: DMTF
A look at efforts to develop XML encodings for CIM data.
Using Internet Technology to Integrate Management Tools and Information
Cisco paper that looks at such technologies as CIM to build a management intranet.
