Application management software from Compuware adds Java and .Net analytics, user experience monitoring
Compuware this week made available an upgraded release of its flagship management software that the vendor says will help IT managers more quickly determine the root cause of poorly performing applications.
Vantage 10 software tracks application-response time across multiple IT elements to help managers gauge how well a particular business service performs. In the new version, Compuware enabled the software to combine .Net and Java application analytics with data that monitors users to help IT managers uncover the cause of a failed business service and determine which users will be most affected, the company says.
“This release provides comprehensive end-to-end performance analysis for Web and other back-end applications,” says Lloyd Bloom, director of marketing for Compuware’s Vantage suite. “This isn’t just for customer-facing applications.”
For instance, Vantage10 includes more granular information in its dashboard, Bloom explains. The software will now show along with the red or yellow light in the dashboard exactly how many and which users are affected by service slowdowns.
Also in this release, Compuware improved its ability to monitor VoIP application performance. Vantage 10 can deliver metrics on VoIP applications that show how they are competing with other applications for network resources. For instance, the software can report the number of degraded calls and calculate mean opinion scores (MOS) for voice applications. “We also can check if the QoS prioritization is set correctly and report on congestion at the QoS level,” Bloom says.
Vantage uses a couple of methods of collecting user performance data. One involves software agents installed at key locations throughout the network and using scripts to act as users generating synthetic transactions. The second, agent-less approach uses a network appliance that sits in front of the Web server farm and taps either side of the firewall to monitor user traffic. Compuware recommends customers couple the approaches to get the most accurate read of application performance from the user perspective.
Compuware competes with HP’s Mercury Interactive tools as well as appliances from such vendors as Coradiant that track performance of Web applications on users’ machines.
Pricing for Vantage 10 starts at $50,000.
