When those of us from the network side of the universe think of HP management tools, HP OpenView generally pops to mind. For those of you not in the know, HP OpenView was recently rechristened HP Software. HP’s application performance management capabilities nest within the HP Software toolset under the heading Business Technology Optimization (BTO) software within a solution subset called HP Business Availability Center (BAC). Confused yet? This week we profile HP’s application performance-related BAC solution modules, and ask users to share thoughts, opinions and experiences with the community.
HP adopted a highly modular approach to its BAC product suite, and it took a bit of research and gray matter for us to ferret out the subset of application performance management components. Described as a “comprehensive business service and application management solution,” HP BAC includes 13 product modules, four of which are directly related to application performance management. HP’s Business Availability Center product marketing manager, Chane Cullens, tells us that purchasing the BAC product suite is like buying an American car with lots of extra optional features, compared to buying a Japanese car with those features bundled.
The two most well established BAC application performance management modules—the HP Business Process Monitor software module and the HP Real User Monitor software module—measure the user experience. Both tools joined the HP product lineup with the 2006 acquisition of Mercury Interactive.
HP Business Process Monitor runs synthetic transactions from multiple locations to proactively identify availability and performance issues. Chane Cullen tells us that every BAC customer purchases the HP Business Process Monitor because it is an indispensible component of the BAC suite.
HP Real User Monitor (a.k.a. RUM) software monitors the actual experience and behavior of every end user from every location for web applications and applications using other standard protocols. RUM helps catch and fix intermittent problems by capturing the exact conditions under which the problem occurred. The RUM software runs on a high-speed hardware appliance connected to a spanning port tap in the data center (and sometimes from other locations).
As we ask at the end of each one of our application performance management tool profiles, if you have deployed the HP BAC application performance tools tell us what you think. Do they live up to your expectations? What were your impressions? A simple “I like it”, “I have mixed feelings”, or “I hate it” response is fine—but if you have insight to share with the community, then talk all you want. You can post a reply to this blog using your name or anonymously.
