IT operations Data center management is the collection of tasks performed by those responsible for managing ongoing operation of a data center This includes ''Business service management'' and planning for the future. Historically, ''data center management'' wa ...

context, software performance management is the subset of tools and processes in IT Operations which deals with the collection, monitoring, and

analysis Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (3 ...

performance metric A performance indicator or key performance indicator (KPI) is a type of performance measurement. KPIs evaluate the success of an organization or of a particular activity (such as projects, programs, products and other initiatives) in which it en ...

s. These metrics can indicate to IT staff whether a system component is up and running (available), or that the component is behaving in an abnormal way that would impact its ability to function correctly—much like how a doctor may measure pulse, respiration, and temperature to measure how the human body is "operating". This type of monitoring originated with computer

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

components, but has now expanded into monitoring other components such as servers and storage devices, as well as groups of components organized to deliver specific services and

Business Service Management Data center management is the collection of tasks performed by those responsible for managing ongoing operation of a data center This includes ''Business service management'' and planning for the future. Historically, ''data center management'' wa ...

Types and categories

Types and categories of IT performance management include: *

Network performance management Capacity management's goal is to ensure that information technology resources are sufficient to meet upcoming business requirements cost-effectively. One common interpretation of capacity management is described in the ITIL framework. ITIL vers ...

: a set of functions that evaluate and report the effectiveness of the

network element In computer networks, a network element is a manageable logical entity uniting one or more physical devices. This allows distributed devices to be managed in a unified way using one management system. According to the Telecommunications Act of ...

, and the behavior of

telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than tha ...

s equipment. It also includes a set of subfunctions, such as gathering statistical

information Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random, ...

, maintaining and examining historical logs, determining system

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

under natural and artificial conditions, and altering system modes of operation. *System performance management includes monitoring and management of utilization of operating systems resources, including CPU, memory, I/O, and disk usage. This includes both physical and virtual systems. In cloud environments events can be defined using monitoring software and actions automated with cloud management application programming interfaces. *

Application performance management In the fields of information technology and systems management, application performance management (APM) is the monitoring and management of the performance and availability of software applications. APM strives to detect and diagnose complex appli ...

: the discipline within systems management that focuses on monitoring and managing the performance and availability of

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

applications. APM looks at

workflow A workflow consists of an orchestrated and repeatable pattern of activity, enabled by the systematic organization of resources into processes that transform materials, provide services, or process information. It can be depicted as a sequence ...

and related IT tools deployed to detect,

diagnose Diagnosis is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in many different disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine " cause and effect". In systems enginee ...

, remedy, and report on application performance issues to ensure that application performance meets or exceeds the expectations of

end-users In product development, an end user (sometimes end-user) is a person who ultimately uses or is intended to ultimately use a product. The end user stands in contrast to users who support or maintain the product, such as sysops, system administrato ...

and businesses. *Self-learning performance management: the use of technology to help automate the performance management of information technology systems. This is done through the use of software that employs

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemat ...

(such as statistics,

time series In mathematics, a time series is a series of data points indexed (or listed or graphed) in time order. Most commonly, a time series is a sequence taken at successive equally spaced points in time. Thus it is a sequence of discrete-time data. E ...

analysis, and

forecasting Forecasting is the process of making predictions based on past and present data. Later these can be compared (resolved) against what happens. For example, a company might estimate their revenue in the next year, then compare it against the actual ...

), automated baselining,

neural network A neural network is a network or neural circuit, circuit of biological neurons, or, in a modern sense, an artificial neural network, composed of artificial neurons or nodes. Thus, a neural network is either a biological neural network, made up ...

pattern recognition Pattern recognition is the automated recognition of patterns and regularities in data. It has applications in statistical data analysis, signal processing, image analysis, information retrieval, bioinformatics, data compression, computer graphic ...

, and other similar technologies. The intent is to automate manual processes and "fixed baseline" approaches used to determine when IT systems are operating out of normal ranges, which would indicate potential system problems. Self-learning performance management is complementary to the disciplines of

systems management Systems management refers to enterprise-wide administration of distributed systems including (and commonly in practice) computer systems. Systems management is strongly influenced by network management initiatives in telecommunications. The ...

, network performance management, and application performance management, and is sometimes referred to by IT analyst firms like

Gartner Gartner, Inc is a technological research and consulting firm based in Stamford, Connecticut that conducts research on technology and shares this research both through private consulting as well as executive programs and conferences. Its clients ...

by the term ''behavior learning technology'' or ''behavior learning software''. *

Business transaction management Business transaction management (BTM), also known as business transaction monitoring, application transaction profiling or user defined transaction profiling, is the practice of managing information technology (IT) from a business transaction per ...

(BTM): the discipline within systems management that monitors business transactions across the data center in order to manage IT performance.

Uses

Outage prevention or remediation

* Alerts as to which components may be failing * Isolates failing components * Provides details to

incident management An incident is an event that could lead to loss of, or disruption to, an organization's operations, services or functions. Incident management (IcM) is a term describing the activities of an organization to identify, analyze, and correct hazards ...

process to speed the repair or remediation process *Logs provided can provide preventative measures for future incidents that might occur, and leverage capacity

Service level management

* Provides

real-time Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...

and historical data to determine whether or not a

service level agreement A service-level agreement (SLA) is a commitment between a service provider and a customer. Particular aspects of the service – quality, availability, responsibilities – are agreed between the service provider and the service user. T ...

is being met * Provides historical data on component usage and workload to help IT organizations determine appropriate costs and charges for

internal Internal may refer to: * Internality as a concept in behavioural economics *Neijia, internal styles of Chinese martial arts *Neigong Neigong, also spelled ''nei kung'', ''neigung'', or ''nae gong'', refers to any of a set of Chinese breathing, ...

and external

customer In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a good, service, product or an idea - obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier via a financial transaction or exchange f ...

s *Allows for clients to ensure that what is being delivered to them is up to their quality standards *Allows to see which components aren't meeting the standards of your business or their clientele

Capacity planning

{{main, Capacity planning * Provides historical data on IT component workloads and usage to help information technology planning staff increase, consolidate, or reduce resources in the future *Provides foresight for companies to leverage resources and plan adequately for projects or other initiatives *More specific allocation allows for better performance and quality of product for your business or client.

Vendors

Companies who offer IT performance management tools include Xangati,

TeamQuest TeamQuest Corporation is a computer software company specializing in Systems management, Performance management and Capacity planning software for computer servers. TeamQuest is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. In 2016, shortly after la ...

, IBM, CA, BMC, Sightline Systems, SevOne and

HP Software Division Micro Focus International plc is a British multinational software and information technology business based in Newbury, Berkshire, England. The firm provides software and consultancy. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is ...

.Network World. "HP redefines IT performance management. New software suite and other tools aimed at helping IT show its value to the business." Beth Schultz. June 1, 2011.
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References

Software performance management