Hate when a user asks why the network is so slow?
If you’re running SolarWinds’ Orion Network Performance Monitor (NPM), the latest plug-in that could help you answer, ‘It’s not the network.’
Texas-based SolarWinds has upgraded its Application Monitor to what is now called Application Performance Monitor (APM) version 2, adding the ability to monitor Windows, Unix and Linux application servers and applications to NPM’s ability to monitor network devices.
The Windows-based agentless plug-in has templates that allow it to check Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Internet Information Services, Apache and DNS Web servers, directories and URLs, as well as monitor SQL Server, Oracle and other ODBC databases. In addition, there’s a wizard that lets network managers build their own templates to monitor other applications.
According to Andy Salo, the company’s director of product marketing, APM can see if an application can be accessed and record the response time. APN integrates into Network Peformance Monitor to give a single Web-based interface for monitoring network devices and applications, he said.
The package includes universal WMI performance monitors for monitoring WMI performance counters, helping to identify and resolve application issues. NPM also has a performance warning system that can issue alerts based on pre-configured or user-defined performance levels.
As with all SolarWinds products, APM can be bought online. Pricing, which has changed from per server to per monitor, starts at $2,995 for 50 monitors, including the first year of maintenance. Monitors include port monitors, user experience monitors, Windows service monitors, and process monitors.
APM needs Windows Server 2003 (32-bit or 64-bit) including R2, with at least 1Gb of memory and at least a 2Ghz CPU. It also needs Microsoft IIS installed and SQL Server 2004 SP4 or 2005. NPM also runs on WinServer 2003.