Christian Mayerl

SOA-based integration of IT service management applications

IT service providers use applications to support their business processes. The need for specialized IT management functionality and information generates a multitude and diversity of management applications that can be recognized in one IT providers scenario. To run IT and to provide IT services effectively and efficiently, management applications have to be integrated along operational processes. This article introduces an approach to integrate management applications by leveraging a service-oriented architecture (SOA). Therefore, a sufficient understanding of IT service providers processes and cooperative roles is essential. The presented SOA defines how to integrate management applications loosely coupled in a process-oriented manner, bridging the gap between operational processes and management applications.

Definition of Metric Dependencies for Monitoring the Impact of Quality of Services on Quality of Processes

Service providers have to monitor the quality of offered services and to ensure the compliance of service levels provider and requester agreed on. Thereby, a service provider should notify a service requester about violations of service level agreements (SLAs). Furthermore, the provider should point to impacts on affected processes in which services are invoked. For that purpose, a model is needed to define dependencies between quality of processes and quality of invoked services. In order to measure quality of services and to estimate impacts on the quality of processes, we focus on measurable metrics related to functional elements of processes, services as well as components implementing services. Based on functional dependencies between processes and services of a service-oriented architecture (SOA), we define metric dependencies for monitoring the impact of quality of invoked services on quality of affected processes. In this paper we discuss how to derive metric dependency definitions from functional dependencies by applying dependency patterns, and how to map metric and metric dependency definitions to an appropriate monitoring architecture.

Specification of a Service Management Architecture to Run Distributed and Networked Systems

Due to the complexity of running distributed and networked systems, we can recognise a trend of virtual re-centralisation of distributed systems. Since outsourcing IT resources, IT service providers are born. The aim of service providers is to run IT components offering qualified IT services to customers, who specify quality demands as service level agreements (SLAs). Service providers use management tools to assure the quality of IT services and to run IT effectively and efficiently. The management tools available today do not meet all demands of IT service providers fulfilling service level agreements customers. This paper specifies an integrated service management architecture supporting IT service provider to assure the quality of IT services.

Process-Oriented Integration of Applications for a Service-Oriented IT Management; Integrated IT Management Architecture

During the last years a shift from technology-oriented management to user-centered and service-oriented management of information technologies could be observed. Today the aim of service providers is not only to run necessary technologies but also to recognize user needs on service functionality and quality. In order to fulfill service levels agreed with customers, providers have to define and implement new processes for service management. To execute these processes efficiently in conjunction with traditional management processes, applications supporting service-oriented management have to be developed. This paper presents an approach how demands on applications can be derived from service management processes as extensions of traditional management processes. To extend traditional management applications with additional service management applications we propose an integration based on a service-oriented architecture.

Dienstbeschreibung und -modellierung für ein SLA-fähiges Service-Management

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) stellen die vertragliche Grundlage dafur dar, dass ein IT-Dienstleister im Auftrag eines Kunden i.d.R. verteilte IT-Systeme fur die Anwender dieser Systeme betreibt. Ein SLA-fahiges Service-Management unterstutzt den IT-Dienstleister, die in einem SLA getroffenen Vereinbarungen wahrend des Betriebs der IT-Systeme zu gewahrleisten. Es erfordert dabei ein sehr genaues Verstandnis der IT-Dienste, die zum einen Gegenstand der Vereinbarung und zum anderen Gegenstand des IT-Managements sind. Der Beitrag zeigt auf, welche Aspekte in einer strukturierten Dienstbeschreibung auftreten mussen, damit SLAs vereinbart und eingehalten werden konnen. Die Dienstbeschreibung wird durch ein Dienstmodell formalisiert, das auf Basis des Common Information Model (CIM) erstellt wurde. Die Tragfahigkeit der vorgestellten Konzepte und Modelle wird anhand konkreter Beispiele aufgezeigt.

Modeling IT operations to derive provider-accepted management tools

In this paper a process-oriented approach to derive requirements on IT management tools is presented. The starting point is given by the processes that have to be carried out to run a distributed system. The better a management tool supports these processes the more useful it is from the viewpoint of the provider. Hence, the more accepted the tool is by the operators doing their work in the IT organization. The process model describing IT operations of a distributed networked system stems from an industrial project. The project goal was to introduce a process-oriented quality management system into a complex IT environment. One of the operational processes of the model, the process operation of changes is described in detail which demonstrates the method to derive demands on management tools from the process description. The result of this method is a collection of tools supporting request, commitment, performance and evaluation of an IT change. The integrated software architecture and the central software modules of our solution are outlined. The method described in this paper has been successfully applied to various fields of IT management.

Eine integrierte Dienstmanagementarchitektur für den qualitätsgesicherten Betrieb von vernetzten Systemen

Der Beitrag beschreibt eine im Rahmen von Forschungs- und Industrieprojekten entstandene Dienstmanagementarchitektur (DMA), durch die bestehende standardisierte Managementarchitekturen erweitert werden. Aufbauend auf den Konzepten zur Uberwachung und Steuerung von Netz-, System und Anwendungskomponenten integriert die DMA Werkzeuge, die einen Betreiber bei der Einhaltung von Dienstleistungsvereinbarungen mit Kunden unterstutzen.

Kooperative Managementwerkzeuge für den effizienten Betrieb von vernetzten Systemen

Die Bedeutung der Informationsverarbeitung (IV) sowie die Komplexitat heutiger IV-Systeme fuhren in vielen Fallen dazu, den Betrieb von IV-Systemen aus Kostengrunden zu zentralisieren und z.T. als eigenstandigen Unternehmensbereich auszugliedern (Outsourcing). Der Betreiber von IV-Systemen wandelt sich dadurch vom einstigen Systemspezialisten hin zum Dienstleister rund um die IV. Als Schnittstelle definiert er Dienste, die er entsprechend festgelegter Dienstleistungsvereinbarungen (DLVs) bereitstellt.