Staying on top of the day-to-day health of servers using manual techniques is a well understood but time-consuming process. Reviewing event logs, evaluating performance trends, checking for free disk space, making sure all disk drives are operational, are all essential elements of server management. Unfortunately, such work is not scalable, so as more servers are added the time required to manage them grows linearly.

Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) is a powerful server management tool that helps IT administrators be more responsive to critical IT issues by alerting them to problems that need attention based on an extensive database of real problems. MOM saves administration time by filtering out spurious event information that is unrelated to serious issues.

MOM is “application aware” and knows how to monitor and evaluate the health of Windows server hosted applications such as SQL Server, Systems Management Server, and Exchange Server, by not just monitoring event logs and performance counters, but by the use of specialized Visual Basic scripts that can utilize application-specific APIs to test thoroughly for the correct operation of applications.

MOM allows organizations to develop a 24x7 approach to server and system management without costly round-the-clock IT resources.

Microsoft Operations Manager and Managing Virtual Servers
By using views, tasks, and reports in MOM, an administrator can centrally monitor the health and performance of VMware or Microsoft-based virtual servers and the physical servers that host them, and can respond quickly to critical events and key performance indicators. As a result, the administrator can take action to prevent costly service outages or minimize their effects, and can reduce the resolution time for alert conditions.

An administrator can use reports in MOM to analyze trends, tune performance, and balance the processing load among virtual machine hosts. MOM reports also can be used to identify physical computers that are good candidates for conversion to virtual machines and to identify the virtual machine hosts that best meet the resource requirements of a new virtual machine.

Because the administrator can respond quickly to critical events and service outages, use of MOM can increase the overall availability and performance of Windows operating systems running within virtual machines. As a result, MOM reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO) by enabling proactive management and reducing resolution times for identified issues.

How Progent's Consultants Can Help You with Microsoft Operations Manager
Efficiently setting up Microsoft Operations Manager's server management software requires experience. With over four years of background with Microsoft Operations Manager and six years of experience with the NetIQ product upon which MOM is based, Progent's MOM consultants can help you pick appropriate MOM components, install and configure MOM, and write custom rules, Visual Basic scripts, reports, and alerts for your company. Progent's experts can also document MOM's server monitoring policies and procedures so they can evolve easily with your network.

Progent's MOM outsourcing services allow you to benefit from the expertise of Progent's Microsoft-certified support team. By analyzing trend reports and responding effectively to alarms, Progent can resolve emerging problems before they cause downtime or fix sudden critical problems as soon as they occur. In most cases, Progent can solve problems remotely, saving time and money. For severe problems requiring onsite service, Progent can quickly dispatch a field engineer to businesses located in areas served by Progent.

If would like a Progent consultant to help you with Microsoft Operations Manager or Microsoft Virtual Server technology, call Progent at 800-993-9400 or email server-management-help@progent.com.