Application Monitoring

NimBUS for JBoss Application Server Monitoring

Simplifying the Measurement and Control of JBoss Performance

Introduction

The most widely used Java application server on the market, the JBoss Application Server enables customers to develop and deploy enterprise Java applications, Web applications, and portals. As a result of this open source product’s widespread adoption, many organizations around the world now constantly rely on JBoss to deliver their most critical applications—applications thousands of users may count on simultaneously to make a purchase or get their work done.

How can these organizations ensure users get fast, reliable service? How can administrators gather the disparate information within JBoss environments to get a clear picture of performance issues—and address them before problems occur?

The Solution

The NimBUS Probe for JBoss Application Servers can be used to automate the continuous, comprehensive monitoring of  JBoss environments. This NimBUS probe can monitor every component and service deployed on JBoss—featuring support for JBoss clustering technology and many other services typically deployed in SOA environments.

This innovative technology also allows JBoss administrators to monitor Java Virtual Machine performance from the perspective of the host operating system, including statistics on CPU utilization, memory, and file handling consumption. Administrators can easily analyze the vast list of metrics provided for the JBoss server and its various services as well as information about how the operating system is managing the load JBoss processes are placing on it.

Features

• Centralized agent-less monitoring of multiple JBoss Application Server instances utilizing the JMX interface.
• Support for clustered environments.
• Monitors compliance with service level agreements.
• Granular capabilities for setting thresholds and alarms.
• Operator consoles and business dashboards for fast, easy data access.
• Automated installation and seamless integration.

Benefits

• Minimize service downtime, through real-time alerts and more proactive control.
• Significantly reduce downtime and improve staff efficiency by identifying faults and pinpointing the root causes more quickly.
• Gain visibility and control over the entire JEMS environment via a single console.
• Use charting and historical data to identify trends useful for capacity planning, cost analysis, and other operation decisions.

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Fast results for your environment—Whether an organization is in the early stages of migration from a traditional application environment or it already has a mature, advanced implementation, NimBUS offers the customizable, intuitive features required:

• Early-stage JBoss deployments. IT organizations that migrate from a traditional application and database environment soon confront the fact that evaluating the cause of performance problems can be difficult if not impossible within JBoss. NimBUS enables administrators to quickly and easily get fundamental data critical to monitoring, evaluating, and troubleshooting performance issues.
• Mature JBoss environments. NimBUS equips advanced users with sophisticated controls to enhance their deployment, whether to streamline management, fine-tune performance, or improve availability. For example, programmers can develop their own custom MBeans (Java classes used to manage resources within the JBoss framework), and use NimBUS to monitor them.

NimBUS products connect to the JBoss Application Server via standard Java Machine Extensions (JMX). NimBUS can gather data from just about any MBeans in use within an enterprise JBoss environment, including standard and custom-developed MBeans.

By providing a centralized collection of vital performance data from a range of disparate MBeans, NimBUS enables organizations to gain a wealth of insights into potential performance degrading conditions.

The probe collects and stores data from the monitored system, which can be a standalone computer or nodes in a cluster, at customizable intervals. Administrators can easily define alarms to be raised and propagated to the NimBUS Enterprise Console when specified thresholds are breached.

Fast, intuitive installation and configuration—Getting started with NimBUS is an efficient process in which many essential tasks are automated. The NimBUS for JBoss probe provides point-and-click access to JBoss modules and performance counters, users can browse all available MBeans, and select those that they want to monitor. NimBUS features installation and configuration wizards that streamline a range of tasks, including auto-discovery of available node.server combinations, setting thresholds, and configuring alarms.

Comprehensive, multi-layered visibility into all vital performance data—Using an intuitive, graphical user interface, administrators can monitor their entire JBoss infrastructure, whether it is comprised of a single application server, or a number of server clusters.

Monitoring Capabilities

The following JBoss Application Server entities may be monitored:

• The Java Virtual machine (JVM)
• Execution queues and threads
• Enterprise Java Beans (EJB)
• Servlets and Java Server Pages (JSP)
• Java Transaction API (JTA)
• Java Database Connection Pools. (JDBC)
• Java Messaging Services (JMS)
• Java Connector Architecture (JCA)

System Specifics

The NimBUS for JBoss probe monitors versions 4.x and 5.x of JBoss Application Servers, and resides on Windows or UNIX in both 32 and 64-bit environments.

Dependencies: jsr160 as client interface

Prerequisites: Java 1.5