Application Monitoring

NimBUS for Microsoft Exchange

A significant email outage can disable all incoming, outgoing and server-to-server email delivery. The business impact of errors in the email system can range from minor annoyance to a dramatic bottom-line impact. During a time of instant communications and high email dependency, an outage can be a high anxiety event - unmonitored email systems can introduce long and costly email delivery delays.

By detecting and automatically responding to critical events, the NimBUS for Microsoft Exchange solution helps to isolate and resolve possible service outages. Furthermore, by tracking performance indicators and plotting trend reports, the NimBUS for Microsoft Exchange solution can pre-empt outage and degradation conditions though heightened proactive awareness.

Primary features:

• Simulates email send/receive functions and monitors for proper and timely email delivery
• Performs Microsoft Exchange service health checks to prevent outage and degradation conditions
• Web-based realtime alerting, performance trend reporting and SLA reporting

Additional features:

• Client logon verification - Microsoft Outlook support
• "Profile-based" monitoring definition - monitoring is unique per server/mailbox
• Generates alerts:
  • When not able to send to a designate user/mailbox
  • On send/receive timeout conditions
  • Upon receipt of 'lost email message', i.e. messages sent, but never returned
  • For critical Microsoft Exchange events in the application log
• Additional alert monitoring and performance reporting support for:
  • Send, receive, round trip response times
  • Send, receive success/failure
  • Microsoft Exchange mailbox and folder sizes
  • Disk, Database capacity
  • Number of mailboxes per server, mailbox limit
  • Mail queue performance
  • Mail traffic analysis - mail count and size
  • Other Microsoft Exchange performance counters
• Services - Internet Protocols monitored
  • POP
  • SMTP
  • IMAP
• Customizable alert messages
• Flexible alert notification i.e. cell, SMS, pager, email, and more
• Auto-erases test email messages to avoid unnecessary accumulation

Microsoft Exchange Server - email 'send' test and response monitoring

The NimBUS for Microsoft Exchange solution monitors the Microsoft Exchange service for its ability to accept email messages from a sending client and also relay messages to a receiving client. The send tests will also monitor and record the time it takes to complete the mail 'send' process. To test the Microsoft Exchange server's ability to receive outgoing messages a designated Microsoft Exchange client - a desktop utilizing the Microsoft Outlook client - will be activated and made to send periodic test email messages.

The client desktop is instrumented with a specialized NimBUS for Microsoft Exchange probe - the probe will serve as a virtual person sending and receiving emails. The probe will automatically logon to the Outlook client just as a person would (this step alone verifies the Outlook login function), then it will work through the steps to build a test email message and then send that message. The probe will monitor the mail delivery process to ensure the Outlook client is able to connect to the Microsoft Exchange server and that the server accepts the email message - if this outgoing email delivery process is successful the email send test is deemed successful.

If the send test fails an alert will be generated. Realtime alerts can be displayed in the NimBUS Enterprise Console. The results of send tests (success/failure) and response time measurements are archived for performance and trend reporting. Status data can also be utilized by the NimBUS SLM solution for SLA compliance/breach analysis and reporting.

Figure below: The NimBUS for Microsoft Exchange QoS Dashboard provides complete MS Exchange status visibility (Click for a larger image.)

Microsoft Exchange Server - email 'receive' test and response monitoring

The NimBUS for Microsoft Exchange probe discussed above can also be configured to test and monitor the email 'receive' function. The probe will login to the Outlook client; attempt a connection to the Microsoft Exchange server and request messages from the virtual user's email mailbox. If all test emails are received the email receive function is deemed successful.

Microsoft Exchange Server - email round-trip response time test

The NimBUS for Microsoft Exchange solution provides end-to-end Microsoft Exchange response time monitoring - it does this by monitoring the amount of time it takes to send and then receive a return email. This test is ideal to determine the Microsoft Exchange server's ability to process both outgoing and incoming email messages in a timely fashion. The specialized probe, which tests and monitors the email send and receive function, is also used to measure round trip response time. The probe will start a timer upon activating the email send test and stop the timer when a return email is received. This total time indicates the ETE email response time. This ETE response test can be performed at frequent intervals in order to maintain high visibility of the Microsoft Exchange service availability and performance.

Microsoft Exchange Server - monitoring server integrity

The NimBUS for Microsoft Exchange solution provides server based monitoring as well as client based monitoring - the send/receive/response tests are client based tests - to monitor the integrity and the internals of the Microsoft Exchange server requires server based monitoring. The solution comes equipped with a specialized probe which is deployed on the Microsoft Exchange server - it will monitor key Microsoft Exchange processes, counters, event logs, mail queues and other critical components of the Microsoft Exchange service.

Additionally, the probe will monitor the general server components such as CPU utilization, disk space capacity, memory utilization, system event logs and more. The solution is designed to interrogate all system and Microsoft Exchange server components to ensure that any problems that may degrade or disrupt the Microsoft Exchange email service are pre-empted.

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