Overview
Background
Background
In 2013-14 Applications Division in conjunction with colleagues in ITI and CIS undertook a review of the infrastructure, the services we run and the tools we use to manage that infrastructure. This was entitled Service Monitoring Requirements and Options Appraisal
The details of this work can be found here;
https://www.wiki.ed.ac.uk/display/insite/Service+monitoring+requirements+and+options+appraisal
This review developed a set of requirements that would be used by a subsequent project to implement a suitable solution addressing the challenges we identified.
Key deliverables as identified would include;
· A tool that reflects the health of the infrastructure from a service consumers perspective
· A single tool that aggregates disparate information into one picture representing the health of the infrastructure
· A “single pane of glass” solution that is configured to the needs of the recipient which is easy to interpret and which communicates clear messages about service availability
· A tool that offers an operator the capability to carry out drill down activity during fault finding and problem resolution.
· A single tool that can help with historic behavior, current behavior and capacity planning.
· A solution that integrates heterogeneous tools and data to provide powerful management information.
· A solution that offers a single point of alerting and to targeted audiences
· A solution that does not necessitate the removal of better suited existing management tools
· A solution that is scalable where its own management and administration is not a considerable burden.
This led to an annual planning proposal that will generate two or more projects, that build on the 2014 appraisal and ultimately deliver the deliverables above.
The first project will undertake analysis and R&D and make a recommendation. Subsequent projects will then implement solutions as based on this project's recommendation.
Scope
This project will identify Academic institutions who have similar infrastructure and architecture to that running in Edinburgh University and who have also implemented solutions that deliver the key benefits we have identified in the appraisal.
This project will make a recommendation based on the findings from the visits and any other R&D undertaken in support, outlining what subsequent projects would do to deliver.
Objectives
A recent survey carried out by the UCISA Infrastructure Groupidentified a number of institutions that have tackled this problem and implemented solutions. The project will contact these institutions and where possible make site visits to evaluate what has been implemented and how well this maps on to our own requirements, wholly or partially. This evaluation will be carried out by experts in the different IT sections from ITI and Applications Division.
From this process the project will produce a recommendation of which solution would be most suitable for Edinburgh University. Should the project not identify a suitable solution, then the project will instead provide a recommendation and costed solution based on what it would take to achieve a satisfactory system that would be developed in-house/procured or a mixture of both.
Once a recommendation is accepted a new project will implement/trial/develop the solution identified.
The preferred outcome is to implement a solution based on an existing successful implementation at another institution as this is likely to be the most cost-effective and quickest to deliver.
Deliverables
(i) site visits (ii) report from each site/combined assessment to go along with the recommendation (iii) a final recommendation by the project team as to how IS should proceed and which solution to implement
Benefits and Success Criteria
This project will deemed successful, if the following criteria are achieved;
· A recommended solution that has been endorsed by the technical panel who will carry out the assessment
A recommendation approved by Project Sponsor and IS Directors