TABLE OF CONTENTS The first method of managing non-Windows systems is to use Virtual Agents to collect state and performance data from those resources. When using Virtual Agents, there is no need to deploy any software on the managed systems. Instead, calls to the systems to capture data or invoke an action are made using common interfaces supported by the managed systems.
Infrastructure and application monitoring is shifting from an agent-based approach to an agentless one. Agentless monitoring holds the promise of cheaper and easier-to-maintain monitoring technology. Only a few technology barriers still exist thanks to emerging technologies and adoption by both operating system and application vendors. One company breaking those barriers by extending MOM s management capabilities for heterogeneous environments is eXc Software.
eXc Software provides an extensive library of Virtual Agents that utilize a custom-developed Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Event Provider to deliver event and performance data to MOM. Figure D.1 shows the component architecture for the eXctender WMI Event Provider. eXc Software s WMI non-Windows Event Provider is a component DLL that runs within the WMI service. WMI is Microsoft s implementation of a set of standards that has been established by the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF). Those standards make up the Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) technologies whose goal, in theory, is to unify the management of distributed computing environments and allow an IT organization to monitor and control all the systems found within its data centers.
