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GroundWork Monitor 6.0 Pre-release FAQ

Here are answers to the questions we've received about the upcoming release of GroundWork Monitor 6.0. We'll update this page with more answers as we receive more questions, so check back.

Check out the podcast discussing GroundWork Monitor release 6.0.

Q: In a nutshell, what can current GroundWork Monitor users expect from the 6.0 release?
A: GroundWork Monitor 6.0 is a much sleeker, easier-to-use application. You can efficiently deal with the tasks that you need to do on a day-to-day basis. The more powerful dashboards in this release address a whole new set of users who do not yet know about GroundWork Monitor.

Q: Why the JBoss platform?
A: JBoss provided a number of features that integrate tightly with ticketing, provisioning, change control, and asset management solutions. Some examples: you can combine application components from different portals into a single view, you have good granular controls for role management, user security, and permissions, and you can integrate components written in almost any language.
Q: What is the timeline for release?
A: The Beta version will soon be released to those customers and partners on our Beta program. Any current subscription customers who want early access to GroundWork Monitor 6.0 should contact Simon Bennett (sbennett at gwos dot com). The General Release will take place in July or August, depending upon the feedback we receive from the Beta program.
Q: Do the add-ons available for earlier versions of GroundWork Monitor Professional and Enterprise work with GroundWork Monitor 6.0 as well?
A: Yes, all the add-ons (Network Management Suite (NMS), GroundWork Monitor Standby Server, GroundWork Windows Child Server, GroundWork Linux Child Server) will work with GroundWork Monitor 6.0.

While the GroundWork Monitor Standby Server and GroundWork Linux and Windows Child Servers work as-is, we will release a minor upgrade to the NMS suite to assure compatibility with 6.0.

The GroundWork Linux and Windows Child Servers can be upgraded to the 6.0 code base after the main GroundWork Monitor server is upgraded. We have a mechanism in place to upgrade the GroundWork Monitor Standby Server when the GroundWork Monitor Server is upgraded.

Q: Will the connectors to ticketing and event console solutions released on the GroundWork Exchange work with GroundWork Monitor 6.0 as well?
A: Connectors available on the GroundWork Exchange enable customers to link GroundWork Monitor to their current event console solution or ticketing application. The connectors will work with release 6.0 as well as release 5.3:
Q: Will there be changes to NagVis?
A: Super-Visions, a GroundWork partner, has adapted NagVis to work with the GroundWork Monitor Foundation database. An updated version of their NagVis Visualization Package will be available for GroundWork Monitor 6.0.
Q: Is there a GroundWork partner/developer SDK or API?
A: GroundWork Monitor 6.0 provides developer reference material, documentation, and sample code to help you extend the platform. Developer documents will be released via our new 6.0 GroundWork Developer's Portal. Documents include an SDK with example code (in PHP and in Java) to use to create a new portlet (a sub-feature within a page).

When the Beta is released, the GroundWork website will provide a link to the SDK. No registration is required. The SDK is open and applies to the Community Edition as well as to the subscription solutions.

The GroundWork Monitor 6.0 platform provides numerous language bindings so that you can extend the GroundWork Monitor 6.0 platform with new capabilities. New hooks, particularly in the Status Viewer, make it easier to integrate GroundWork Monitor 6.0 to Wikis and other external sources of information using a one-click link in the Web interface.

Q: Are there performance benefits as a result of moving to a different platform in GroundWork Monitor 6.0?
A: In GroundWork Monitor 6.0 we've addressed user scalability. Supporting larger user populations is a key theme in 6.0, because a number of our customers are monitoring thousands of devices and have many simultaneous GroundWork Monitor users.
Q:What are the localization implications of moving to GroundWork Monitor 6.0?
A: The JBoss portal platform provides a standardized approach to internationalization and localization. Localization is also a topic we'll cover in the GroundWork Developer's Kit. We support and encourage end-users and partners who localize the product for their particular market.
Q: How far back can I go for migration? What is the cutoff point at which I can no longer convert from an earlier release to release 6.0?
A: In common with previous releases, GroundWork Monitor 6.0 is packaged with all prerequisites. In-place upgrades (installations on top of an existing system) from versions 5.3 and 5.2 SP.7 are supported. If you're running a release prior to 5.2.1, work with our support team to determine which of the following migration options is right for you:
  • Upgrade to one of the supported versions and then upgrade to GroundWork Monitor 6.0.
  • Do a migration from your existing installation and port it over to a new installation of release 6.0.
Q: Any new features in 6.0 that address business service management, specifically related to integrating hosts and services into related businesses?
A: Yes. Improvements in the Status Viewer relate specifically to service management. The new ability to slice and dice data by service groups rather than just host groups is particularly useful when creating service-oriented views of network devices for particular line-of-business applications.

Previous versions of GroundWork Monitor were host-centric. Views were based on types of machines (hosts), rather than on software components or operating systems. In release 6.0, we provide different ways to view the infrastructure. For example, instead of slicing data by the particular machines that are in the environment, you can now slice data by application type. You could create a view that shows all the network-based services that share common attributes, such as a view that shows all your database services, irrespective of where the services are running.

In addition, there are new components that calculate the point-in-time availability of a particular host or service group. This means you can have availability and performance measurements on a dashboard right in front of you in real time.

Q: Our business manages multiple product lines. I'm looking for a solution to monitor all the pieces with a single system (as opposed to each business unit managing/configuring their own monitoring). I understand that service groups can be used for this purpose, although I'm curious to know if there are any plans for grouping above this level in order to classify different business-units/product lines to manage.
A: In release 6.0, an extremely powerful dashboard feature lets you create a customized line-of-business dashboard that can include availability calculations and performance metrics. You can also integrate related tools into the dashboard. For example, if the line-of-business is related to a piece of Web infrastructure, you can embed the Web application itself into your dashboard. You can also integrate other pieces which are relevant to the management of that service, such as a specialized network management tool that has a Web front end.

With the improved Event Console, you can create new types of filtering.

Q: Are customizable dashboards available in the GroundWork Monitor 6.0 Community Edition?
A: Yes, and this is a significant change. Previously the dashboard builder functionality was only available in the Enterprise Edition. With the GroundWork Monitor 6.0 release, the dashboard builder, as well as the ability to embed other applications into the dashboard, is included in the Community Edition. Some features not included in the Community Edition include the Seurat view, Status History, advanced reports, best practice profiles, and the Event Console.
Q: Any plans to incorporate metrics directly into GroundWork Monitor, as opposed to the disconnected Nagios/Cacti relations. Does GroundWork Monitor 6.0 provide the ability to view information from a single interface or host service? Could you pull info from a Tivoli agent or from Windows, etc.?
A: We've redesigned the Status Viewer to visually tie status information (the red/yellow/green lights for individual services) more closely to performance data coming from plugins or external systems. You can click on the performance measures important to you and see how they relate to others because they are visually aligned on the page.

For example, referring to the availability information at the top of the display, you can see how a state change relates to response time or load or memory utilization on a particular system or how it relates to tablespace utilization in an Oracle application. Seeing how the two are related makes root cause analysis much easier. You can quickly answer the question "Why does my service indicating a warning?"