DCE Infrastructure Maintenance Plan Robert A. Bissell Unixpros, Inc.

Vision Statement l Maintain a middleware infrastructure that meets SLA standards and supports the requirements of both production and development environments.

Goal l Improve the middleware infrastructure tools, processes and procedures so that service can be maintained during failures –Hardware devices –Network devices –Software related problems l Set up effective third level support l Develop a global support model

Tasks l Deploy monitoring and diagnostic tools to identify and correct middleware related problems l Train the second level support team to manage the environment using the diagnostic tool set l Develop procedures for both routine maintenance and failure recovery l Set up third level phone support system

Desired Capabilities l DCE deployment l Proactive maintenance l Operational support systems l Trend tracking and analysis

Today’s Situation l DCE/Encina infrastructures is in place in three regions ( North America, Europe, Asia Pacific) l Basic maintenance and recovery procedures are in place l Failures are handled by experts l Limited diagnostic tools are available l No global support model

Service Level Agreements l Middleware –1 hour maximum time to resolve –15 minutes mean time to resolve l SLAs exist for both server and service availability

Recommendations l Near term –Intensify third and fourth level support, Set up phone support) l Enhance the current strategy with tools, procedures and training –Develop and deploy monitoring and diagnostic tools (compatibility with Tivoli, CA-Unicenter) –Set up a global database of problems/resolutions

Recommendations l Employ a proactive maintenance process –Check for availability and consistency –Perform diagnosis –Perform capacity planning –Perform trend analysis and track changes l Advantages –Increase ability to meet service levels –Exercise greater control over the infrastructure –Decrease reliance on individuals

Proactive Maintenance l Network monitoring at servers l Monitor and test services continuously l Follow set procedures for each failure situation l Test for cell consistency periodically l Track changes in software configuration

Current Monitoring and Diagnosis Tools l Basic DCE monitoring tools are available –CDS ping –dcecp –cell ping –DCE/Sleuth l Current tools are not adequate

Required Tools –DCE CDS Check –DCE Security Check –DCE DTS Check –DCE Monitor –Point-in-time Backup/Recovery –DCE Client Check –DCE Verify –DCE Diagnose

Proactive Maintenance DCE Servers MonitoringDiagnosis Clients Diagnosis 1. CDS Request 2. CDS Failed Response 3. Alert4. Diagnostic Procedure Executed

Maintenance Process Alerts (Monitoring) Diagnosis - Execute Procedures Handle non-routine problems Trend Analysis, Capacity Planning, Auditing Tool development, Management Framework DCE Vendor Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 General Support DCE Guru

Proactive Maintenance Examples l CDS Consistency Checks –Stale Binding Handles –Clearinghouse Consistency –ACL Consistency –Time Stamp Consistency –Cache Consistency

Proactive Maintenance Examples l Diagnosis –Application Performance –Client Initialization –Server Initialization –Application Initialization –Client Failure –Server Failure –Environment Issues

Summary - Next Steps l Set up Third Level Support l Document tool design and procedures l Develop monitoring and diagnostic tools l Provide Training –Tool usage –Recovery procedures –Routine maintenance activities l Deploy tools and institute procedures