ADM User’s Guide
10 VMware, Inc.
WherearethehiddenoptimizationopportunitiesandhowcanIcapitalizeonthem?
Howwilltheseapplicationchangesimpactmybusiness?
Whataretherisks?
WhataretheproblemsandhowcanIsolvethem?
Essential Concepts
Table 1‐1definesessentialconceptsofADM.
ADM Components
VMwareprovidesADMononeormoreappliances.Themodeoftheappliancedetermineswhichcomponent
isrunning.ADMcomponentsaredescribedinTable 1‐2.
Table 1-1. Essential Concepts
Concept Definition
ConfigurationItem(CI) ACIisahost(thiscanalsoincludenetworkdevicessuchasswitchesorrouters),an
application(alsoknownasaservice),oranetworkconnection.Forexample,aLinux
host,Ciscorouter,orVMware
®
ESX™ServerareallhostCIs.Oracleisanapplication
CI.HTTP
andSSHarenetworkconnectionCIs.
Discovery Discoveryisacontinuousprocessthatcreatesandmaintainsadetailedmodelofyour
applicationenvironment.ADMdiscoversCIs.Chapter 5containsmoreinformation
aboutdiscovery.
ManagementData
Repository(MDR)
TheMDRisthedatabaseofADM.Whenconfigurationiteminformationis
discovered,itisstoredin
theMDRafterreconciliation.
Groups Agroupisabuilt‐inoruser‐definedcollectionofoneormoreCIs.Theadminuserscan
creategroupssothattheycaneasilyview,analyze,andtrackthespecificsubsetof
data.GroupcreationallowstheadminusertoclassifyCIsintologicalsets
or
collectionssothatactionssuchascreatingreports,policies,orviewingtheinventory
isappliedtospecificgroups,insteadoftheentiredatabaseofCIs.Chapter 4contains
moreinformationaboutgroups.
Change AchangeisanychangetoaCI.Forexample,achangetoaconfigurationfileonahost
isachange.
Changetracking Changetrackingreferstoachangeinthediscoveredenvironment,suchasachange
intheamountofactivityonahost,achange inthedemandonahostorservice,ora
newhostorconnectionthatispresentinthediscoveredenvironment.Change
trackingreferstobehavioralchanges.ADMallowsyoutocreatechangetracking
policiesthattrackbehavioralchangesinyourapplicationenvironment.
Applicationpattern ADMdiscoversbusinessapplicationsbycreatingapplicationpatterns.Theadminuser
cancreatethesefromtheManagetab,oraVMwareProfessionalServices
representativecanprovideyouthese.An
applicationpatterndefinitionconsistsofa
setofrules—noderulesandconnectivityrules—thatdescribetherequestedpattern.
ADManalyzestheapplicationpatterndefinitionanddiscoversinstancesofthe
applicationpattern.Noderulesaregroup‐likerulesthatdescribetheinstancesinthe
topologygraph.Connectivityrulesdescribe
theedgesinthetopologygraph(thatis,
theconnectivitybetweentwoinstances).
Entityaging ADMletsyoucreateentityagingpolicies.Forexample,aser vicerunninginyour
networkispopulatedintheMDR,andisthereforevisibletoyoufromtheUser
Interface(UI).Ifyouuninstallthisserviceat
alatertime,youshouldnolongerseeit
asarunningserviceintheUI.Creatinganentityagingpolicyletsyouviewthemost
updatedstateofyournetwork,sinceitisaconstantlychangingenvironment.(An
entityisanetworkelement,serviceordependency,andanyof
theirderivedelements
suchasaJ2EEordatabaseinstance.)