Overview and Key Feature Summary
The ZEN EE MONITOR, also known as ZEM, has been specifically designed from
the outset to handle the problems prevalent in hybrid networks, so is ideally suited
to provide the display panels and tools required to effectively manage the mixture
of IP and SNA protocols found in such networks.
ZEM is easily and quickly installed and requires little or no initial
configuration so can be initiated immediately the installation and post-installation
processes have been completed. ZEM runs in its own address space and as soon
as it is activated sets about learning your APPN/HPR and EE environments and saving
this information in its Topology Database.
ZEM makes use of William Data Systems’ ZEN to provide an efficient and
elegant browser interface in which all your network data is displayed in clear
and easy-to-understand panels. A series of drop-down menus provide rapid access
to all available panels, utilities and administration options, and detailed
cross-referenced Help is available for every panel.
As ZEM monitors your network, it gathers throughput statistics in its History Database
which enables you to produce longer term analyses of network traffic for accurate on-line growth
planning. You can configure the length of time for which history statistics are maintained to
any period required. ZEM can also be configured to write its statistical records to SMF
for very long-term off-line reporting.
You may also optionally collect SNA “Session Awareness” data in a Sessions Database. The
Session Awareness Support provides real-time collection and monitoring for SNA session data,
with fast search functions, auditing and historical recording, and session monitoring.
Although ZEM can be used on a single system and will present network information
from the viewpoint of that one system, it is much more effective when it is run on all systems
in a network since it can then present a composite network view. In a multi-system configuration,
again using the functionality provided by ZEN, you nominate at least one of the systems be
a ZEN ‘Domain Server’ (DS). The ZEN DS runs as a ZEN task and is a software router that
enables communication between all ZEM systems (and any other WDS Network Management
Components) that are connected to it.
Running a ZEN DS provides a number of benefits: it removes the need for there to be a direct
connection between all ZEM systems; it allows a ZEM user a single sign-on after
which all ZEM systems are accessible without the need to re-key a userid and password;
it enables all the ZEM systems to exchange network topology information; it maintains
key information, such as the correlation between CP names and IP addresses, across ZEM
restarts.
ZEM’s key features are:
- Automatic Network Configuration Detection and Monitoring
- Enterprise Extender Activity Monitoring
- Enterprise Extender Performance Monitoring
- Dynamic Alerting and Incident Reporting
- On-line and Off-line Historical Data Recording
- Netview/REXX Interface for Automated Network Monitoring via ZEN
- Comprehensive Diagnostic Toolset
- Integration with the WDS products ZEN IP MONITOR and ZEN TRACE & SOLVE
- Optional collection and display of SNA Session Awareness data
Monitor and manage APPN/HPR & EE for maximum network availability
Enterprise Extender (EE) provides a means of transporting SNA data over an IP network
by efficiently encapsulating SNA High Performance Routing (HPR) frames in User Datagram
Protocol (UDP) datagrams. By wrapping the SNA payload in this way, EE enables SNA
data to be carried over an IP backbone without changing either the SNA applications
or the IP hardware.
In an effort to maximize business continuity and minimize application and network
outages, organizations have invested heavily in solutions for the management of
application and network traffic. However, the unique blend of IP and APPN/HPR (“the
new SNA”) technologies found in EE presents challenges when it comes to implementation
and network management and EE cannot be efficiently and effectively monitored using
traditional tools.
Meaningful APPN/HPR information is difficult to extract unless you know exactly
what you’re looking for (by which time your networks might already be down).
Furthermore, there is no provision for interval monitoring or trend analysis. Dedicated
IP monitors, such as ZEN IP MONITOR - IMPLEX from William Data Systems, provide
statistical information and EE monitoring at the IP level by identifying traffic
flowing across EE ports; however, these monitors do not provide performance indicators
at the APPN/HPR level. And since the typical APPN/HPR problems which affect performance
and system outages are often unrelated to IP, relying on an IP monitor for APPN/HPR
and EE monitoring is inconsistent with providing the best possible service to your
users.
APPN/HPR and EE carry so much business-critical application data, it is vital that
your network teams have access to the right network management tools and the solution
you choose must provide the most complete picture. Longtime advocates of EE, William
Data Systems has developed ZEN EE MONITOR, a solution that offers your network technicians
the tools and information to provide optimal levels of IT responsiveness to meet
customer expectations.