Version 2.0 Overview

Published: May 21, 2009   |   Updated: February 26, 2010

 

What’s New

New features in Version 2.0 of the Service Level Dashboard include:

  • Near real-time data latency. The data latency is now near real-time at two to three minutes, giving IT service managers the visibility they need to make decisions faster.
  • Dashboard metrics for service level tracking. New metrics facilitate the tracking of mean time to repair (MTTR), mean time between failures (MTBF), and application service level trends.
  • New presentation platform. Version 2.0 uses Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 as its presentation platform, eliminating the need for business users to have the Operations Manager console.
  • Authentication. The Service Level Dashboard now uses Windows SharePoint Services groups to authenticate users and sites, making it easy to establish access to specific reports by setting permissions based on the user’s role in the organization.
  • Service level objectives (SLOs). Administrators can use the new Service Level Tracking feature in Operations Manager to configure service goals for applications and groups.

Download This Solution Accelerator

Click here to get the download of the Service Level Dashboard 2.0 for System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2.

Note The Service Level Dashboard is globalized but not localized to non-English languages. Currently it is only supported for US-English language only.

About This Solution Accelerator

Service Level Dashboard 2.0 tracks and reports the service levels of line-of-business (LOB) applications and groups (applications or systems) on a near real-time basis.

Prerequisites

Service Level Dashboard 2.0 integrates with an already functioning deployment of Operations Manager 2007 R2 RC1 and has no additional infrastructure requirements. Software requirements are:

  • Operations Manager 2007 R2 with Reporting and Data Warehouse

  • Windows SharePoint Services 3.0

    Note   Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 is supported as an alternative to Windows SharePoint Services 3.0

  • Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5

How the Dashboard Works

The Service Level Dashboard is an application built on Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, which is its presentation platform. It is designed to use an existing Operations Manager 2007 R2 infrastructure configured to monitor business-critical applications as its engine. The dashboard evaluates an application or group over a time period that the administrator selects, determines if it met the defined service level commitments, and displays summarized data about the service levels.

Service level commitments are established in Operations Manager 2007 R2 by defining service goals (called “service level objectives” or SLOs). The Service Level Dashboard evaluates each SLO over the defined dashboard time period and determines if it met the goal during that period. The dashboard displays each SLO and identifies its states, based on the defined service level targets.

The following diagram illustrates, at a high-level, the process flow that occurs within the Service Level Dashboard environment. The process begins and ends with the IT Service Manager, who defines goals and views the dashboard to see results.

 

SLDV2-Process Flow.png

The Service Level Dashboard integrates with the Operations Manager Data Warehouse database and displays service level metrics on the Windows SharePoint Services interface. All the customized and personalized data associated with the Web Parts of the Service Level Dashboard is stored in the Windows SharePoint Services Content database.

The dashboard can summarize the current status and health of all defined SLOs against an application or group of objects. Key measures used to evaluate various aspects of the health of defined SLOs include such information as service level metrics, mean time to repair (MTTR), mean time between failures (MTBF), and service level trends.

Included in the Download

The Service Level Dashboard 2.0 release is available as a single zip file (Service Level Dashboard 2.0.zip) containing the following components:

  • Service Level Dashboard 2.0 Release Notes (.rtf file)
  • Microsoft.EnterpriseServiceMonitoring.ServiceLevelDashboard.R2.mp
  • Service Level Dashboard 2.0_x86.msi
  • Service Level Dashboard 2.0_x64.msi
  • Service Level Dashboard for Operations Manager 2007 R2 User Guide (.docx file)
  • Supplemental License for Service Level Dashboard for Operations Manager 2007 R2 (.rtf file)

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