Industry Leaders Announce Open API for End-to-End Applications Management; HP OpenView Program and Tivoli Systems Lead Effort to Establish New Performance-management API for Application-response-time Measurement

Business Wire, June 24, 1996

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 24, 1996--Hewlett-Packard Company and Tivoli Systems today announced that they have developed an open, vendor-neutral application programming interface for managing the performance of distributed applications. The announcement was made here at the 1996 International Members' Conference of the OpenView Forum. The Application Response Measurement (ARM) API is designed to measure end-to-end application response time, allowing vendors to create management-ready applications and end users to measure and control the total performance of their business-critical distributed applications.

The lack of effective applications-management capabilities is often cited as the major barrier to the broad deployment of client/server solutions. The ARM API is an open management interface that will allow users to extend their system- and network-management tools directly to applications, creating a comprehensive end-to-end management capability. The objective of the ARM API is to enable vendors of off-the-shelf applications, development tools and management tools, as well as systems integrators and in-house information technology (IT) departments, to produce management-ready applications and management tools.

"We feel that the ARM API will solve an important need in improving the manageability of mission-critical business applications. It allows users and IT management to accurately associate application performance to meaningful information based on business requirements. We intend to instrument selected applications using this technology," said Andy Spencer, capacity planning manager for Paychex Inc.

By instrumenting an application to the ARM API, vendors and users create applications that have the ability to establish and monitor service levels that are tied to business objectives. The full range of benefits and performance-management operations of the ARM API include the following: -0-

-- monitoring of application availability;

-- monitoring of application performance (that is, response

time, workload throughput and actual service levels);

-- monitoring of application usage (that is, who is using the

application, how often and which kind of operations are

being performed);

-- an open standard approach for measuring end-to-end

transaction response time; and

-- the opportunity to cost effectively make management-ready

applications. -0-

"Measuring application response time has become a business necessity with users expecting around-the-clock availability and continuously outstanding performance," said Mark Solle, general manager of HP's Software Services and Technology Division. "HP and Tivoli have combined their industry-leading expertise to offer customers a way to measure application performance against their business needs and expectations."

"Performance management is a key area of need for our partners and users alike," said Scott Harmon, vice president of marketing and strategy for Tivoli Systems. "It made perfect sense to work with HP in this area because our two companies have some of the industry's most advanced performance-management technology available today, as well as the partnerships to effect widespread use of the ARM API."

COLLABORATION FOR BROAD INDUSTRY SUPPORT

Both companies plan to make the ARM API available as part of their management product lines and are supporting it as part of ongoing work with their respective partner organizations. In addition, both companies have said they would seek technical input, review and refinement from their respective partner organizations. Using this input, as well as customer feedback, HP and Tivoli plan to continue to advance the ARM API.

The HP OpenView program plans to provide ARM support as part of its HP MeasureWare resource- and performance-management solutions. This capability is slated to be available by midsummer. The ARM API will be an integrated component of the HP OpenView management API set, which is reviewed by select HP OpenView partners.

Tivoli says it will provide support for the ARM API in its TME 10 family of network-computing-management products. Additionally, Tivoli expects to incorporate it into the Applications Management Specification (AMS), which is controlled by its partners in the applications-management working group of the 10/Plus Association.

IMPLEMENTING THE ARM API

To help ensure that application developers will be fully equipped to use the new ARM API, the HP OpenView Program and Tivoli have collaborated on an ARM Software Developers Kit (SDK). The SDK makes it easy for developers to mark sections of their application to define business transactions. By invoking the API at the beginning and end of each transaction, developers enable their applications to be monitored by any ARM-compliant management tool. The SDK is designed to allow developers to instrument to the ARM with minimal impact on their application. All of the libraries and other tools necessary to interface to a development tool are included in the kit so that developers don't have to write additional code.