Administrating
Learn how to configure, customize, and maintain CA APM.
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As an administrator, you can set up your APM environment according to the needs of your organization. The administrative configurations enable APM to serve as an effective tool for managing your IT Support needs. The administrator manages the APM application-specific attributes of the organization and the users.1
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Administrator Functions
The administrator undertakes two broad functions:
- Initial Setup
- Post Installation Configuration
By default, an administrator has access to the full suite of features in CA APM. An administrator can access all forms and records.
Initial Setup
First, the initial setup for the organization. This activity includes the following operations:
APM Component | Operation | Further Information |
Enterprise Manager (EM) | Download, install, and deploy the Enterprise Manager (EM). | |
APM Command Center | Download and deploy agents and extensions.
Note: Agents are often deployed by application or server teams that are in a different organizational group than the APM administrator. CA Services and partners can help with this operation. | |
Post Installation Configuration
Further activities happen after APM has been installed, enabled, and configured. This function covers regular administrative updates and changes that depend on the changing needs of the organization. These activities include the following operations:
The configuration requirements of the organization determine the role of the administrator in the post installation activities. CA Services and partners can also help with this configuration.
APM Component | Operation | Further Information |
Team Center/APM Command Center | Configure new properties to enable new functionalities. | |
Team Center | Edit or modify attributes of existing components.
Note: Application teams can help with this operation. | |
Team Center | Analyze and investigate alerts against performance incidents that analysts reported.
Note: Application teams can help with this operation. | |
Team Center | Analyze and manage Experiences Cards in Team Center
Note: CA Services and partners can help with this operation. | |
WebView | Configure alerts in WebView.
Note: CA Services and partners can help with this operation. | |
Customer Experience Manager (CEM) | Add new applications and transactions to be monitored.
Note: CA Services and partners can help with this operation. |
Administrator Task Calendar
After the APM application is in use, the administrator undertakes regular administrative updates and changes depending on the changing needs of the organization. This activity includes the following tasks:
Daily Tasks
APM Component | Task | Further Information |
Team Center | Review incidents and alerts. Triage issues if appropriate using analysis tools. | |
Team Center/Enterprise Manager | Check that the daily backup was complete. Use third party tools for backup that are based on internal procedures of your organization. | |
APM Command Center | Check the agent logs for errors, for example, the Java Agent Logging Note: CA Services and partners can help with this task. | |
Enterprise Manager | Monitor metric count and top responses per interval (RPI) metrics. | |
Enterprise Manager/Transaction Impact Monitor (TIM) | Check the APM application logs for error messages
Note: CA Services and partners can help with this task. | |
Customer Experience Manager | Close resolved or old performance incidents in CEM. |
Ongoing Tasks (Weekly)
APM Component | Task | Further Information |
Team Center | Refine Experience Cards and alerts from the identified incidents. Note: CA Services and partners can help with this task. | |
Team Center/Enterprise Manager | Save a copy of the APM configuration and backup to an off-site location. | |
Team Center/WebView/Workstation | Review the APM audit log for unexpected or unauthorized changes. | |
WebView | Test that the integration with notification systems is working correctly. | |
Enterprise Manager | Review and set blackout periods for scheduled outages. | |
Enterprise Manager | Check resource utilization (CPU and disk space) to validate that the Enterprise Managers have enough resources to function properly. | |
Customer Experience Manager | Check that the email reports in CEM are being created and distributed. |
Occasional Tasks (Monthly - Quarterly)
APM Component | Task | Further Information |
All Components | Review upcoming application releases and schedule base-lining activities. | |
All Components | Review the APM architecture for performance, scalability, failover, geographic distribution, and other factors. | |
Team Center/WebView | Build, review, and expand the baseline for alerts and thresholds. Recommend changes to thresholds for approval by Application Owners as appropriate. | |
Workstation | Report on trends in alert frequency and customer-critical transactions. | |
Workstation/WebView | Analyze alerts against reported performance incidents. Locate gaps and problems and recommend configuration enhancements | |
Enterprise Manager | Perform an APM Cluster Performance Health Check. |
On-demand Tasks
APM Component | Task | Further Information |
All Components | Design and install configuration enhancements. For more information, contact CA Services. | |
APM Command Center | Review impact of application architecture changes on monitoring. | |
WebView | Review transaction traces to identify poorly performing code. | |
Enterprise Manager/Customer Experience Manager | Configure Enterprise Manager, TIM, and APM Database components. | |
More Information: